The Art of Brewing - 2nd ed

The Art of Brewing - 2nd ed

THE ART OF BREWING. seeesesosorere BY DAVID BOOTH, AUTHOR OF THE FIRST AND SECOND PARTS, WHICH WERE PUBLISHED UNDER THE SUPERINTENDENCE OF THE SOCIETY FOR THE DIFFUSION OF USEFUL KNOWLEDGE. ae ee et TO WHICH I8 ADDED AN APPENDIX, CONCERNING BURTON ALE. SECOND EDITION. LONDON: F. J. MASON, 444, WEST STRAND. 1834 Soe Y 70%, C24. 1S HARVARD COLIFGE LIBRARY FROM THE HEIRS OF GEORGE C. DEMPSEY LONDON: PRINTED BY RICHARD WATTS, Crown Court, Temple Bar. THE ART OF BREWING. Cuaprter I. Introductory. Tue artificial formation of exhilarating and intoxicating liquors has been prac- tised in most ages and nations. Wine, which is prepared from the juice of the grape, is mentioned in the earliest re- cords of history, The Tartar tribes, from time immemorial, manufactured their kumis from the milk of the mare and of the cow: the chiaca of the East Indies is the produce of rice: the Mexi- cans, before the arrival of the Spaniards, had different kinds of cheering liquors ; from the metl, or magnai, a species of aloe (Agave Mexicana) ; from certain palms and from maize: and the Ger- mans, in the time of Tacitus, brewed zythum and curmi from barley, in the manner in which we make our ALE and BEER. All these preparations, and numerous others which we have not named, have certain properties in common. They constitute a genus, under the denomina- tion of Vinous Liquors, because that of the vine is pre-eminent. They all ac- quire their inebriating quality from a similar fermentation; and all give out fluids by distillation, in which that qua- lity is concentrated in a far less bulk. These latter fluids are called, generally, Spirits, or Spirituous Liquors; and have the specific names, Brandy, Artht, Arrack, Whisky, &c. each differing from the others in flavour, according to the material from which it is drawn. They are all, however, convertible, by subse- quent distillation, into the same sort of liquid, which is termed Spirit of Wine, or Alcohol, There are thus three stages or three processes: the fermentation which produces wine, beer, &c.; the distillation of these fermented liquors, producing spirits ; and the distillation of spirit, producing alcohol. : Although we were able, it is not our present business to describe the various rocesses by which vinous liquors may e prepared from different substances. What we here undertake is to treat of the Vinification of Barley; and, when we shall have, occasionally, to speak. of the fermentation of other vegetables, it will be solely for the purpose of eluci- dation. The comparison of Ale with Wine will be frequent; but for the particular processes, by which the lat- ter and its numerous imitations are pro- duced and preserved, we must refer to the TREATISE ON WINE-MAKING. Though Brewing is certainly a che- mical art, it has hitherto derived little, if any, advantage from the science of © chemistry. In fact, nothing is to be ex~ pected from that quarter. Of all mate- rial substances, vegetables are the most difficult to analyze. Their tmmediate materials (as the results are termed) are often produced, rather than found, in the laboratory. The acids are con- nected by an invisible chain. The Jfecula, or starch, becomes gum, or su- ar, by almost imperceptible processes. he seeds of plants are endowed with a vegetable life, which is absolutely ne- cessary to vinous fermentation. A vivi- fying power shall exist when the grain is cut to atoms, which an unlucky twist of the mill might have utterly destroyed. Our chemists are men of the closet; and the manufacturer who operates on three hundred quarters of grain at a time can hope for little information from gene- ral theories, although upheld by the analyses of twenty barleycorns and their infusions in a quart bottle. While the art of Brewing has been so little indebted to the progress of chemi- cal knowledge, it has been considerably retarded by a power to which it had a right to look for assistance,—the Legis- lature of the. country. The public Brewer, from whom only the art could receive improvement, is completely fet- tered by the laws of excise. The French Vigneron may flavour his wines at plea- sure; and, by means of extraneous sub- stances, may prevent or cure their dege- nerations; but malt, hops, water, and isinglass are the only materials of the British Brewer. Under whatever cir- cumstances, everything else is inexora- bly prohibited. ‘There is no distinction between useful and poisonous ingre- dients: all are stigmatized as illegal; and the penalty is the same for a single eggshell as for a pound of opium. In addition to these absurd prohibi- tions, the public brewer hag to struggle under_a direct impost, amounting, in 2 most cases, to 50 per cent. on the first . cost of his materials, and from which the private brewer is wholly free. The duties upon ale and beer brewed for sale, which were first imposed in 1643, have been increased, from time to time, until