Practical Treatise on Brewing - 1st Ed

Practical Treatise on Brewing - 1st Ed

Digitized by Go ogle LUNDON : PRINTED BY STEWART AND CO., OLD BAILRY. gle Digitized by Go O PREFACE. In no treatise on brewing which I have seen, have I been able to find any distinct or specific rules for taking the proper temperatures of mashing liquors; nor have I ever found, what may be called the most important, though least understood operation in the process of brewing, viz. fermentation, treated < of ° er explained in such a manner, as to be any guide to a brewer under the various circumstances in which he may be placed. In the following treatise I have endeavoured to supply these deficiencies, and have in the first place given such directions for the mashing temperatures, as I would fain hope cannot be mistaken. A 2 iv PREFACE. In the next place, after fully describing all the different processes of fermentation, both good and bad, which during a long experience have come under my own observation, I have given the proper directions for the prevention of ir- regular fermentations, and the remedies which may be resorted to when such fermentations have occurred. The art of brewing, notwithstanding the volumes which have been written on the sub- ject, must be considered as still in its infancy, as a science. Many eminent chemists in England as well as on the continent have bestowed great attention on the subject, and have given such information to practical men as might have proved highly beneficial, had they been dis- posed to avail themselves of it. In most cases, however, if the beer can only be made to please their customers, brewers are averse to altera- tions. All tastes, generally speaking, are acquired ; and from use, we have heard of even rancid Digitized b Goo le PREFACE. Vv butter being preferred to sweet. We also read that the Chinese prefer rotten eggs to fresh, as having a higher and to them more agreeable fla- vour. Taste, therefore, can be no criterion by which to judge of the wholesomeness or quality of beer, but as malt liquor may now be considered one of the necessaries of life among the work-. ing classes, it is of the greatest importance that they be supplied with such an article, as may not prove injurious to their health. An honest brewer, therefore, should not rest altogether satisfied with being able to please the palates of his customers, but should endeavour to pro- duce what he knows to be a really wholesome and nourishing, as well as an agreeable drink. I have endeavoured as much as possible to avoid all extraneous matter, confining myself principally to my own practice, and although the treatise may appear short, I trust that useful information will be found in almost every page. Having no pretensions to literary acquire- ments, and never having before written for the vi PREFACE. press, I must crave indulgence for the homeli- ness of my style. My aim has been to avoid mystery, and to convey useful information in language that shall be intelligible to all, and if I have succeeded in accomplishing this, my highest literary ambition will be gratified. Wiriram Brack. 65, Cornhill, London. CONTENTS. Introduction ...cccccsccccececccccccccssccececs Of Electricity ...... ccsccecsccccenccsccccecceces On Malt cccccrccccccoccccccee: sevcee sevcccvece The Brewery, — The Site of a Brewery ..ccsccccesccccerceces Construction of the Brew-house ...... escesece Of Brewing @eeeeteeesneseeoeeseeesesesed eeeeeececes - Of Sprinkling or Sparging ...... .eeececeecees Of Boiling .....ceccccrsccccscccccsccseccece Of Fermentation .......ccccceceestsccccecces Of Hop Dreg in the Worts .....cccccceccccee Of Yeast ccc ccccceccccccrsccccscscsccs cess Close Fermentation ...ccceceeesecccee Inert Fermentation ......ccccecccccecs coscees Winter Brewing .......ccecscccccs cece cecccneces Summer Brewing ...... ccc csececceccescnccsecs Of Fining Beer 20.2... cccccccccccccccce ceccceces Of Storing and Keeping Beer .......-eccecueceeees Of Drugs ....cccccccccs cccceccccces cecceseaees Of Charcoal .......0 ceeece cecces cevece veceence Of Ropiness ...... cece cecees cones ceccescvcces Of Marrying or Mixing Beers ...... 0... e00e- Of Greyness in Beer ......esceeeees. re ey PAGE. 11 15 26 27 32 38 39 41 46 48 55 56 59 63 66 70 74 79 81 84 86 viii CONTENTS. Of the Flavour of the London Porter ....cee+eeeees Of Sound Old Beer .......0cceees cceccsceeeeees Practical Brewing .......seccseccecccececereceees OF the Saccharometer ...... 0.00 cccccsccuccecces Vablea— Process of Brewing, — No. I. — Best Ale .......cceeseeseoccees No, II, -~ XXX — 68s. per barrel ......-+ No. HI, — XX — 58s. per barrel No, IV. — X — 48s. per barrel .......0+0% No, V, — Table Ale, 36s. per barrel ...... No. VI. — Brown Stout ......... eeecocee No, VII. — Porter eer nesececaeseteeesseee Irregular Fermentation ...... cccces sec ccreeccocee Table VIII. 1... c.ee. @eeereeenesee The Fretting or Fretful Fermentation ...........0005 Inert Fermentation .....ccccscccccccccsccccecs Boiling Fermentation.......e.sceeeeeeseees Goneral Summary ...cesccceccccscacces Appendix — Diastase .. .ccovsecscseseseccces Of Tests for Water......cececec. eeonee ceeecece eeerosoe PAGK 90 93 96 100 107 109 111 113 115 117 119 121 123 125 127 129 131 132. 