Historical Document · 1860

The Complete Practical Brewer or, Plain Accurate , and Thorough Instructions in the Brewing of Ale, Beer, and Porter

Author: Byrn
Year: 1860
Type: Historical Document

brewing

267 COMPLETE PRACTICAL BREWER; PLAIN, ACCURATE, AND THOROUGH INSTRUCTIONS IN THE ART OF BREWING ALE, BEER, AND PORTER; INCLUDING THE PROCESS OF MAKING BAVARIAN BEER; ALSO, ALL THE SMALL BEERS, SUCH As ROOT: BEER, GINGER-POP, SARSAPARILLA-BEER, MEAD, SPRUCE- P BEER, ETC. ETC. ADAPTED TO THE USE OF PUBLIC BREWERS, AND PRIVATE FAMILIES, OR THOSE WHO MAY WISH TO BREW ON A SMALL SCALE. GHith Numerous Ellustrat(ons. By M. L. BYRN, M.D. GRADU (TE OF THE UNIVERSITY OF THE CITY OF NEW YORK; AUTHOR OF “DETECTION OF FRAUD AND PROTECTION OF HEALTH,” ETO. RTC. PHILADELPHIA: HENRY CAREY BAIRD, No, 406 WALNUT 8T. 1860. “K.GP Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1858, by HENRY CAREY BAIRD, in the Clerk’s Office of the District Court for the Eastern District of - Pennsylvania. STEREOTYPED BY L. JOHNSON & CO. PHILADELPHIA. COLLINS, PRINTER. . f “te dNeaerrig tus Copy ‘/ v6 pire Y [/ PREFACE. IN offering this work to the public, I do not lay claim to originality, or profess to be giving informa- tion that is in itself entirely new, aa a reason for preparing a book on the subject; but I claim that I have prepared a book which has long been called for, and which has never been obtained before— «A CoMPLETE Practical BREWER.” Much valu- able information on the subject of Brewing has been imparted in large books, sueh as Encyclopedias, Dictionaries, etc., and one or two large works exclu- sively on this subject have been written in Europe; but the great fault in all those is that they are too voluminous; and of course, being of such size, they were sold at a corresponding price, which, in 8 4 PREFACE. many instances, was objectionable. Besides the price, there was a still greater objection—too much matter had to be looked over to obtain the plain, simple processes of brewing; and those who were seeking information on the subject, would become fatigued and worn out before perusing such a large volume. And even when carefully studied, there was so much idle speculation intermingled with use- ful facts, that it was almost impossible to arrive at correct conclusions. In the present volume, every- thing that is practical and useful has been given, and all idle speculation dispensed with which could not benefit the brewer in his operations of making Beer, Porter, &c. The process of making all kinds of Small Beers, which has not been spoken of before in any scientific work on Brewing, is here given in detail, and must prove of great practical utility. Every thing has been so simplified that, with any ordinary ingenuity, almost every person may erect a brewery and put it in successful operation. The assistance of a mechanic will, of course, be very PREFACE. 5 beneficial, and one should always be employed when practicable. It is almost needless to say that every authority that is worthy of notice has been consulted in get- ting up this work, the enumeration of which, to the reader, would be useless, and they are therefore not given. M.L. B. New York, September 1st, 1852. 1s Digitized by Google CONTENTS. PAGE Gain Usep yor Brewine soseeere 9 MALTING 0.000. ssasccssaccscceccescccecsscsccceccsesceccscsesecsessesceeess 10 BREWING ? seeeee saaececee ceneee Pian, MacHINERY, AND UTENSILS OF A GREAT BREWSBRY.... PRACTICAL PROCESSES OF BREWING. .........c0cceececees coccenece Scorch SysTEM OF BREWING ALB.......ccccccce cscs cossccccecees 84 Boiling the Worts.... Cooling the Worts.. Fermentation ............cescesecsecescvees Cleansing. .......ccssssescscccsccceccceeeseccssces cccsssssscssevsees 115 Enauiisu System or Brewine ALE .......... 117 Mashing ...........000 120 Boiling the Worts.. 125 Cooling soeseeees 130 Formentation..........sscscscsccceacccescascenece cossscecssscessees 182 Cleansing.........ccccsrsere 186 Brewina or Porrer.. 188 Boiling..........0. sesees . socceesee 141 Cooling.......00 sccsssscsccsccsscsccecesececcssscssessosessesscoscveeee 148 Fermentation...... 148 Cleansing.. 144 ALE-BrREewina on A SMALL SCALE, SUITABLE FOR BREWERS IN THE INTERIOR OF THE STATES ........scecccsscesssesececeees 150 7 . SeRR eececece doevccce: oeee 8 CONTENTS. PAGE ALE MADE BY PRIVATE Famiuas, IN SOME PARTS OF ENGQ- LAND ...0ccsccescssecoscecccesce ces scccccece cossccscsccccaccossceressceces LOL ALE BREWED BY Famities oF DisTINcTION IN ENGLAND... 