they have reached their present enormous amount. We shall not stop to trace their progress, but we may remark that, at a certain period, in distinguishing between small beer and strong, all ale or beer, sold at or above ten shillings per barrel, was reckoned to be strong, and was, therefore, sub- jected to a higher duty. The cask which contained this strong beer was then first marked with an X, signifying ten; and hence the present quack-like denomina- tions of (double X), and XXX (tre- ble X), which appear, unnecessarily, on the casks and in the accounts of the strong-ale brewers. A curious change of circumstances has rendered this letter still an appropriate mark in the books of excise. Ten shillings has no longer any relation to the selling price, but it is now the duty per barrel. But it is not of the amount alone, but of the proportions in which the duty is levied, that the brewers, as well as their customers, have occasion to complain. Small beer is charged only at the rate of two shillings the barrel; and by small beer is understood all ale or beer that is sold to the customer at, or under, the price of twenty-four shillings. All that is sold above this price is accounted strong, and is liable to the ten shillings duty. The strength of the beer, which ought to be the criterion, is here out of the question ; for, if any gentleman were to go to his ale brewer, and say that he wanted an article better than small beer, for which he would pay eight or ten shillings more, the brewer could not furnish it, because, if he charged more than twenty-four shillings per barrel, he would have to pay the ten shillings duty, so that he could not give a better article for thirty-two shillings a barrel than for twenty-four. A cheap table ale is never- theless much in demand, and is often furnished at forty shillings, or less. The temptation to evade the strong ale duty is great, and, consequently, as appears from the numerous convictions, the mixing of strong beer with small beer is not uncommon. Were the duty, by some means, proportioned to the strength, this would seldom be done. But we should write a volume were we to detail all the frauds and inconveniences con- BREWING. ’ sequent upon the absurdities of the pre- sent brewery laws. In small works, unjess the brewer will consent to adopt the measures of those whose consciences are not too confined, he will seldom succeed in his business. It may be thought that we have dwelt too long on this subject, but we shall have frequent occasions to show that the laws of excise must undergo some change before the art of brewing can be much advanced, without involving the trade in total ruin. It is now preserved in consequence of the ignorance, or the indolence, of the servants in private families. The tax on public brewers is beyond all ordinary bounds. Were a penny a quartern loaf levied upon the akers, their ovens would soon be cold; and yet we consent to py twopence upon every pot of porter which we drink. In proof, the following is a statement of the expense at which any private gentle- man, who understands the manipula- tions, might brew porter of as good a quality as any that is usually sold in ondon :— Shillings. 1 Quarter of Malt, at 65s. perquar.= 65 3 Quarters of Barley, at 40s. per quar.—=120 32 Ibs. of Hops, at 112s. per cwt.== 32 Colouring, either from patent Malt 5 or burnt Sugar . . Cost of Materials . « 222 To this there is nothing to add but the labour which, to those who keep men-servants, costs nothing. The grains and yeast may be considered as an in- demnification fur the coals. If the rewing were properly man , it wou! produce fifteen barrels of real of the average London strength, at a price under fifteen shillings a barrel, or five JSarthings a pot. This calculation was made in 1827, and the value would, of course, vary with the alteration of prices, but the sketch here given is sufficient to prove that, under the present laws, were the art of brewing generally under- stood, the trade of a public brewer could exist only upon the earnings of the poor; for all who could muster a few pounds would brew for themselves. We have supposed raw grain, not so much on account of the saving of malt-duty as of its making a better beverage; but even were the porter made wholly of malt the saving would be enormous. Thus: Shillings, 4 Quarters of Malt, at 65s. per quar.=260 32 Ibs. of Hops, at 112s. percwt, 382. Colouring 7 «© e« « § BREWING. 3. These materials would produce fifteen barrels of good porter, at less than 20s. per barrel, which is little more than three- alfpence the pot. Cuapter II, Of Brewing Utensils: AttHoven the names and general use of the principal brewing utensils are al- most universally known, yet a few re- marks, upon their construction, may be of advantage to those who have not had experience in their erection. § 1.