143 148 TREATISE ON BREWING. INTRODUCTION. So many practical and theoretical treatises on brewing have already been published, that the subject might, to some, appear to be ex- hausted. Many of these treatises, however, are too homely; while others so abound in scientific technicalities. as to be altogether unintelligible ' to the general reader. That brewing is a chemical process, is evident; and of course, in any scientific work on the sub- ject, certain chemical terms must be used. In the following treatise, however, it is not intend- ed to give any account of the production, or pro- perties of the gases, or other chemical agents, farther than is absolutely required by thesubject; *B TREATISE ON BREWING. INTRODUCTION. So many practical and theoretical treatises on brewing have already been published, that the subject might, to some, appear to be ex- hausted. Many of these treatises, however, are too homely; while others so abound in scientific technicalities as to be altogether unintelligible ‘ to the general reader. That brewing is a chemical process, is evident; and of course, in any scientific work on the sub- ject, certain chemical terms must be used. In the following treatise, however, it is not intend- ed to give any account of the production, or pro- perties of the gases, or other chemical agents, farther than is absolutely required by thesubject; *B 2 INTRODUCTION. nor do I intend to give any history of the origin of beer, as I consider that to be un- important, and moreover conjectural. It must be allowed, that during the last and present century, many valuable discoveries have been made in almost every science; while the art of brewing has remained stationary, or, as I am inclined to think, has retrograded, which may be atributed to the circumstance of few scientific gentlemen having turned their atten- tion to the subject; while those who have done so, have not had it in their power to carry their researches to any useful result, on ac- count of their want of practical knowledge. Some of them have applied for information to pro fessional brewers, who, doubtless, from feelings of jealousy, have generally rather misled than instructed those who desired their assistance. Another obstacle to improvement exists in the fact, that almost every brewer, in the course of along practice, fancies that he has discovered some nostrum, by which he can make his beer better than his neighbours. These nostrums, though often worse than useless to the possessors, might, if freely communicated to more scientific inquirers, have some tendency to throw light upon the theory and principles of brewing ; but they are uniformly kept secret, and thus want of the combination of science with practice INTRODUCTION. 3 throws almost insurmountable difficulties in the way of investigation. Had it been otherwise, there is little doubt that, long ere now, the art of brew- ing would have been much better understood. Having, in the course of an experience of nearly forty years, had occasion to work in many different breweries, I have uniformly observed, that the same process, particularly in fermenta- tion, will scarcely answer in any two of them. In confirmation of this, I would refer to the well known fact that practical brewers, removing from one place to another, although they had in general succeeded in their former situation, have frequently failed in their new locality, notwith- standing that they have followed precisely the same system. My intelligent friend, Mr. Robert Stein, who was long a practical brewer, and who has to my knowledge devoted as much attention to the science of brewing as any one, mentioned to me some circumstances corroborative of this opinion. He came from Edinburgh to Lon- don, and for three years tried every modifi- cation of process without success. At length, however, having succeeded in making proper alterations in the arrangement of his brewery, . he experienced no further difficulty, but became uniformly successful during four years. He was removed by the St. Catherine’s Dock Com- B 2 4 INTRODUCTION. pany, and it became necessary to adduce evi- dence, with regard to the hazard attending re- moval. He appealed to the difficulties which he himself had encountered and overcome, and adduced in corroboration many instances of the difficulties which other brewers had experienced in different situations: suffice it to mention two. A large brewery was erected in Scotland for the purpose of making Porter, similar to that made in London, The Company did not succeed, although they employed a practical London brewer of great experience. The concern was sold, and became the property of a very success- ful ale brewer in the same town. He could not however make the same quality of ale, in his new and enlarged premises, and therefore wisely retreated to his old establishment, where he has been a successful brewer ever since. The other instance occurred in Norwich, where a company had been successful, but they pulled down their old premises, and erected a more extensive and elegant brewery on the same site, where they never afterwards made good beer. Let me recommend it then to all success- ful brewers to let wed/ alone. To all unsuccess- ful ones, allow me to say, alter — but alter with caution and circumspection — for it is evident that there is something connected with brewing, concerning which we are still very much in the INTRODUCTION. 