156 SMALL BEERS «0... ...cceeevesececcen never sessscesessesessovssesceceseee LOL Root Beer . eseeee coves 162 Ginger Pop...c...csccscecsescccscaccccccsesces seccsecvsecescesseee LOS Mead .......66 00 ssocseree 164 Spruce Beer..... coe 165 BREWING QF CIDER .......se0ce eee Gathering the Fruit............ccccsscssessece cocescsevee 166 Grinding the Fruit . . Pressing the ground Fruit..........000se00 Fermentation, Racking, and Cleansing.. Bottling the Liquor .......ccccccessssssonsee ee Cider Casks............000. BURTON ALB......cc0-cceessceees WINDSOR ALB .....c0c.csscesces BAVARIAN BEEB....s.ccceescscces sesscesee soccesscseccees soccessscscseee: LTL TABLE BEER, PROM BRAN AND SHOBTS.......sccsssccsssscesseee 178 GINGER WINE ......ccccccsccccsvesceccceccccecsccees sesssesescsecesens cee 175 SussTituTE roR Brewer’s YEAST eeeeee 175 CURRANT WINE ...cccscccceccsccscrccce sovcecses ceccecece sesseesessccsee LTO SMALL BEER FOR SHIPPING.......0-ssscccssececesscecsccccssccseseee L7G WrtsH ALX......... 177 READING ALE. ...0...00 csccccccacssesccce cesnecses soscseces ccessessecoesce LTS WigTeMBERG ALE. eoeceoaes 180 Hoox...... aveeee 181 Scurvy-Geass ALE.......000 Dorcester ALE seeeveeee soscsececeee 188 Borriina Beer. 186 FILTERING QPERATION .......ccceue 188 CuntrvatTion oF Hops. ecevcceseere 192 THE COMPLETE PRACTICAL BREWER. GRAIN USED FOR BREWING. - THE grain generally made use of in brewing, and which answers the purpose best, is barley. Besides this, many other grains are used for the purpose of making beer, in greater or less quantity. The common Indian corn is often used in this country for making beer, but not in any other that I know of. The process of converting it into malt is not that which has been stated by some British authors, and others, viz. “burying the grain under the ground ; and when germination has made suffi- cient progress, it is dug up and kiln-dried.” The process consists in putting a quantity of the grain into a large hogshead, or other suitable vessel, with perforations in the bottom for the water to escape, and keeping it moist- ened with warm water until germination has commenced ; it is then left for the germinating process to proceed far enough, when it is taken out and dried in the usual man- ner. Some persons may “ bury’ the grain in this country, as stated by some writers; but if so, I have never known - of it. But even if they did, it would not be al good a 10 THE COMPLETE PRACTICAL BREWER. method as the one I have spoken of, for the grain would necessarily partake of the earthy taste, and render it unfit for making a pleasant beverage. As regards other substances used in brewing, I will speak of them under another head. Barley is the seed of the Hordeum vulgare, a plant which has long been cultivated principally for the fabrication of beer. Of the Hordeum, there are two species cultivated, both in this country and Europe. One is the Hordeum vulgare, or barley in which the seeds are disposed in two rows on the spike ; the other is the Hordeum hexastichon, called frequently bigg. We observe in this species that the grains are dis- posed in two rows, as in the other; but three seeds — spring from the same point, so that the head of bigg appears to have the seeds disposed in six rows. The bigg is a much more hardy plant than barley, and ripens more rapidly. It is for this reason that it thrives better than barley in high and cold situations. The genuine barley is desirable when you wish to make the best beer. The grains of the bigg are not so large as those of barley. MALTING. Bag ey is usually converted into malt before employing it in the manufacture of ale; but it is not absolutely necessary, as has been proved by numerous experiments, made by different individuals, though it greatly facilitates the process. In making ale from unmalted barley, several precautions are necessary in order to succeed. For MALTING. 11 instance, the water let upon the ground barley in the mash-tun must be considerably below the boiling tem- perature, for barley meal is much more apt to set than inalt—that is, to form a stiff paste, from which no wort will separate. But the addition of a portion of the chaff of oats serves considerably to prevent this setting of the goods, and facilitates very much the separation of the wort. . Great care must be taken, likewise, to prevent the heat from escaping during the mashing; and the mashing should be continued longer than usual; for it is during the mashing that the starch of the barley is converted into saccharine matter. The change spoken of seems to be owing simply to the chemical combination of a portion of water with the starch of the barley; precisely as hap- pens when common starch is converted into sugar by boiling with very dilute sulphuric or any other acid. This -method of brewing unmalted barley answers ad- mirably for small beer. It is thought, by many, that the raw barley does not answer for making strong ale; and the beer made from it is said to have a peculiarly un- pleasant taste, though it keeps for years without running into acidity. Malting consists of the following processes :— Steeping, .couching, flooring, sweating, and hiln-drying. The steeping is performed in large cisterns, made of wood or stone, which being filled with clear water up to a certain height, a quantity of barley is shot into them and well stirred about with rakes. Grain that is good is heavy, and subsides; the lighter grains that float on the surface are damaged, and