WONDROUS WAIHI

NZ Truth, Issue 983, 27 September 1924, Page 12

WONDROUS WAIHI

* An Oasis In An Arid Land Down Goes the Nut Brown Alo. (From "Truth's" South Auckland Rep.l Although Waihi nominally went dry m 1909, figures go to show that m reality a very wet period set m about that time, and that instead of the effect which prohibition ia supposed to have on a place, actually more drink is now. consumed m Waihi m proportion to the population than "before liquor was voted- out. It would appear that the only beneficial effect which the legislation has had has boon the limitation of publicans' proflta. It cortainly has not limited tho conmimpUon of liquor, for now almost ovary houwo m the gold mining tow nub. In In a brewery unto itself, and instead ol! Hutkllng his boy or girl along to tho "pub" for a bottle or a jug ol! foaming alo, thy Waihi miner now merely hl.oi>m Into his larder and draws a pint for hlrmso'f. There aro advantages In thiH. Jn tho first place tho Waihinn can got a "Hpot" at" will,, while it savon him tho trouble m inclement weather of going down the street for his liquor, lio also gclrf his drink at a much cheaper cowl by manufacturing it himself, than If be purchased it across (he bar. Ah a consequence ho can afford to drink more of it. Also, whilo brewing it himself, he can mako it as potent or weak as ho chooses, to suit his own palato. Hlk wife also probably prefers him to drink at home, if drink ho must whilo she also is m a position to better regula.to his consumption than if ho went chewing over politics m the pub. So Unit prohibition, if it does not achieve the result which the framers of the legislation originally intended, at least it carries some advantages. Waihi has, m fact, if figures are to be relied upon, become one vast brewery, where almost every man is an adept at the art of ale manufacture, and it is no uncommon thing for Waihians to couple a greeting as to tho time of day along with an inquiry as to how tho latest brow turned out. Tho chief ingredients for brewing ale m the household vat are crushed malt, malt extract, burned malt, sugar, and hops, with tho addition of yeast. It is on the sale of these commodities that the consumption figures are based. As, however, sugar is used m quantities according to the alcoholic strength o£ the beverages required, this particular constituent of "home brewed" furnishes no definite criterion of the amount manufactured. Equally difficult is it to reach a proper approximation of the amount brewed, on the quantity of hops used, as here again the amount used depends largely on individual, taste, the consumer favoring a bitter ale, adding a few more hops according to his liking. It is, however, possible to compute with fair accuracy the quantity of liquor brewed on the sales of malt m its; various forms. Taking 'first of :il) the malt extract, which is m liquid ferm. 'Thi*j is put up m dr.ums containing 701 b each, and inquiries from retailers go to show that, the monthly sales total 27 drums, or 118901 b. ' For brewing purposes this is used m tho proportion ' of not more than eight pounds to ten gallons of beer, and would thus mean a brew of 2362 gallons a month, or 28,544 gallons annually. This is not all, however, for malt is sold m other forms — whole, crushed, and burnt. The sales of these are given as m the vicinity of 21001 b, and, used m the proportion of 121 b to ten gallons of liquor, this would give 1750 gallons monthly, or 21,000 gallons for the year. Thus we arrive at the grand total of liquor brewed of 50,344 gallons, which, worked out on the population basis, allows for an average consumption of 12% gallons for every man, woman and child m the town. Not bad for .Waihi-, the prohibited. ' On top of all this there is another source of supply to be taken into account, for there are not a few who, not having established homos or f jici'.i ties for home-brewing, or who will not go to the trouble to brew, who import quite substantial quantities from the non-prohibited areas. On these figures it would appear, therefore, that there is considerably more beer consumed m prohibited Waihi on the population basis than' on the average over the remainder of the Dominion, not ta.king into account the fact that the sales of malt by the retailers of the town are conservatively stated, the figures furnished being considerably m advance of those quoted and the additional factor of indented orders. % One never need, therefore, on paying aSvisit to the town of hisrh ridges and deep levels, carry a flask or a bottlt> m one's "port-sammy," for m this re.arion of quartz gold one is always assured cf a mug of liquid gold if one can manage to secure a seat round a hospitable Waihi fireside.