—Of Grinding Machines. Malt is prepared for the mash-tun in two different ways,—by crushing, or b grinding. Inthe former ease the malt is made to pass between two cylindric rollers, close enough to burst the skin and bruise the kernel. This answers the purpose very well with regard to good malt; but when we have occasion to make use of raw grain, or of grain that has not been sufficiently malted, there is a certain loss of materials which would be secured by grinding. The eause of this loss will appear afterwards, when we treat of the means of producing a saccharine extract. Grinding is best performed by mill- stones cut sharp for the purpose. Pri- vate families cannot generally afford the expense of mill-stones, which, be- sides, are not now erected, like the querns of our ancestors, so as to be turned by a man. In the neighbour- hood of corn-mills, the miller could do this duty; but his multure is seldom determinate. A steel-mill is the best succedaneum. It may be had of any size, and, consequently, at . various prices, from three to ten guineas; and, we believe, there is no law to prevent a machine of this kind from serving a whole neighbourhood, unless it may be in special cases of thirlage. By whatever machine the barley, or malt, is ground, it ought to be cut sharp and small; especially the former, which must on no account be powdered into dust, but cut into’ particles like sand or well-ground oatmeal ; and, for this pur- pose, if not already hard, it must be dried on a kiln. Those who use small quantities may purchase the barley in that state, but licensed brewers, be it remembered, must not use it at all. The malt needs not to be ground so fine. Neither should it be kept above a day or two in a ground state, because sorts of meal are apt to heat by rea- son of a fermentation that would ter- minate in putridity. We have known it clotted so hard that it required to be broken by a mallet ; and the flavour, in consequence, was spoiled. § 2.—Liquor and Wort Coppers, and Underback. Water, in the language of the brew- house, is termed Liquor; the cut (or bruised) malt, or grain, is Grist ; when put into the mash-tun it is called the Goods ; and the extract made from these goods, by infusion in hot liquor, is termed Wort. The liquor-copper, then, is a boiler chiefly used in heating water, for the purpose of infusing the goods in the mash-tun, or for sup- lying any part of the brewhouse where ot water is required; and the wort- co is that in which the worts are boiled, along with the hops, for the pur- pose of giving bitterness, flavour, and (as is generally believed) a preservative quality. In small works, and particu- larly in private families, one boiler is made to answer the double purpose of a liquor and a wort copper; but this is done always at some loss,.and fre- quently at the risk of destruction to the whole brewing. When the First MasH (or infusion) is ready to be drained, it must be drained ‘into a vessel called an UNDERBACK, because the copper is not ready to receive it; being employed in heating liquor for the second mash. The same happens in the third and fourth mashes, if there are so many; and the wort, thus remaining so long in the underback, gradually becomes tepid, generally contracts a disagreeable fla- vour, and often turns into that peculiar state of acidity which the brewers de- signate by the denomination of BLINKED. This last evil, however, (which admits of no remedy) is sometimes occasioned by improper heats in the mash-tun ; but there the accident is more easily guarded against, because it never oc- curs unless the heat of the mashing liquor has either been too low, or has been allowed to stand too long upon the goods. If the last runnings of the mash be free from any tincture of acidity, and if they can then be imme- diately carried to the copper and sub- mitted to heat, the mishap of blinking will always be prevented; and this, by the assistance of two coppers, can be readily accomplished. . The expense of two coppers in place 4 ; BREWING. of one may be urged as an objection ; but the expense of one, on the ordinary construction, is often as much as bot would be, if the coppersmith were pro- perly directed. Coppers are generally made of twice or thrice the weight that is necessary. The sides can scarcel be too thin, and the bottom, if it wi bear the weight of a man to stand while cleaning it, is of quite sufficient thick- ness. It should in all cases be well hammered and raised inwards, like the bottom of a wine-bottle ; which not only strengthens it, but allows the worts to drain with more rapidity from the hops. In family coppers, the bottom can be scoured without any great pressure or weight. ; Beside the saving in price, a thin- bottomed copper is much more easily heated, and less liable to wear, than a thick one. The inner surface of the bottom can never be hotter than the fluid which it contains: the outer sur- face is of course as hot as the flame which envelopes it. In a liquor copper, therefore, the inside can never exceed the heat of boiling water; and, if we could imagine a