Witness being asked "Where did you seize these things?" Answer, "Some of them were seized from brewers, and some of them from brewers' druggists, within these two years past." (May 8, 1818.)
Another fraud frequently committed, both by brewers and publicans, (as is evident from the Excise Report,) is the practice of adulterating strong beer with small beer--This fraud is prohibited by law, since both the revenue and the public suffer by it.[63] "The duty upon strong beer is ten shillings a barrel; and upon table beer it is two shillings. The revenue suffers, because a larger quantity of beer is sold as strong beer; that is, at a price exceeding the price of table beer, without the strong beer duty being paid. In the next place, the brewer suffers, because the retailer gets table or mild beer, and retails it as strong beer." The following are the words of the Act, prohibiting the brewers mixing table beer with strong beer.
"If any common brewer shall mix or suffer to be mixed any strong beer, or strong worts with table beer or table worts, or with water in any guile or fermenting tun after the declaration of the quantity of such guile shall have been made; or if he shall at any time mix or suffer to be mixed strong beer or strong worts with table beer worts or with water, in any vat, cask, tub, measures or utensil, not being an entered guile or fermenting tun, he shall forfeit 200 pounds."[64]
With respect to the persons who commit this offence, Mr. Carr,[65] the Solicitor of the Excise, observes, that "they are generally brewers who carry on the double trade of brewing both strong and table beer. It is almost impossible to prevent them from mixing one with the other; and frauds of very great extent have been detected, and the parties punished for that offence. One brewer at Plymouth evaded duties to the amount of 32,000 pounds; and other brewers, who brew party guiles of beer, carrying on the two trades of ale and table beer brewers, where the trade is a victualling brewer, which is different from the common brewer, he being a person who sells only wholesale; the victualling brewer being a brewer and also a seller by retail."
"In the neighbourhood of London," Mr. Carr continues, "more particularly, I speak from having had great experience, from the informations and evidence which I have received, that the retailers carry on a most extensive fraud upon the public, in purchasing stale table beer, or the bottoms of casks. There are a class of men who go about and sell such beer at table-beer price to public victuallers, who mix it in their cellars. If they receive beer from their brewers which is mild, they purchase stale beer; and if they receive stale beer, they purchase common table beer for that purpose; and many of the prosecutions are against retailers for that offence." The following may serve in proof of this statement.