are to be skimmed off; for 12 THE COMPLETE PRACTICAL BREWER. they would damage the quality of the malt and the flavour of the beer made with it. Seldom do they amount to more than two per cent. Portions of barley are succes- sively emptied into the steep cistern, till the water stands only a few inches (about five) above its surface; when this is levelled very carefully, and every light seed is removed. Generally, the steep lasts from forty to sixty hours, varying, however, according to circumstances: new barley requires @ longer period than old, and bigg requiring much less time than barley. In the course of this steep, some carbonic acid is evolved from the grains and combines with the water, which, at the same time, takes on a yellowish tinge, and acquires a smell resembling straw, from the fact that it dissolves some of the extractive matter of the barley-husks. The grain imbibes about one-half of its weight of water, and increases in size about one-fifth. By losing this extract the husk becomes nearly one-seventieth lighter in weight, and paler in colour. The length of time that the grain continues in steep depends, in a slight measure, on the temperature of the air, and is not so long in summer as in winter. Usually, from forty to forty-eight hours will be found sufficient for sound, dry grain. The object of steeping is to expand the farina of the barley with humidity, and thus prepare the seed for germination, in the same way as the moisture of the earth prepares for the growth of the radicle and plumuie, in seed sown in it. The grain must not remain too long in the steep; it is injurious, because it prevents the germination at the proper time, and thus exhausts a MALTING. — 13 portion of the vegetative power: it causes, also, an ab- straction of saccharine matter by the water. Maceration is known to be complete when the grain can be easily transfixed with a needle, and is swollen to its full size. Here is what is thought to be a good test:—Should a barley-corn, when pressed between the finger and thumb, continue entire in its husk, it is not sufficiently steeped ; but if it sheds its flour upon the finger, it is ready. Should the substance exude in the form of a milky juice, the steep has been too long continued, and the barley is spoiled for germination. It sometimes happens, in warm weather, that the water becomes acid before the grain is thoroughly swelled. The way to avoid this accident, which is generally very evident to the smell and taste, is by drawing off the foul water through the tap at the bottom of the cistern, and re- placing it with fresh cold water. It is well to remove the water two or three times at one steep. Tt cannot be denied that carbonic acid is evolved during the steeping of grain. It is obvious from the most simple experiment. You have only to mix the steep-water with lime-water, and the whole becomes milky, and carbonate of lime is deposited. If the steep-water be agitated, it froths on the surface like ale. After the water is drawn off, and occasionally a fresh quantity passed through, to wash away any slimy matter, which is apt to generate in warm weather, the barley is laid on the couch-floor, of stone flags or movable wooden boards, as the case may be, in heaps from twelve to six- teen inches high, and left in that position for twenty-four hours. When you can take the barley between your 2 14 THE COMPLETE PRACTICAL BREWER. finger and thumb and squeeze it together, it has been long enough in the steep. Should a thermometer be plunged into the grain and observed from time to time, it will be found that the bar- ley continues for several hours without acquiring any per- ceptible increase of heat. The moisture on the surface of the corns during this period gradually exhales, or is absorbed, so that they do not perceptibly moisten the hand. At last, the thermometer begins to rise, and con- tinues to do so gradually till the temperature of the grain is nearly ten degrees higher than that of the surrounding atmosphere. It is about ninety-six hours after it has been thrown out of the steep that this happens. An agreeable odour is now exhaled, which has some resem- blance to that of apples. Should the hand be now thrust into the heap, it will be found that it feels warm, while, at the same time, it has become so moist as to wet the hand. This moisture, when it appears, is called sweating, by maltsters, and it constitutes a remarkable period in the process of malting. It is thought that a little alcohol is at this period exhaled by the grain. If the grains in the inside of the heap at the time of sweating be examined, it will be observed that the roots are beginning to make their appearance at the bottom of each seed. They at first have the appearance of a white prominence, which soon divides itself into three rootlets. The number of rootlets in bigg seldom exceeds three, but in barley it frequently amounts to five or six. Unless their growth is checked, these rootlets increase in length with great rapidity; and the principal attention of the MALTING. 