Historical Document · 1829
Theory and Practice of Brewing With Malted and Unmalted Corn
- brewing
Historical Document · 1829
THE THEORY AND PRACTICE or BREWING, FROM MALTED AND UNMALTED CORN, AND FROM POTATOS. BY JOHN HAM. “ILLUSTRATED WITH PLATES. Bondon : PRINTED FOR W. SIMPKIN AND R, MARSHALL, STATIONERS’ HALL COURT; AND ‘WILLIAM BROWNE, BRISTOL. 1829. “+ x DOG Lf , ov a ot te a oe, md r,1O HARV PD COLETCE LIGRARY FOO TED 2153 OF GORGE C, DENPSEY DIRECTIONS, &e. PRELIMINARY OBSERVATIONS. THAT the different beverages which are the subject of public and domestic manu- facture in this country may be greatly im- proved by the application of the discoveries which modern science has made, there cannot be a doubt ; but the excise laws are perpetually interfering to check this pro- gress ; they tie up the hands of the manu- facturer and paralyze his mind ; it is in vain for him to strike out improvements in the B 2 art he professes ; he dares not practise them because they are not provided for by the existing laws, and even if he cannot discover that any of these laws oppose them, he fears to subject himself to the heavy fines and penalties to which, whether innocent or guilty, he may be exposed. But as all manufacturers of fermentable liquors may still partially, and to a profit, avail themselves of the new views with which the Author hopes he has interspersed. his present work, and as private families are wholly at liberty to adopt them without restraint, to these, and to the agriculturists, does he at present. address himself, under the hope. that the more enlightened time will arrive when freedom of trade will be granted. to individuals as well as nations, and the public manufacturer be released from the narrow path to which he is now confined. © 3 The present Work is not therefore to he considered.as an additional Treatise to the many already extant on Brewing simply, or as giving directions for the process in the manner of a cookery-book, by a collection. of recipes unaccompanied by the reasons of the operations; but it is principally intended to show many modes of economizing in, and of improving that art, and to point out the theory of it in general ; in the course of which the Author hopes to give such hints on subjects connected with vinous liquors in general, as may lead others to apply the products of the vegetable king- dom to some new and useful purposes. He therefore ventures to say, that some part of the contents will be found interesting to all persons whomsoever—whether engaged in the cultivation of the soil or in working up its different products for the supply of the wants of life. The country gentleman and 4 farmer, as well as the resident of cities and towns, will, he trusts, have cause to ac- knowledge that he has collected information from it which he could not otherwise obtain. at so small a cost. eer a GENERAL DESCRIPTION ov THE PROCESS OF BREWING. This may be divided into four principal parts. 1. The Mashing; 2. Boiling; 3. Cooling; 4. Fermenting. 1.—Mashing. The mash-tubis generally a round wooden vessel, furnished with a moveable or false ‘bottom pierced with small holes, and fixed above the real bottom so as to leave the space of three quarters or an inch vacancy between each. The false bottom is gene- rally in three, or more parts, according to the size of the mash-tub, for the conveniency of more readily taking out and cleaning it after every brewing, and its use is to cause the liquor to drain off from the malt in all 6 parts at once, and to prevent the cock or tap from choaking ; this false bottom, when not of iron, is fastened to the real bottom by screws or wedges, to prevent its floating, and when the tub is thus prepared, a cer- tain quantity of hot water at the proper temperature is put into it in the first place: (although the large public brewers reverse this plan by adding the malt first, and then causing the water to run underneath, or between the two bottoms, and thence to ascend through the holes in the false bot- tom, by which they are completely cleared from all obstructions ; and as the malt floats on the top of the water it is the more easily mixed therewith.) Next, the ground malt is added, and gradually stirred about with a sort of oar until completely wetted, care being taken that all the clots or balls are ‘broken: in pieces, otherwise the malt'within ‘them would remain dry; and of course yield ‘nothing ‘to ‘the water. This stirring . pro- ‘cess is called the mashing, and is in general continued no longer than sifficient to cause all the ground malt to be completely wetted, by the /east quantity of water necessary for that purpose, so that the mash forms a thick ‘mass; a little ground malt (reserved for vr... 7 that purpose) is then strewed upon the sur- face of the mass, to confine the heat in some degree, and a cover is besides generally put: over the mash-tub.. The infusion is then allowed to rest for about three hours, reckoning from the commencement of the mashing. The wort (being the water now impregnated:‘with the soluble part of the malt) is then allowed ‘to drain slowly from the malt, through a cock or tap placed in the lowest part of the mash-tub, and gene- rally.underneath its real bottom, into a vessel or tub called the wnderback. When it. is nearly. dramed off (or even whilst draining) hot water should be continually sprinkled. over the surface of the malt in the mash-tub, until the wort at the cock begins ‘to exhibit some perceptible degree of weak- ness, which it will not do until a great por- tion of the wort which the malt retains is driven downwards, and out of the cock, by the superincumbent water thrown over the surface, which takes the place of the wort that would otherwise be absorbed and re- tained by the malt like a sponge: in this operation, care should be taken to sprinkle equally the whole surface of the malt inthe mash-tub, that the water may descend gra- dually through the entire mass, and by this plan (not often practised by the larger pub- lic breweries) the whole of the extract from the malt is concentrated into a smaller bulk of wort than by repeated mashings, which are