copper-bottom to be infinitely thin, the heat of the side next the fire would be absorbed, by passing through the copper as fast as it were generated. It is on this principle that water may be made to boil on a folded piece of writing-paper. On the other and, when the bottom of the boiler is thick, the outer surface is submitted to the heat of the fire some time before it communicates with the liquor within. The metal becomes oxidated, and comes off in scales, or, if the scales remain, they render it more impervious to the heat, so asin some cases to take double the time of a thin bottom, before the liquor can be brought to the requisite heat. The difference of wear is an obvious consequence. We have our- selves made use of a twenty barrel liquor copper, which (the discharge cock included) did not weigh three hun- dred pounds, and we found it quite sound at the end of fifteen years, with- out having needed the slightest repair during all that period. The London allowance for a copper of that size would be eight or nine hundred weight. With respect to the size of brewing- coppers, the liquor and wort coppers should be alike, and the contents of each must be regulated by the sort of beer to be brewed. If small beer alone, .with three mashes, the first mash would require from three to four barrels of hot liquor per quarter of malt, according to the quality; and, as it is always con- venient to have more liquor than is needed for the mash, so as to get the second mash. liquor ready in time, he who would brew small beer in this way, ought to have a copper which would contain five barrels of liquor for every quarter of malt that he intends to brew at atime. Were he to brew strong ale, with small beer in succession, or porter alone, a copper containing about three barrels for every quarter of the mash would be a sufficient size. We are aware that many public, as well as private brewers, contrive to manage with a single copper, by means of pan- covers and other clumsy shifts ; but our business is to teach the most convenient (which will always be found the most profitable) method of conducting the operation. § 3.—Of the Furnace. Although the construction of the fire- place and other building (setting) of the copper is usually entrusted to the brick- layer, yet a well-going furnace is of such importance to the brewer, that we cannot pass over it in silence. In most manu- factories, an ill-built fireplace is merely the cause of additional destruction of fuel, and unnecessary delay ; but, in the brewery, the consequence is often more serious. If, for example, the second mashing liquor cannot be raised to the proper heat within a few minutes of a given time, the whole brewing of the day is in imminent danger of being lost. We shall, therefore, describe our method of setting a copper, the utility of which we have experienced for many years, It has the double advantage of being cheap, and, at the same time, equally applicable to coppers of any size. ‘There are a few general remarks which apply to every plan of setting. The furnace-bars, or grating on whith the fuel is burnt, should bear a fixed propor- tion to the Jower surface of the copper on which the heat is expended; but in this respect the artists do not materially differ. The same, may be said of the height between the furnace-bars and the bottom of the vessel, which can scarcely be less than twelve, or more than eighteen, inches. The ash-pit should be as wide as the furnace-bars, and may descend as low as we please. Allowing the furnace-bars to be an inch anda half wide, and half an inch asunder, the sae BREWING. 5 air will be admitted, to supply the fire, through an area equal to one-fourth of the area of the fireplace. This air has to pass into the chimney, in an expanded form, accompanied with the smoke and vapour of the fuel, and in that state will occupy about double its former bulk. The chimney ought, therefore, to have a sectional area equal to half that of the fireplace ; and, if so, it will only be the want of height in the chimney that can prevent a proper draught. These things being premised, Let A BECD (fg. 1.) be a flat piece of masonry, or brickwork, level with the furnace bars GF, and raised from the floor to the height of the ash-pit, which is immediately below the bars, and where only the building is not solid. Draw the dotted circle G H I K, exactly equal in size to the bottom of the copper. Opposite to the middle of the furnace GF erect the prop I, and at H and K, two other props, raising all three to the height at which you mean to fix your boiler above that of the furnace-bars, Fig. 1. Place the rim of the bottom of the copper upon these props, which, as proper sup- ports, must be built of fire-brick or of fire-stone. Ifthe copper be very large, intermediate props may be built (always in the dotted circle), so as to support it for a time, were one of them to give way. Let the surrounding part of the build- ing a,a,a, &e. be carried