15 maltster is directed to keeping them short till the grain be sufficiently malted. The very rapid growth of the roots, and the too high elevation of temperature, is prevented by spreading the grain thinner upon the floor, and carefully turning it over several times a day. The depth, at first, is about six- teen inches; but this depth is diminished a little at every turning, till at last it is reduced to three or four inches. The turnings are to be regulated by the temperature of the malt, but they are seldom fewer in number than two each day. The temperature of the grain is kept as nearly as possible at fifty-five degrees, in Scotland ; but in England, the temperature is about sixty-two degroes. In about twenty-four hours after the sprouting of the roots, the rudiment of the future stem begins to make its appearance. The name given to this substance is the acrospire. From the same extremity of the seed with the root this rises, and, advancing within the husk or skin, would at last (if the process were continued long enough) issue from the other extremity in the form of a green leaf; but the process of malting is stopped before the acrospire has made such progress. During the time that the grain is on the malt-floor, it has been ascertained that it absorbs oxygen gas and throws off carbonic acid gas; but to what amount these absorptions and emissions take place has not been ascer- tained: they are certainly small. The appearance of the kernel, or mealy part of the corn, undergoes a considerable change as the acrospire shoots along the grain. The glu- tinous and mucilaginous matter in a great measure disap- pears, the colour becomes whiter, and the texture of the 16 THE COMPLETE PRACTICAL BREWER. grain so loose that it crumbles to powder between the fin- gers. As soon as this is accomplished, which takes place when the acrospire has come nearly to the end of the seed, the process is stopped altogether. It was formerly the custom in many breweries, at this period to pile up the whole grain into a pretty thick heap, and allow it to remain for some time. The evo- lution of a very considerable heat is the consequence, while, at the same time, the malt becomes exceedingly sweet. This plan, though, is now laid aside, because it occasions a sensible diminution in the malt, without being of any essential service; for the very same change takes place afterward, while the malt is in the mash-tun, with- out any loss whatever. The length of time during which the grain continues on the malt-floor varies according to circumstances. It is converted into malt more speedily the higher the tempe- rature of the grain is kept. Generally, fourteen days may be specified as the period which intervenes from throwing the barley out of the steep till it is ready for the kiln ; though in some countries, Scotland for one, the time is not shorter than eighteen days, or even three weeks. Here, no doubt, is an advantage which one malting pos- sesses over another, as every thing which shortens the progress, without injuring the malt, must turn out to the advantage of the manufacturer. In very dry weather it is sometimes necessary to water the barley on the couch. Occasionally, the odour dis- engaged from the couch is offensive, resembling that of rotten apples. This is a bad prognostic, indicating either that the barley was of bad quality, or that the workmen, MALTING. 17 through careless shovelling, have crushed a number of the grains in turning them over. For this reason, when the weather causes too quick ger- mination, it is better to check it by spreading the heap out thinner than by turning it too frequently over. A moderate temperature of the air is best adapted to malting: therefore, it cannot be carried on well during the heat of summer or the extreme cold of winter. Malt- floors should be placed in substantial thick-walled build- ings, without access of the sun, so that a uniform tem- perature of 59° or 60° may prevail inside. Some recom- mend them to be sunk a little under the surface of the ground, if the situation is dry. To dry the malt upon the kiln is the last process in malting, which stops the germination, and enables the brewer to keep the malt for some time without injury. _ As soon as the malt has become perfectly dry to the hand upon the floor, it is taken to the kiln, and dried hard with artificial heat, to stop all further growth. The malt-kiln, which is described particularly hereafter, is a round or ‘square chamber, covered with perforated plates of cast- “iron, whose area is heated by a stove or furnace, so that not merely the plates on which the malt is laid are warmed, but the air which passes up through the stratum of malt itself has the effect of carrying off very rapidly the moisture from the grains. The layer of malt should be about three or four inches thick, and evenly spread, and its heat should be steadily kept at from 90° to 