5 dark. When I come, however, to treat of the construction of a brew-house, I shall endeavour to give a theoretical opinion upon this point. From what has been said, the difficulty of making sound, good beer, in all situations may be inferred; but the importance of producing it is universally admitted. Taste is no criterion of good beer. In many parts of the country the palates of the people have become so ac- customed to foul, yeast-bitten beer, from having none else to drink, that were good, clean, whole- some beer substituted, it would be some time before they would relish it as much as the other; but once accustomed to the pure bever- age, they would not readily relapse into their former taste. But although I have only referred to country. brewers, I am far from admitting that the capital is exempt from the same evils. How often does it occur that the first houses, periodically get, what is technically termed, ‘‘ out of order ;” in other words, make foul and bad beer, and con- tinue to do so for weeks, without being able to account for, or remedy the evil, until a change in the atmosphere, or a change of yeast sets all right again ! I will however venture to assert that if a brew-house be properly constructed, these ir- regularities may be remedied in twenty-four 6 INTRODUCTION. hours at any time. I! am far from affirming that this foul beer will not stand, as it is called, or keep as long as that which has been well fer- mented, but it can never be rendered wholesome. Indeed, I have known brewers purposely give their beer, what they call a good bite of the yeast as a preservative. I do not pretend to say that such foul beer will have injurious effects on the hard working labourer or mechanic, but it certainly will upon those of more sedentary employments. But of this physicians must be the best judges. I will now proceed to give an outline of what I propose in the following pages. I have been, as I have already said, nearly forty years in the brewery, and have had opportunities of seeing and trying a great many different processes, and paid a great deal of money, for such informa- tion as it has seemed desirable to procure. All these processes I have endeavoured to trace to chemical causes ; and should I fortunately be able to introduce such a system of general brewing, as may not only ultimately benefit the brewer, but produce a more wholesome bever- age to the community, my end will be so far accomplished. I will not, however, pretend that I do not expect benefit to result to myself, from the publication of this treatise beyond the mere profits of the sale. On the contrary, as I affirm INTRODUCTION. 7 that it is impossible to give such instructions as will cure existing evils in every situation, my wish is to have it understood that I shall be ready on moderate terms to give additional information and personal attendance to such as may wish to consult me on the subject. I shall now only briefly explain the plan of the fol- lowing work, and shall then proceed to the details. The only two gases, intimately connected with malting and brewing, are oxygen and car- bonic acid, on which I shall very briefly touch. I shall then advert to electricity as connected with the process.; and also to barley and malt- ing; the site and construction of the brew-house; brewing, and formation of extracts; next, to fer- mentation, on which subject my remarks will be more copious than any I have met with in former treatises, considering that in this depart- ment the greatest skill of the brewer is required ; since, unless we have a good fermentation, no good results can with certainty be reckoned upon. Lastly, I shall proceed to the storing and keeping of beer, a point of much more impor- tance than it is generally thought to be. In the preceding observations my object has been to throw out instructive hints ; and in what is to follow, no consideration shall prevent me from giving my opinions, in such a way, as I thin 8 INTRODUCTION. may be most beneficial, as well to the public as to the private brewer. It is not my intention to treat of oxygen or carbonic acid gas, excepting as connected . with malting and brewing. In malting, oxy- gen gas is absolutely necessary during the vegetation of the