4025 The Brewer's Ingredients by Gnomon
This week we had Gnomon’s second Listener puzzle, in which the
theme had two separate elements. The wordplay only answers, forming the
must, were all ingredients which a brewer might use, namely MALT,
YEAST, HOPS, and TAP WATER (the one ingredient which a brewer might be
reluctant to admit to, as it might contain detrimental additives). The
second element of the theme was provided by the finings, which turned
out to be letters of the Hebrew alphabet, Letters spelling out the
names of these (always in their correct order) had to be removed from
clues before solving. This explained the cryptic reading of the title,
as the letters HEBREW are hidden in “The Brewer”.
Consulting the Alphabets appendix of Chambers showed that the one
letter not so removed was ZAYIN, which was the missing ingredient to be
written below the grid. Gregson managed to deduce the answers to a
number of the “finings” clues without fully understanding
the second element of the theme, until eventually the penny dropped,
and thereafter the task became somewhat easier.
Letters removed are indicated by [].
ACROSS
1 Original ingredients in Mayflower American Lager (trademark) (4)
MALT First letters of Mayflower American Lager Trademark [Wordplay only]
4 Thin, poor quality [ale] [p]er[h]aps should be returned (5)
[ALEPH] SPARE ERAPS reversed
7 Selection of Scottish verse, perhaps b[y] [o]l[d] date: a flop (4)
[YOD] BLAD Anagram of B + L + D (date) + A
The definition being blad(2)
10 Sa[v]e [a] li[v]e broadcast for oil producers (6)
[VAV] ELAEIS Anagram of SAE LIE
11 Ha[d] [ale], six[th], tiddly Henry leaves "The Spotted Deer" (4)
[DALETH] AXIS Anagram of HA SIX, less H (Henry]
13 Miner's leader finds trapdoor oddly deficient, coal round it (8)
CORPORAL RPOR (Even numbered letters in tRaPdOoR), inside COAL
14 Girl getting involved with men can be a source of trouble (7)
GREMLIN Anagram of GIRL + MEN
15 Man in game drops league club (4)
MERI MERIL (man in game), less L (league)
16 Trial [re]lease[s] [h]ad trio regularly backing (6)
[RESH] ORDEAL Alternate letters in LeAsE aD tRiO, reversed
18 Stories: [be]s[t] t[h]e age can produce (6)
[BETH] ETAGES Anagram of S T E AGE
20 Unexpectedly p[ay] d[in]ar for wee tot (4)
[AYIN] DRAP Anagram of PA + DR (dinar)
21 Nimble up North with little weight in bag (5)
SWACK W (weight) inside SACK (bag)
23 Eat[s] [a] [me]al, [kh]uskhus, swallows a bone (5)
[SAMEKH] TALUS Hidden in EaT AL USkhus
26 Enthusiasm in Man[ch]est[e]r, [th]ose without dubious means (5)
[CHETH] ESTRO MANESTR OSE less MAN SE (anagram of MEANS)
28 Poet's last letters crossed (5)
YEAST YEATS (Poet) exchanging last two letters
29 Shopper not in manner of working (4)
HOPS Anagram of SHOPPER less PER (in manner of) (Wordplay only)
31 A White Dog - [Lam]b tal[e] to[d]ay's half misinterpreted (6)
[LAMED] TALBOT Anagram of B TAL TO[AY]
33 Hallucinate about cleat gone missing? This could be connected (6)
INHAUL Anagram of HALLUCINATE less anagram of CLEAT
An inhaul could be connected to a cleat
34 Army order includes two millions charges for firearms (4)
AMMO AO (Army order] containing M (million) + M (million)
36 Decisive moment I left, er, could be chicken, partly (7)
CRISSUM CRIS(I)S (ie decisive moment, less I) + UM (er)
38 'E drank squiffily from a pewter tankard getting high (8, two words)
TAP WATER Anagram A PEWTER TANKARD, less anagram ‘E DRANK [Wordplay only]
39 Outskirts of Tenerife exchange holiday (4)
FETE Opening and closing letters of TEneriFE, exchanged
40 Capsize [sin]k and leave to find representative (6)
[SIN] VAKEEL Anagram of K LEAVE
41 Republic depends from time to time on the ballot paper? (4)
CHAD Two meanings
42 Glaikit [T]am [a]li[v]e! How the news arrived? (5)
[TAV] EMAIL Anagram of AM LIE
43 Chopper linking Arizona and Delaware (4)
ADZE AZ (Arizona) and DE (Delaware), interlinked
DOWN
1 Meg['s] d[ad] [he]re suffering lost identity (6)
[SADHE] MERGED Anagram of MEG D RE
2 After Gore's on the end of sideways passes (8)
LATERALS LATER (After) + AL’S (Gore’s)
3 T[he] East [H]am Flying Ducks Co-operative (4)
[HEH] TEAM T’ (The) + E(East) + AM
The definition being a formation of ducks in flight
4 Without pity since Scots getting more according to the Bard (7)
SINLESS SIN (Scottish word for “since”) + LESS (Shakespearian word for “more”)
5 Hellenic conflict in agora, revolutionary Republicans outside are not involved (4)
AGON Anagram of IN AGORA, less surrounding IRA (revolutionary Republicans)
6 Pa [n]ext to be moved, [un]employed, away from home (5)
[NUN] EXPAT Anagram of PA EXT
7 [P]ass m[e] [h]ob; I cooked quantity of local live stuff (7)
[PEH] BIOMASS Anagram of ASS M OB I
8 Australian fliers returning from way off (4)
AFAR A (Australian) + RAF (fliers), reversed
9 Giving great pleasure, [t]his l[e]d [th]e wayward (6)
[TETH] DELISH Anagram of HIS LD E
11 Rat running round the playground with ears pricked (6)
ARRECT ART (Anagram of RAT) containing REC (playground)
12 A parrot's cuckoo in proportion (7, two words)
PRO RATA Anagram of A PARROT
17 Botched [me]la[m]ine cut short outside a house extension in Hawaii (5)
[MEM] LANAI Anagram of LAIN[E], containing A
19 First of pins dropped between two listeners, this will deaden sound (7)
EARPLUG P (First letter of PINS) inside EAR + LUG (two listeners)
22 Aussie scrapped used shot - recycled (8)
STOUSHED Anagram of USED SHOT
24 Some double basses are played so free (7)
UNBOWED Two meanings
25 Get help for the "grind"; unfortunately ma[k]e t[op] t[h]en lose direction finally (6)
[KOPH] METATE Anagram of MA E T TEN, less N (last letter of DIRECTION)
26 Supply athletic, not tense, and not indecent (7)
ETHIAL Anagram of ATHLETIC, less T (tense)
The anagram indicator being “supply” ie in a supple way
27 Still so full of rubbish (6)
STATIC SIC (so) containing TAT (rubbish)
30 Eccentric [K]im's [a] "[ph]ile" - "like" features necessarily in this (6)
[KAPH] SIMILE Anagram of IM’S ILE
32 [Gi]ve [me] a [l]ot! Riotously applaud (5)
[GIMEL] OVATE Anagram of VE A OT
35 Henry associated with man of unknown name, a physicist (4)
MACH H (Henry) after MAC (man of unknown name)
The second use of H = Henry as a wordplay element
36 Sacks, hole in one, coal's beginning to pile up (4)
CECA ACE (hole in one) + C(first letter of COAL), all reversed
37 A ski manoeuvre - it's spotted in summer (4)
SIKA Anagram of A SKI