upwards, higher than the bottom of the copper, by ten, twelve, fifteen, or any number of inches at pleasure, leaving a vacuity 6, 6, 6, &e. around the copper to the height thus fixed upon, when it is to be covered at top by means of bricks lean- ing from the wall a,a,a, &c., to the sides of the copper, the aperture not requiring a greater width at that height than the length of a brick: nor, indeed, in any place, need the aperture be more than from nine to twelve inches wide, unless the boiler be very large, in which case it may be covered by an arch, The prop 1, should be continued across this vacuity, and raised so as the flame, when ‘it has reached the roof of the aperture, shall just have sufficient room to pass easily over on both sides, into the chimney c,d,e,f, aS represented at Jig. 3, in which the prop I is marked on a section by the same letter I. By keeping the entry to the chignney at this @ BREWING. height, the whole exposed art of the than the opening by which it is allowed copper will be wrapped in flame; for it to enter the chimney. should always be kept in mind that the Fig. 2 is a vertical section on the flame will rise as high and no higher same scale, with the copper in its place. Fig. 2. tii Hh il i The lower part of this copper, being in the form of a truncated cone, allows the bottom (literally so called) to be smaller, and consequently lighter, than if the vessel had been cylindrical ; while the flame, mounting up the sides at a, a, gives the same heating power, as if the bottom had been of a diameter equal to the line 6c. After the circular vacuity is closed at @ and c, the building round the copper (until again closed at the top) should be kept three or four inches fig. from the sides, as represented at 77; and this thin ‘zone of air will prevent the escape of the radiant heat, more effec- tually than would be done by two feet of solid masonry. The sides of the furnace are sloped to keep the fuel upon the bars, as in the lines de and fg. This section is presumed to be made at the inner end of the furnace, where the ash-hole hk ends. The place of the fur- nace door (which is cut off in front) is rep esented by the dotted rectangle d, f, t, k. The lighter shade I, seen behind this rectangle, is the prop I mentioned at (fig. 1.) The other two props H and K, are here also shown by the same letters. Fig. 3 is another section of the copper and its building, through the line E F on the plan fig. 1. Fis a section of the furnace; I is a central section of the prop I so often mentioned; and K is the prop K of fig. 1., the other rop being supposed to be cut away. The dark shade a is part of the open space which surrounds the lower part of the copper; and 6 is a portion of the same open space, the rest being covered by the prop I, over which prop, and on both sides of it, the flame ascends to 6, entering the chimney cdefatc. The dark narrow spaces //, represent the same zone which was explained in ~ 2. It will be observed, that the discharge pipe, mn, has to pass through the flame; it must, consequently, be a sim- ple copper tube, riveted to the boiler, and joined to the cock, p, by a flange atn... This will, however, in a twenty-barrel copper, save a hundred weight, at least, of lead, which the coppersmiths usual] pour into a socket, when joining a coc to a boiler, and which is weighed to the urchaser as copper. To besure, were it not for this base metal, as well as the excessive weight of the whole, the cop- persmith would be obliged to charge more per Ib. for his labour. We do not mention these things as frauds, but as absurdities. It would be out of our way to dwell long upon the erection of furnaces, and, therefore, we have left many of the de- tails unnoticed. For, our, own part, we BREWING.’ Fig.3, | LT ||] SSS T | LIT} i a a — have generally found ash-pit doors and upper dampers more troublesome than useful—especially the latter—which are seldom so tight as to prevent a stream of cold air from entering the chimney, and thus disturbing the draught.. We must not, however, neglect to mention what we have found from experience to be a great improvement in furnace-doors. These are often extremely troublesome. By their warping when thin, and shaking the building when weighty, they are perpetual sources of vexation. The im- provement we allude to is cheap and simple, and by it we get immediate ac- cess to the furnace, without having to shove the coals through a passage two feet deep, which is made solely to keep the door steady on its hinges. The iron frame in front of the furnace is, in this case which we recommend, like that of . the ordinary door-way, except that it is quite flat, (without any projection for latch or hinge,) and has a horizontal late, about three inches broad, on a Revel with the bars, on which the sub- stitute for a door is to rest. This door is @ square, or rectangular fire-brick, (what is termed a Welsh tile,) about two inches thick, and of sufficient size to cover