barley, or other corn, in its progress to that state in which it becomes malt. In brewing, a certain portion of it may be necessary in the commencement of fermentation, and in fact, many great chemists are of opinion, that, in the fermentation of beer, where no artificial ferment has been added, the process will not commence without it. In all other stages, however, of the process of brewing, the less we have of its action the better, for oxygen is the acidifying principle, and if we would turn beer into vinegar, we have only to expose it to the action of oxygen as contained in the atmosphere, in a moderate heat for a given time. If we wish, therefore, to preserve beer, the more closely we can shut it up, the better. I shall have occasion to treat more fully on this subject when I come to the storing and keeping of beer. Carbonic acid gas, in a state of purity, is the destroyer of all animal, and, I believe, vegetable life; it is the only gas evolved during vinous fermentation. As, however, a particular account Digitized by Goo le INTRODUCTION. 9 of its production and properties more. strictly belongs to a treatise on chemistry, I shall con- tent myself with treating of it only as con- nected with beer. Immense quantities of this gas are disengaged by fermentation, and the beer afterwards retains, and continues to generate it, as long, I may say, as it is beer, of which, indeed, it is a component part; for beer, when entirely deprived of it, very soon becomes acid. _ Many brewers, and even chemists, have thought that a good deal of spirit, or alcohol, is evaporated along with this gas, during fermen- tation, and contrivances have been made for condensing it, and again throwing it into the square, or fermenting vat. Thénard, however, is of a different opinion, and says that the quan- tity of spirit evaporated, if any at all, is not above a thousandth part, and, of course, not worth collecting. I entirely concur with him in this opinion, and should even go farther, and say that this vapour, when condensed, and again thrown into the square, must be rather injurious than otherwise. In fact, I once saw some of it which had by some means been condensed into a liquid, in his majesty’s brewhouse at Deptford, in the course of some experiments on the subject; and the liquid was so nauseous, both to the smell and taste, that it could do the 10 INTRODUCTION. beer no good when again incorporated with it. If a glass of the flattest beer be put into. the receiver of an air-pump, the liquid, during the progress of exhaustion, froths up briskly until all its carbonic acid is disengaged. When afterwards tasted, it is quite vapid, and has lost all its flavour. The sparkling property of beer, wines, and in- deed all fermented liquors, is entirely owing to carbonic acid gas. When such liquids have been exposed for some time to the atmosphere, the greater portion of this gas escapes, and then the liquid drinks flat. It is, however, a popular, yet erroneous opinion, that the flatness is owing to the escape of the spirit. 11 OF ELECTRICITY. Ir has long been the opinion of many eminent chemists, both English and French, that electri- city is a powerful agent in fermentation, as well as in preserving or destroying beer. The late Sir H. Davy was decidedly of that opinion. In following up, therefore, the theory of somany eminent men, I trust I may be allowed to say a few words upon the subject. I myself had long the same impression, but had never bestowed much consideration upon it until my friend Mr. Robert Stein again drew my attention to the subject. If, then, I can distinctly prove its action in the first place, and afterwards point out a mode for counteracting its bad effects, I hope I shail obtain a better reputation than that of a mere theorist. Many strong indications of the action of electricity, not only on fermen- tation, but on the storing and keeping of beer, have come under my own notice; although I have not as yet been able to ascertain whether 12 OF ELECTRICITY. it is the positive or negative state of it which affects the worts or beer. Among others, I shall select two instances; one with respect to fermentation, and the other regarding beer. In the summer of 1828, I was called into a town in Surry to superintend some brewings. On going there, I found the squares or gyle tuns im- bedded in a ground floor. I at once expressed my disapprobation of this mode of placing them ; having previously found a difficulty in sum- mer brewing, with squares so placed. I, how- ever, got on pretty well for two or three brew- ings; but on the morning of the 3rd July, (I had brewed on the 2nd,) I found the fermentation quite stationary, both with regard to heat and attenuation, and could not forward it by any means I had then in my power to apply. I felt satisfied in my own mind that these extraordi- nary appearances and effects were owing to the action of electricity; and this I stated tothe pro- prietor of the brewery, at the same time predict- ing to him that we should very soon have a thun- der storm. I then cleansed the beer by pumping it from the square into casks placed on wooden stillions about one foot and a half high, when the beer immediately began to work very well, and gained about six degrees in attenuation while throwing out its yeast. Early that same even- ing, as I had foretold, we had a most tremendous OF ELECTRICITY. 