100° Fahrenheit, till the moisture be mostly exhaled from it. During this time the malt must be turned over frequent- ly, and latterly every three or four hours. : ae 18 THE COMPLETE PRACTICAL BREWER. When it is nearly dry, its temperature should be raised to from 145° to 165° F., and it must be kept at this heat till it has assumed the desired shade of colour, which is commonly a brownish-yellow, or a yellowish-brown. The fire is now allowed to die out, and the malt is left on the plates until it has become completely cool,—a result pro- moted by the stream of cool air which now rises up through the bars of the grate; or the thoroughly dry, browned malt may, by damping the fire, be taken hot from the plates, and cooled upon the floor of an adjoining ap- partment. The prepared malt must be kept in a dry loft, where it can be occasionally turned over until it is used. The period of kiln-drying should not be hurried. Many persons employ two days in this operation. According to colour and degree of drying, malt is dis- tributed into three sorts—pale, yellow, and brown. The first is produced when the highest heat to which it has been subjected is from 90° to 100° F.; the amber-yellow when it has suffered a heat of 122°; and the brown when it has been treated as above described. The black malt used by the porter brewer to colopr his beer has suffered a much higher heat, and is partially charred. The tem- perature of the kiln should, in all cases, be most gradual- ly raised, and most equably maintained: If the heat be too great at the beginning, the husk gets hard and dried, and hinders the evaporation of the water from the inte- ‘rior substance; and should the interior be dried by a stronger heat, the husk will probably split, and the farina become of a horny texture, very refractory in the mash- tun. . ' ~ In general, it is preferable to brown malt rather by a MALTING. 19 long-continued, moderate heat, than by a more violent heat of shorter duration, which is apt to carbonize a por- tion of the mucilaginous sugar, and to damage the article. In this way,the sweet is sometimes converted into bitter ; principle. ; Good malt is distinguished by the following characters: The grain is round and full, breaks freely between the teeth, and has a sweetish taste, an agreeable smell, and is full of a soft flour from end to end. It affords no unplea- sant flavour on being chewed : it is not hard, so that when - drawn along an oaken table across the fibres, it leaves a white streak, like chalk. It swims upon water, while un- malted barley sinks in it. Since the quality of the malt depends much on that of the barley, the same sort only should be used for one malting. New barley germinates quicker than old, which is more dried up: a couch of a mixture of. the two would be irregular, and difficult to regulate. Description of the Malt-kiln.—Figs. 1, 2, 3, 4 show the construction of a well-contrived malt-kiln. Fig. 1 is 20 THE COMPLETE PRACTIOAL BREWER. Fig. 2. the ground-plan ; fig. 2 is the vertical section; and figs. 3 and 4 a horizontal and vertical section in the line of the malt-plates. The same letters denote the same parts in each of the figures. A cast-iron cupola-shaped oven is supported in the middle upon a wall of brickwork four feet high; and beneath it are the grate and its ash-pit. ‘sis | 0 Yy al | SAE d BR jn A Y Z : san Z Z Ze WY Van y MALTING. _ 21 Fig. 4. The smoke passes off through two equidistant pipes into the chimney. The oven is surrounded with four pillars, on whose top a stone lintel is laid: @ is the grate, nine inches below the sole of the oven 5; c, c,c, c are the four nine-inch strong pillars of brickwork which bear the lintel m; d,d, d,d are strong nine-inch pillars, which support the girder and joists upon which perforated plates repose; e denotes a vaulted arch on each of the four sides of the oven; / is the space between the kiln and the side- arch, into which a workman may enter to inspect and clean the kiln; g, g, the walls on either side of the kiln, .upon which the arches rest; h, the space for the ashes to fall; %, the fire-door of the kiln; 7, 7, junction-pieces to connect the pipes 7, 7 with the kiln: the mode of attach- ing them is shown in fig. 3. These smoke-pipes lie about three feet under the iron plates, and at the same distance from the side-walls : they are supported upon iron props, which are made fast to the arches. In fig. 2, « shows their section ; ats, s, fig. 3, they enter the chimney, which 22 THE COMPLETE PRACTICAL BREWER. is provided with two register or damper plates, to regulate the draught through the pipes. These registers are repre- sented by ¢, ¢, fig. 4, which shows a perpendicular section of the chimney. , fig. 2, is the lintel, which causes the heated air to spread laterally instead of ascending in one mass in the middle, and prevents any combustible par- ticles from falling upon the iron cupola. n, n are the main girders of iron for the iron beams 0, 0, upon which the perforated