the opening of the fire-place, and an inch or two more on each side and at top, as far as the front-plate will allow. This tile is surrounded by a well- fitted hoop of iron, which, by means of a screw on one side, presses the other sides togetier so as to keep the tile firm. On the middle of the upper side of the hoop is a staple, by which it is attached to a light iron chain, and the tile is so balanced, that when suspended the sides hang perpendicular. The chain is then passed over a pulley, so as the tile may drop directly before the fire- place, upon the plate above mentioned ; when a weight exactly counterbalancing the tile is attached to the other end, so that this door may be raised, or lowered, at pleasure, witha very slight effort. By means of two or more pulleys, the coun- tervailing weight may, like a bell-pull, be sent to any corner of the brew- house.* Cuaprer III. Of Brewing Utensils (continued). § 1.—Of the Mash-Tun. Simpze as it still is, the mash-tun of former times was yet simpler than now. It was a tub with a hole in its centre, which was plugged by means of a round shaft of wood that stood perpendicularly through the goods. When the mas was to be drawn off, this shaft, which was called the Tap-tree, was loosened (but not altogether pulled out) from the hole, which, being conical, allowed the worts to descend in a small stream into the underback ; and the filtration was assisted by a wisp of straw that had previously been wound about the fap- * We are indebted for our knowledge of this useful contrivance to the late Mr. Parkes, (who hag de> - scribed it in bis “ Chemical Essays, Vol. II. 8 BREWING. tree, close to that part which acted as a lug to the tun. It is hence that the rewers still use the phrases of setting- tap in the sense of beginning to let off the worts from the goods; and tap- ding, or tap-spent, to announce that the goods ure draining, or drained. In- stead of this rude instrument, a false ttom, pierced with holes, is univer- sally used; and the liquor, which was formerly poured upon the top of the malt, is now, in most cases, carried down the inside of the mash-tun, by a trough, and made to enter between the two bottoms, whence, rising upwards through the holes of the false bottom, it forces its way among the goods, with which it is then intimately mixed by the mashing-machine, or with mashing- oars. ; The size of the mash-tun must be regulated by the quantity of malt and the quality of the beer for which it is to be employed. From this may be caleu- Jated the largest space that will require to be occupied by the goods and liquor of the mash; after which, five or six inches additional depth must be allowed, to leave room for the agitation when mashing. The liquor hetween the bot- toms is not effective, and should, there- fore, be as little as possible, consistent with the prevention of the risk of choking, with any deposite that might fall from the goods. An inch between the bottoms will be quite sufficient ; in small areas, less. The holes of the false bottom should be burnt rather than bored, lest the pores of the wood should collapse with the hot liquor, which might put the first brewing in danger. To prevent this risk, by making wider holes, would be still worse: the holes should be conical ; the lower part from a quar- ter to three-eighths of an inch diameter ; but at the upper surface they ought not to exceed an eighth ; the bottom should fit the sides of the mash-tun, and its parts should meet so as not to leave a chink. - We must advertise the private brewer, that, if he brew with a mixture of raw grain, it may sometimes happen that the goods in the first mash will sink to the lower part of the mash-tun and leave the wort floating above, with- out being able to filtrate through the condensed mass. To prepare for this contingency, the upper part of the trough that passes down the inner cir- cumference of the tun and leads to the space between the bottoms, should be pierced with holes in the same manner as the false bottom. These holes, when not needed, may be shut by an interior trough, or by boards ;. and, when there is occasion to let off the worts from the top of the mash, the interior trough, or boards, may be pushed downwards, and the supernatant worts will pass through the holes, down the trunk, and, commu- nicating with the space between the bot- toms, may be drawn off in the same manner as if they had filtrated through the goods. With the second mash, this process will seldom, if ever, be neces- sary. In these observations we have supposed the mash-tun trough to be a close tube, but some give it only three sides, trusting to the inner surface of the tun (to which it is applied) for the fourth. § 2.—Of Mashing Machines. Concerning mashing machines, we have very few observations to make. In large works they save much of human labour; but we should imagine that, until the mash extends to twenty quar- ters, they produce very little saving, un- Jess under peculiar circumstances ; such as the advantage of a waterfall, where the power costs nothing. In small works, and in private families, it is wholly out of the question. Oars are there the cheapest and the best mash- ing instruments. § 3.