13 thunder-storm. This, I am sure, will be attested by the proprietor of the brewery, although an after difference between us prevented me from going there again at the proper season, as I should have considered myself bound in honour to do, to give him my best advice at a time when it would have been more beneficial to him than it could be during summer, par- ticularly with his squares so placed. The other instance was the following. I had a gyle of beer all stowed in one cellar in hogsheads or barrels : one portion of it, however, was placed on stillions, and the other on the ground with- out any bearers. The portion placed on stil- lions kept quite sound and good, while that on the ground, although it did not get absolutely pricked, was ‘much more forward, and by no means so good. In confirmation of this, we may instance the fact that in dairies, where the milk is put into porcelain vessels and placed upon wooden shelves, it is seldom affected by lightning; but when contained in wooden or leaden vessels, and placed on the ground, it almost invariably turns sour. This shows that other liquids besides worts and beer are similarly affected by elec- tricity. When I come to the construction of the brewhouse, I shall say something more upon the subject of placing the squares and other utensils; but I fear we shall not be able to 14 OF ELECTRICITY. come to any certain conclusion with regard to the action of electricity on beer, until philoso- phers are better agreed as to the nature of that extraordinary fluid. Of this, however, we are pretty sure—that the preservation or destruc- tion of beer depends upon electricity ; and the most certain mode of preservation is to insu- late, as much as possible, both the squares and all other utensils or vessels connected with the brewing or storing of beer. 15 ON MALT. I now proceed to the selection of barley for malting. The best barleys for that purpose, are those called mellow, in contradistinction to hard or steely. The mellow barley, generally speaking, is thin-skinned, and when divided either by the teeth, or a pen-knife, the inside of the pickle appears quite white and floury. The steely barley may also be thin-skinned, but when divided in the same way, the inside has a blueish cast, something like rice, and this barley, al- though equally heavy, or even heavier than the other, will never produce such good malt, nor will the beer brewed from it, although of equal or greater gravity in the wort, ever be found to have the mellowness or richness of flavour pro- duced by the other. Care should also be had, in taking in the barleys for malting, that corn of different weights be placed in different binns, 16 ON MALT. so that they may be wetted separately; as the heavier barley will not only require longer wetting, but will work differently on the floors. It would also be desirable, if possible, that bar- leys from similar soils should be wetted toge- ther. We always find, that in buying cargoes of barley grown on different soils, we can never make such good malt, as from that which is bought directly from farmers in the same part of the country. This proceeds from the differ- ence of work on the floors. 1 now proceed to malting, about the making of which, there are so many different opinions, With regard to wetting, the law allows, in my opinion, sufficient latitude for the wetting of any kind of barley, which, however, must be steeped not less than forty hours. The general mode of ascertaining when barley has been long enough under water, is, first, by its increase, shown by the dipping rod, and then by taking the pickles endways between the thumb and finger, the com- pressibility denoting its fitness for germination. Only a practical maltster, however, can ascertain this point. When sufficiently steeped, the barley is thrown (or, in some instances, drops by a large valve or socket) from the cistern into the couch, where it lies so many hours, also at the discre- tion of the maltster, not less, however, than twen- ty-six hours. It is then spread out upon the Digitized by Goo ‘le ON MALT. 17 floor to a thickness of from four to eight or nine inches, according to the season and temperature of the atmosphere, which latter is best ascer- tained by a thermometer placed by the side of the couch. The roots now begin to make their appearance, and great care must be taken to turn the corn gently occasionally, so as to prevent one fibre shooting out long, or wiry as it is called, a short bushy root being always desirable. No definite rules, however, can be