plates p lie; g, fig. 2, is the vapour-pipe in the middle of the roof, which allows the steam of the drying malt to escape. The kiln may be heated either with coal or wood. The size of this kiln is about twenty feet square ; but it may be made proportionally either smaller or greater. The perforated floor should be large enough to receive the contents of one steep or couch. The perforated plate might be conveniently heated by steam-pipes, laid zigzag, or in parallel lines under it; or a wire-gauze web might be stretched upon such pipes. The wooden joists of a common floor would answer per- fectly to support this steam-range, and the heat of the pipes would cause an abundant circulation of air. For drying the pale malt of the ale brewer, this plan i is par- ticularly well adapted. The kiln-dried malt is sometimes ground between stones in a common corn-mill, like oatmeal; but it is more generally crushed between iron rollers, in England. The Crushing-mill—The cylinder malt-mill is con- structed as shown in figs. 5,6. 1 is the sloping trough, by which the malt is let down from its bin or floor to the hopper A of the mill, whence it is progressively shaken MALTING. 23 ah (\ Lis) Ka 3 a a: 4 F Fig. 5. Fig. 6. in between the rollers B,D. The rollers are of iron, truly cylindrical, and their ends rest in bearers of hard brass, fitted into the side-frames of iron. A screw E goes through the upright, and serves to force the bearer of the one roller toward that of the other, so as to bring them closer together when the crushing effect is to be increased. @ is the square end of the axis, by which one of the rollers may be turned either by the hand or by power: the other derives its rotatory motion from a pair of equal- toothed wheels a, which are fitted to the other end of the axes of the rollers. d@ is a catch which works into the teeth of a ratchet-wheel on the end of one of the rollers (not shown in this view.) The lever c strikes the trough 6 at the bottom of the hopper, and gives it the shaking motion for discharging the malt between the rollers, from the slide-sluice a. , e, fig. 5, are scraper- 24 THE COMPLETE PRAOTICAL BREWER. plates of sheet-iron, the edges of which press by a weight against the surfaces of the rollers, and keep them clean. Instead of the cylinders, some employ a crushing-mill of a conical, grooved form, like a coffee-mill upon a large scale. It is probable that more of the kernel would be dis- solved if the malt were ground finer than is customary to do. The reason for grinding it only coarsely, is to render it less apt to seé. But this object might be accomplished equally well by bruising the malt between rollers, which would reduce the starchy part to powder, without destroy- ing the Husk. This method, indeed,‘is practised by many brewers, but it should be followed by ald. BREWING. Tats consists of five successive processes, and they have been designated as follows:—MasHina, BorLina, Cootine, FERMENTING, CLEANSING. Suppose, for the sake of stating the comparative quan- tities, that the object is to employ, in a single brewing, fifty bushels of malt. The first thing to be done is to grind the malt in a mill; and the best kind of mill for the purpose is that in which the malt is made to pass between two iron rollers. A copper boiler must be provided, capable of boiling at least fifty bushels of malt; or its solid contents must, BREWING. 25 at the smallest, amount to 382 ale-gallons, which are 62} cubic feet. It is necessary to place this copper boiler over brickwork, upon a furnace, and there must be con- veniences for filling it with water, and for letting the water off, when sufficiently heated, into the mash-tun. The mash-tun is a wooden vessel, composed of staves, properly fixed by means of iron hoops, and commonly placed in the middle of the brew-house. There is a false bottom to it, fall of holes, at some little height above the true bottom. Its size varies, according to the extent of the brewing establishment; but a mash-tun capable of mashing fifty bushels of malt must be at least one-third larger than the bulk of malt, or it must be capable at least of containing seventy-five bushels. To brew twenty barrels of ale, the open boiler must be capable of holding thirty-five barrels of wort; or, in other words, the boiler should contain a quantity of water about two-thirds more than the quantity of finished ale required. When an upperback is used, or when a con- densing-pan is placed on the top, less room is required for * the wort; but it is always better for the brewer to have the boiler above the standard than under it. In mashing, there are two methods: one is by letting the water rise up through the malt from the false bottom of the mash-tun—the first mash at 170° heat; the se- cond at 190°. The other method is by first filling into the mash-tun the whole quantity of water for the first mash at 180° of heat, and running the malt into it from the hopper above, stirring, at the same