—Of the Hop-back. After the wort is sufficiently boiled, along with the hops, it has to be carried into the coolers. Ifan airy situation can be had for this purpose, below the level of the discharge-cock of the wort- copper, the wort may be run off into the cooling-backs, either by means of a pipe or an open shoot, and the hops se-’ parated by means of a drainer in a cor- ner of the first cooler, or back as it is termed by the excise; but when they cannot be cooled except at a higher elevation, the worts must be carried thither, either by hand, or by means ofa pump. This pump may be placed di- rectly info the copper; but, in that case, if the hops be in a great proportion, they will need to be inclosed in a net to prevent any accident from the choking of the valves. The ordinary way is to empty the copper into a hop-back, either round or square, on the upper part of which is fixed a drainer, (a perfcrated smaller vessel,) to keep back the hops. The pump is, placed (in the hop-back, BREWING. 9 and. from thence raises the wort to the: coolers. This wort-pump must differ from the common suction pump, if we expect immediate action. The lower valve must be placed at, or near, the bottom of the back ; for that of the pis- ton rod must be immersed in the fluid, as long as it gives out steam, before the action of the pump will be free. The valves, too, should be of metal, to resist the heat. § 4.—Of the Coolers. It is of importance that the worts when drawn from the copper should be cooled, as speedily as possible, to that degree which fits them for the ferment- ing tun. This is more especially ne- cessary in summer, and, therefore, the cooling back should be placed in that uarter where there is the best succes- sion of fresh air ; and the worts, if it can at all be prevented, ought never to lie above two inches deep in the coolers. This should regulate their size. The word Coolers is used in the plural, be- cause two of these are indispensable when we make two kinds of beer from the same brewing; and even in single Gyles, if we make a Return. The two latter terms will be afterwards ex- plained. One cooler ought to be placed so as torun into the other; and this, when we have occasion to speak of it, we shall call the first cooler,—the other the second. Sometimes three, or even four coolers are used, but these are more for conveniency than necessity. Various contrivances have been pro- posed, and some of them adopted, for expediting the cooling of worts. That which is most commonly practised is the fanning machine, which is placed immediately above the cooler; and by the rapid revolution of its horizontal boards, or arms, produces a whirlpool of air which assists the ascent and dis- persion of the steam. Whether or not this has any effect against the preser- vative quality of the beer, we are unable to determine. Reasoning a priort we should judge it to be unfavourable ; but we have no support from experience. The fanners are employed only in the summer season, when beer for keeping is never brewed. Another mode of cooling is {o pass the worts through cold water, by means of a worm, in the manner of the distil- lers; but in that case the water would need to be plentifully supplied. Be- sides, it must be taken immediately from the'spring, for that whjch is exposed for only a short time to the atmosphere, acquires its temperature, and gives no advantage over that of spreading the wort, in thin sheets, to the open air. Further—and we wish our observation to be applied to every attempt at im- provement in his art—the public brewer’ ought to be very wary of introducing into his work any manipulation that is new. We knew a brewer whose situa- tion was peculiarly adapted for the cool- ing method of which we speak. He practised it successfully for years, under the daily surveillance of the excise. An~ other superior officer at length came into the round. He found a clause, in an Act of Parliament, which made the process, in his view, ¢/egal, although not fraudulent. The brewer was pro- secuted in the Court of Exchequer. In- stead of compromising the fault, he fool- tshly let it go to trial. He was acquitted, after his ingenuity had received an eulo- gtum from the judges ;—but the Crown never pays é ses f The article Brewing, in the “Supple- ment to the Encyclopedia Britannica,” (which was written by Dr. Thomson), contains the following remarks on the subject of which we now treat :—“ When the brewer is obliged to make ale in warm summer weather, it is material to reduce the temperature as low as pos- sible. In such cases, great advantage would attend cooling the worts in coolers without any roof, or covering whatever, but quite open to the sky ; because, in clear nights, the wort might be cooled, in this way, eight or ten degrees lower than the temperature of the atmosphere. The reason is obvious. It is owing to the rays of heat which, in such a case, radiate from the wort, and are not re- turned again from the clear sky. Wort being a good radiator of heat, would be particularly benefited by this method of cooling.” ‘* A roof, perhaps, might be contrived, composed of very light mate- rials, which might be easily slid off, or which might turn upon a pivot.” ‘* We have little doubt that wort might easily be cooled down to the freezing point, if requisite, in our warmest summer wea- ther.” § 5.