laid down on this point; it must be left entirely to the skill of the operator. We now come to the great point in dispute, viz. sprinkling the corn with liquor or water on the floors. Many are of opinion that this, about the third or fourth day, is absolutely necessary, while others assert the - contrary. In my humble, and paradoxical opinion, both are right and both wrong. Should the corn be worked on a ground floor, it may per- haps imbibe as much moisture from the floor, as may be necessary for carrying on the vegeta- tion ; but when it is worked on an upper floor, where it can imbibe no moisture, but, on the contrary, where there must be great evapora- tion, no man of common sense will venture to as- sert, that sprinkling may not be absolutely neces- sary to carry on the vegetative process, without which it is totally impossible to make good malt. c 18 ON MALT. In corroboration of this, I will mention a fact which came under my own observation. It happened in a malt-house where one half the wetting of barley was worked from the couch on a ground floor, and the other half on an upper floor. An intelligent officer of excise, who surveyed the premises, and who was at the same time well acquainted with the pro- cess, and also knew that no fraud was practised or intended to be practised by the trader, see- ing the difference in the state of the corn then in process, on the upper and lower floors, said to the trader: ‘‘ Your upper floors look very sickly ; you will not see me here again for so many hours ;” thereby intimating his knowledge of what was absolutely necessary to be done to keep the corn in a state of vegetation, without which the whole piece must have been ruined. He was afterwards quite pleased to find that his hint had been attended to. I have no doubt that this officer did his duty to the revenue quite as conscientiously as any self-sufficient blockhead, who would have acted very differently. I trust I have thus sufficiently explained my paradox. Many are of opinion that the best mode of work- ing on the floors, is by the help of a thermometer, and by turning the floors whenever that instru- ment indicates a certain increase of temperature. I do not, however, coincide with this view of the ON MALT. 19 subject. I admit that a thermometer may be very useful in the hands of an inexperienced operator, but should he work by that alone, he will very often do more harm than good. I have no hesitation in saying, that there is as much mischief done by too many as by too few ‘turnings : an experienced maltster having a sen- sitive smell, will know, immediately on entering a malthouse, whether the floors in general are in a healthy or unhealthy state. An experi- enced maltster, also, on examining his floors, generally thrusts his hand to the bottom of the corn in different parts, and takes up a handful ; when the appearance, but more particularly the smell, will indicate whether the piece wants turning or not. When turning is requisite there is generally a kind of fostid smell, which it is im- possible to describe, but which a good maltster immediately detects, and turns the piece or not, according as his judgment may direct. I have already said that a short bushy root is always desirable, and the skill of a maltster will always be known by this criterion. As soon as the reots begin to appear, the spire or acrospire be- gins to grow down the back of the pickle, and as it proceeds the barley is turned into malt. The nearer therefore that this spire can be brought to the far end of the pickle, without growing out beyond it, the better will be the c2 . 20 ON MALT. malt. About the fourteenth day, generally speaking, the malt should be fit for the kiln ; previously to its being sent to which, it is gene- rally made thicker upon the floors, so as to come to a temperature of perhaps 75°. I should have stated that in the early stages a tempera- ture of about 60° is at all times high enough. In drying malt on the kiln, the greater quantity of heated air you can throw in the better; you cannot therefore have too much draught, as. that can at all times be checked if too strong, by throwing open the kiln holedoor. When the malt is first put on the kiln, begin with a gentle fire, which you may afterwards gradually increase, until the malt is finished off. There are many different opinions as to the time and mode of drying off malt. I have seen it dryed off by a skilful kilnman, quite as well in twenty-four hours, as I have seen it done by others in four times that space. This, however, depends very much on the draught of the kiln, and the skill of the kilmman. When malt is thoroughly made before being brought to the kiln, I should think the time taken to dry it can make but little difference. When not thoroughly made, however, a skilful operator by a longer process may do a great deal of good. In some parts of Nottinghamshire, the malt- sters have a place at the far end of the floor near ON MALT. 21 the