time, either with oars or by the machine. The second mash at 190°. In both methods, the temperature of the water in the 8 26 THE COMPLETE PRACTICAL BREWER. first mash is lowered about 40°; but the mash afterward rises 20°, from the chemical action of the malt upon the water. You should regulate the quantity of water for the first mash by the required strength of the wort. It takes time for the flowing of the wort, according to the quantity in operation. If the mash-tun is large, the stop- cock is made large in proportion to the size of the mash- tun, making allowance for the velocity with which the worts escape by the pressure. It will require half an hour for the flowing of a brewing of thirty barrels; though when sparging is taken into account, it may take six hours to finish the mashing and flowing of the wort. When the water is mixed with the malt, the mixture is completely stirred and all the clots broken, either by workmen, who use for the purpose very narrow wooden shovels, or, when the capacity of the mash-tun is very great, as in the London breweries, by a machine which is driven by a steam-engine. Particular care must be taken to break all the clots, because the whole of the malt within them would otherwise escape the action of the water and be lost to the brewer. , So soon as the water and malt are sufficiently mixed, the mash-tun is covered, and left in this state about three hours. The time varies, though, according to circum- stances. : The specific gravity of water is less than malt-corn : still, the corn will swim on the surface of water. It is accounted for from the fact that there is lodged between the skin and the kernel a quantity of air, which it is not easy to drive away. Thus we see that brewers are in the habit of judging of the goodness of malt by throwing a cer- . BREWING. 27 tain quantity of it into the water, and reckoning the grains which fall to the bottom ; these indicate the proportion of unmalted grain which the malt contains. Of course, the more of them that exist in any given quantity of malt the worse the malt must be considered. But though malt, when we consider only single corns, is about one-sixth heavier than water, yet a bushel of malt does not weigh to much as one-third of a bushel of water. When the mash has continued for three hours, (longer ar shorter, according to circumstances,) a-stopeock, placed below the false bottom in the mash-tun, is opened, and the wort allowed to run out into a vessel prepared to receive it, and known by the name of underback. Also, at the same time, the cover is taken off the mash-tun, and quan- - tities of water of the temperature of 180° are occasionally sprinkled over it from the boiler, which had been again filled with water to be heated as soon as the water for mashing was drawn off. Specific directions cannot be given respecting the quantity of hot water added in this manner by sprinkling, because that must depend upon the views of the brewer. Should he wish to have ale of very great strength, he will of course add less water: if the ale is to be weak, he will add more. A good plan is te determine the strength of the liquor as it flows from the underback, by means of a saccharometer, or by taking its specific gravity. If the specific gravity (at 60°) sinks te 1.04 or 1.05, or if it contains only 864 or 464 lbs. per barrel of solid matter in solution, it would be useless or injurious to draw any more off for making strong ale. But an additional portion may still be drawn off and con- verted into small-beer. 28 THE COMPLETE PRACTICAL BREWER. Some fifty or sixty years ago, it was customary with some of the small-beer brewers in Edinburgh to make the small- beer of considerable.strength ; and after the exciseman had determined its quantity and the duty to be paid on it, they diluted it largely with water just when they were sending it out of the house. It was very easy to put this fraud in practice, because the small-beer is usually dis- posed of the moment it is mixed with the yeast, and before it has undergone any fermentation whatever. Fer- mentation goes on sufficiently in the small casks in which it is sent to the consumers. In many places it is. cus- tomary to bottle this small-beer, which makes it clear and very brisk, and consequently very agreeable to the palate. No general rule can be laid down either for the specific gravity or strength when it begins to flow from the mash. . Obviously, it will depend upon the goodness of the malt, and upon the quantity of mashing-water employed, when compared with the quantity of malt. When the wort first flows from the mash-tun, it is a transparent liquid, ofa fine amber colour, a peculiar smell, and a rich, lus- cious, sweet taste. Should it show cloudiness, as some- times happens, it is 8 proof that the water used for mash- ing was of too high a temperature. It requires at least six or eight hours for the flowing of the wort from the mash-tun. During its progress the colour diminishes, the smell becomes leas agreeable, and the taste less sweet. Finally the colour becomes nearly opa:, the smell becomes sour, and somewhat similar to the odour emitted by an infusion of meal and water left until it has become sour; still it produces no change on vegetable blue colours. BREWING. . 