—Of the Fermenting Tuns. When the wort is considered as suffi- ciently cool, it is carried to the Ferment- ing Tuns, or the Fermenting Squares ; some brewers using circular and others rectangular vessels for that purpose. The circular are, in our opinion, de~ cidedly the best. "Having no cornerss 10 they are more easily kept clean; and, in low fermentations, in the winter months, they are less liable to be chilled. The fermenting tuns are commonly termed Gyle-tuns, or Working tuns. The size of the gyle-tun is regulated by the quantity of worts that have to be fermented within it at a time. It must, however, hold more than that quantity, to keep room for the head of yeast which rises during the progress. This head, if the vessel be cylindrical, is in proportion to the depth of the worts, without regard to the diameter of the tun. In certain modes of fermentation it may rise to a third, or even half of that depth. The number of tuns will depend on the more or less rapid suc- cession of the brewings, and the time that they are suffered to remain before cleansing. There are differing opinions with re- spect to using open or shut tuns, in the process of fermentation. Patents have been granted for particular applications of the latter mode, both in France and in this country, but of this we shall treat more appropriately when we have to investigate the nature and result of the operation in the gyle-tun. 6.—Of cleansing Casks, Stillions, and § 6 cleanse Pate , When the beer has received its as- signed portion of fermentation in the tun, it 1s cleansed, that is, drawn off into other vessels, These are usually barrels, or other casks of a similar shape, in which the fermentation is finished by causing the yeast to be discharged from the bung-holes into ¢ubs, or stillions, over which the barrels are placed. In order to keep up this purgation until all the yeast is wrought off, the casks are filled up, from time to time, with other beer. Some brewers take another mode, and finish the purgation in the tuns, by skimming off the yeast as it rises, after the fermentation has become languid. The comparative advantage of these modes will come again under our con- sideration. In porter- breweries, the beer, when it has ceased working, is usually turned into large close tuns termed Store-vats, in which it is mixed up with different brewings to suit the taste of the customers. Ale brewers, on the contrary, seldom rack their ale, but send it out in the casks where it re- ceived its final purgation. These prac- tices, however, are in neither case uni- versal. The reasons that determine these and other methods of cellarage, BREWING. in the minds of the several brewers, will afterwards appear. . § 7.—Of the Arrangement of the Plant. The general disposition of the fired utensils (or plant) of a brewery must vary so much with the situation and extent of the building, that we can only give a general outline of the objects to be kept in view: leaving it to be filled up by the judgment of the engineer, or the ability of the proprietor. If water cannot be had from a source sufficiently high, it should be raised toa liquor-back in quantity e¢ual at least to one day's consumption, and high enough to command the whole work, Pipes, from this liquor-back, should-be carried to every part of the brewery where they may be requisite. The liquor-copper should be the next in elevation, and from it, too, pipes should be carried. Imme- diately under, and as near as possible to the liquor-copper, we would place the mash-tun with a roomy stage, and, on the same floor, or a little higher, the inding machine—at least that part of it where the ground malt called grist is iven out, The mash tun should empty itself directly, by means of a pipe and cock, into the wort- ; this again into the hop-back ; and the hop-back, by means of a pipe or shoot, into the first cooler. The first cooler should run, if required, into the second, and both should communicate with a horizontal pipe running in front, and as low as the ottom of the gyle-tuns, (for these should be all on a level,) and communicating with each gyle-tun by stopcocks. From this horizontal pipe another should be carried to a contiguous cellar, below ground, which, by the assistance of screw-cocks and leather pipes, might cleanse any of the tuns into the casks, How much ofall