kiln, made lower than the other part of the floor, for the purpose of giving the malt a good soaking with water, about the twelfth day (as allowed by law) previously to its being brought to the kiln. I have seen and drunk as fine ale brewed from this malt as I ever tasted, but not having malted on this plan, I am unable to say whether the practice is beneficial or not. I cannot see, however, why the law should pre- vent the trader from sprinkling his floors when- ever he may think it necessary. It may at all times be done, under the inspection of the officer. Malting I should define to be the natural pro- cess of vegetation, carried on by artificial means to a certain point, at which it is checked by artificial means, so as to produce the article called malt. In imitating nature therefore, it must be allowed, that the more closely we can follow her process the better. How much is young growing corn after drought revived by a fine shower of rain! Must it not be the same, with corn progressing into malt, when parched by drought upon the floor ? A gentle sprinkling with water will equally revive it, and freeing it from a nasty foetid smell, restore it to a healthy growing fragrance. ‘. As lam not, however, writing a treatise on malting, I shall conclude my observations on that 22 ON MALT. subject, by giving my opinion as to the best mode of selecting malt for a brewer. To a good judge, no hints are necessary upon that point. Toa bad one, however, I would recommend a very old, and at the same time a very simple mode of trying it: viz. count out indiscriminately a hundred or two hundred pickles; throw these into a tumbler of cold water; the malt will all float on the surface, the unmalted corns will sink to the bottom, and the half malted corns will float endways or horizontally: you may thus at once discover the quality of the malt. If not more than five pickles in one hun- dred sink, and the remainder float on the sur- face longitudinally, the malt may be considered good ; if otherwise, the contrary. You should then ascertain the weight, or get the maltster to guarantee a certain weight: about 40lbs. per bushel, or 160lbs. a sack, may be consider- ed a fair average weight for good malt. Should it be good malt, however, every pound per bushel above that weight, will yield a much better gravity in the mash-tun than all the difference in price. If the barley should originally weigh 55lbs. per bushel, which it sometimes does, the loss of weight in malting is rather more than one-fifth; the same result obtains in lighter barleys. The value of malt therefore is deter- minable by its weight. Digitized by Goo ‘le ON MALT. 23 I have heard it asserted even by those who ought to have known better, that there could be no good malt weighing above 40lbs. per bushel; and I have known some as fine malt as could be made rejected, merely on account of its too great weight. I have already stated that barley loses rather more than one-fifth of its weight when made into malt. The heavier the barley, therefore, the heavier must be the malt — and if it really be good malt, it is the more or less valuable, according to its weight. There are fewer husks proportionally in heavy than in light malt, and according to the weight and paucity of husks, will be the extract in the mash tun. I should say, that a fair average extract from: malt of 40lbs. per bushel should be from 80 to 84lbs. by Long’s instrument, or from 200 to 210lbs. by the excise instrument. I have, how- ever, seen an extract of 240lbs. per quarter from malt of a very superior weight and quality. In most distilleries the grist is very carefully weighed. into. their mash tuns; thus enabling the masters to know whether their brewers have made the proper extract according to the weight of the grist. Any brewer who wishes to have a check upon his working brewer, or who wishes to go to work scientifically, ought to do the same. I have already said that 40lbs. per 24 ON MALT. bushel, or 160lbs. per sack, is a fair average weight for fine malt; let that, therefore, be the standard, and for every quarter of malt, let 320lbs. be put into the mash tun, which is easily done, either by weighing every sack before grinding — where it is ground into troughs — or by placing the sacks upon a scale, as done in the distillery, when ground into sacks. Every quar- ter of good malt thus weighed, should produce from 80 to 84lbs., or from 200 to 210lbs., and the master brewer can make his calculations accordingly. This also affords a complete check upon the operative brewer, who is sometimes apt, when he finds his extracts better than or- dinary, to make no more beer than he does from worse malt. I have known -a master brewer give orders that four barrels and one firkin of porter should be drawn from his malt per quarter, let the quality of the malt be what it may; and this brewer professed to rival the London porter, although his beer was at least 25 per cent. weaker, and mixed up with 