29 According to the experiments of Saussure, it would appear that starch-sugar is nothing else than a combination of starch and water. For this reason it is probable, that during the mashing, a combination takes place between the starch of the malt and the water, the result of which is the formation of starch-sugar. ‘The properties of this eugar agrees very much with the sugar of grapes. It -erystallizes in needles grouped together in the form of small sphericles like granulated honey. Its sweetening power does not come up to that of the common sugar, and, like sugar of grapes, it ferments without the: addition of yeast. Attempts have in vain been made to separate ‘the saccharine part of the residue of wort from the stareh. If alcohol is poured over it, no solution takes place ; but such ig the affinity of the residue of wort for water, that it deprives the alcohol of a portion of its water, just as carbonate of potash or muriate of lime dees, and a very viscid liquid, consisting of the residue of malt dissolved in a very small quantity of water, is formed at the bottom of the vessel. There is great difficulty experienced in evaporating wort without partly decomposing the extractive residue. The usual: plan is to put it upon very fiat dish, and to apply a heat not greater than 120°. There is very little saccharine matter contained in the wort that rans off last; but some starch and mucilagi- nous matter may still be detected in it. The beauty and flavour of the ale is increased if the wort only is taken that rune off first, and throw away the last drawn worts, or employ them only in the manufacture of small beer. Many brewers, though, differ in practice when drawing off ae 80 THE OOMPLETE PRAOTICAL BREWER. wort. Should the whole be intended for ale, the first mash is laid on at a much greater length, to obtain the greatest possible quantity of wort of a required strength. There is in the remaining mash, wort of the same strength as that drawn off. The second mash not only takes up the worts which saturate the goods, but the formation of saccharum still proceeds; and when this mash is run, supposing its weight 40 or 45 pounds per barrel, the sac- charum that remains in the mash is only that contained in the wort which is taken up by the malt left in the mash-tun. The water run into the mash, say ten barrels, added to that which saturates the malt, will make fifteen barrels, of the weight of 13 pounds of saccharum per barrel, allowing wort of the weight of 40 pounds to have been left in the second mash. Many. brewers, conse- quently, use the third mash for small-beer, as, were they to mix this weak third mash with the two first, they would lose more by boiling down to strength than its worth, besides damaging their ale. ‘ The weight of the saccharine extract of the first and se- cond mash of a brewing of ale will-be in proportion to the required price of production. The loss of the wort by evaporation on the coolers is so very great, that it is rendered an object of momentous consideration to devise some plan of cooling without so much loss. By running the wort through pipes of great length, immersed in water, distillers, who run their wort into coolers from the mash, have accomplished their object as completely as can be. This method of cooling, though, does not answer the brewer of ales, owing to the fecula BREWING. 81 remaining in solution and damaging the quality of the production, when such a plan is adopted. The coolers which answer the purpose better than any other are those made of iron-plate, and are certainly prefer- able to the ordinary wooden ones now in use. In the iron cooler, by lowering its temperature by running cold water over it, and mopping it clean and dry, wort, by being then spread to the depth of 14 or 2 inches suc- cessively, may be cooled down, even in summer-time, to as low a degree as brewers require. Boiling of the worts is the next process in brewing. The wort is pumped up from the underback into the copper boiler, where it is boiled till it has acquired the . degree of strength which is wanted by the brewer. There is a fiocky precipitate formed during the boiling of the wort, which, as far as hag been ascertained, ap- proaches nearly to the nature of gluten or vegetable albu- men, for these two substances differ very little from each other. When the wort is in the boiler, the requisite quantity of Aops is added to flavour the ale and render it capable of being kept for a considerable length of time without souring. ‘As .is well known, hops are the seed- pots of the Humulus lupulus, or hop-plant, which is cul- tivated in considerable quantities in the South of England, . and also in the United States. Th