25 per cent. more of nasty old beer. Were this method of weighing the malt into the mash tun adopted, a master brewer would also have an invariable check upon the maltster, as can be easily seen. I have long thought that malt ought to be bought and sold by weight, as in that case, the farmers would find it their in- ON MALT. 25 terest to clean and dress their barley better than they do at present, so as not to allow so many light corns to remain in the bulk, which adds to the duty, but deteriorates the malt, thus cutting both ways at the same time. 26 THE BREWERY. THE SITE OF A BREWERY. AN airy unconfined situation, with a plentiful supply of pure water, should always, if possi- ble, be selected for the site of a brewery ; par- ticular attention should, at the same time, be paid to the quality of the water. Should it con- tain any mineral, it must be very unfit for brew- ing, and unless a supply of soft water can also be had, you had better look out for another site. Soft and hard waters are so well known by these names, that I should consider no chemical description of them necessary, in a treatise on brewing. Most brewers use the soft water; yet some prefer the hard. Hard water in my judgment never obtains so good an extract from the malt ; many, however, think that the beer brewed from it is not so apt to fret, as that which is brewed with soft. I am, of opinion, that a good fermentation, and subsequently good stor- ing, will at all times prevent fretting in the beer. I should therefore recommend soft water. THE BREWERY. 27 That which runs over chalk or limestone, and which is free from sulphate of lime, (gypsum) is best. Where the water is hard, I would re- commend throwing a little vegetable alkali (subcarbonate of potash) into the liquor in the cop- per before mashing. In adding this salt, take care that the water does not turn turmeric paper red; should it do so, the salt is then added in excess, and will do harm. I do not attribute the flavour of either the Burton or Scotch ale to any thing in the water. CONSTRUCTION OF THE BREW-HOUSE. In building a brew-house, care should be taken to keep the boiling and mashing depart- ments as separate as possible, from the cooling and fermenting departments. This arrange- ment will prevent the steam from retarding the cooling of the worts, and also from coming into collision with your fermentations, which has often a very injurious effect. T always consider that where there are not two coppers, it is advantageous to have the one rather too large than too small, as it gives much more facility to the operations of mashing and boiling; a copper back is also indispensable where there is but one copper. This back should be so constructed, that you may either throw 28 THE BREWERY. the worts into it, or directly into the boiler at pleasure. It should also have a communication with the mash tun, so as to conduct the liquor or raw wort, directly from it to the mash tun. I would next recommend that both the mash tun and underback, should be above ground, and placed on wooden frames, or in other words as much insulated as possible, to prevent the action of electricity. I have not the least doubt, that, in summer, foxing or tainting of the taps often happens between the mash tun and copper from the action of electricity; and when this happens, although it is possible, in some measure, to cure it, the beer will never be so good, as when the worts are originally sound. It is of importance that the worts should at all times be for as short a period as possible exposed to the action of atmo- spheric air. The coolers therefore should be spacious, and each should run into the other. Fans are very useful not only for driving off the steam, but for keeping the worts in constant motion, by which the risk of getting tainted is considerably less than when they are allowed to remain quiescent. A proper refrigerator for the worts is also almost indispensable in summer; to have these refrigerators, however, properly constructed, is a point of considerable impor- tance. THE BREWERY. 29 After my remarks on the effects of electricity, I need hardly say how I would recommend the gyle tuns to be placed; most certainly as much insulated as ‘possible ; in no way con- nected either with the earth or the walls, but if placed upon baked wood the more desirable. You should also possess the power of shutting them up close, or giving them a little air at pleasure. I once saw a gyle tun placed di- rectly below an iron jack back. A few minutes after the boiling worts were turned into the jack back, the head on the top of the beer, in this gyle tun, which was previously looking vigorous and healthy, fell down and did not rise again. I am afraid that there is too much of iron, and other metals, in some of the larger es- tablishments. Of that, however, the parties concerned must be the best judges. I at- tribute the failure in the process, at the new brew-house in Scotland, mentioned in the in