by no means required with good malt, as that will generally yield the whole of its most valuable matter to the first mash, and the art of the brewer is then to separate it from the malt with the least possible quan- tity of water; but as there is no certainty that the water, thus poured or sprinkled over the surface of the malt, will penetrate the whole of the interstices, so as to drive the wort before it throughout all parts of the mass, a second mashing is necessary, where large quantities of malt are used, as soon as the wort at the cock is apparently weakened, (and the mode of ascertaining this by instruments will hereafter be ex- plained) principally for the purpose of lightening the malt, and opening those in- terstices which may have been closed by the weight of the water percolating through it. The wort drawn off from this second infusion makes, of course, a weaker liquor, and the malt will now be completely ex- hausted by a repetition of sprinkling over -.-! 9 the surface, until the wort from the cock underneath becomes little else than water. At the first mash, allowance must be made in the heat of the water for the cooling of the mixture, for the temperature of infusion must neither be too high nor too low, and the proper degree will be given in the par- ticular directions which will follow. The quantity of wort drawn‘ from the malt is regulated by the sort of ale or beer intended to be made; but for the stronger sorts of ale, care is taken that no part of the drain- ing from the mash, inferior in strength to the first running, be mixed therewith ; but by the method here recommended of sprink- ling over the surface of the malt with water, a quantity of wort not very much exceeding the bulk of the water used for the first mash, and of an average strength, nearly equal to that of the first running, can be drawn off. The quantity of the second wort (where a second mash is employed) also varies:according to the sort of beer in- tended to be made; but, as every advantage is obtained by the method here recom- mended of concentrating the extract of the malt into.its least possible space, by the operations in the mash-tub alone, any part B2 10 of the wort, if not sufficiently weak, can be made soat all times by an addition of water, and thus better beer-can- be made than by repeated mashings, as will appear from the reasons to be given in the.sequel. The malt, after being thus exhausted of its goodness, is called grains, consisting of the husks of the barley and a part of its gluten and vegetable principle, not soluble. These . infusions of warm water with malt are named, as already expressed, ‘‘ worts,” being transparent brown colored liquors, with a rich fullness in the mouth, and a smell well known ; they contain, of course, a part of the solid portion of the malt in solution, but are much sweeter than that portion, as it exists in the grain, occasioned by the action of the hot water on it, which appears to have the quality of increasing the sweetness of malt, and also of all sorts of unmalted corn, when infused at a proper temperature, and of then rendering the. ‘extract soluble in cold water. To measure’ the quantum of this sweetness, or rather fermentable matter, an instrument called a ‘** Saccharometer” is in general use among the public brewers, and ought to be so in private families: the use and construction | il of it will be explained as we proceed. The - saccharine matter may be reduced to a dry state by evaporation, and has been sold under the name of extract of malt, but it attracts moisture very greedily from the at- mosphere ; and if dissolved in a larger pro- portion, will commence fermentation of its own accord, and in warm weather will readily run into acidity. {t differs from. sugar in not being susceptible of crystalli- zation, and by containing starch, mucilage, and a proportion of gluten, the starch how- ever being considerably altered in its general qualities, and converted into the substance — known by the name of starch sugar. The proportion of the starch sugar is generally most abundant in the first runnings from the malt, for when two or three subsequent mashings are employed, the water dissolves, with this saccharine matter, a portion of mucilage and gluten, which causes the wort therefrom to turn acid much quicker than the first wort. The mode of brewing here recommended will avoid this additional ex- traction, and consequent tendency to acidity in the future beer; and although the total extract from the malt is rather lessened thereby, little is left behind but what is 12 likely to injure the keeping quality of the beer and to render it thinner and harsher to to the taste ; and if brewers were in general aware of this effect they would pause before they attempted to extract the uémost possible quantity of soluble matter from the malt. Still it is much to be regretted that the excise laws so interfere to fetter trade, for if brewers were permitted to use the first wort only for the manufacture of beer, and to employ the remaining part of the soluble matter from the malt, either for the purpose of making spirits or vinegar, an immediate improvement would generally take place in the quality of the beer throughout the whole country ; a combination of these different trades, and that of the starch-maker, in one (or a free interchange of their surplus products) divested of all vexatious excise regulations, further than what may be ne- cessary for the security of the revenue, would in many instances be greatly to > the benefit of the nation. 2.—Boiling. . When strong ales and table-beer are to be made, the first wort, or draining from 13 the mash-tub, is conveyed to the boiler alone, and unmixed with any part of the subsequent mash or drainings, where it is boiled with the hops, generally for one hour, and as violently as possible so that it does not run over the boiler. This boiling evaporates merely the watery part of the wort, and increases its density, or specific gravity, (or in common language, its strength) very considerably; but that is not generally the principal object of it, ex- cept for very strong ales, as it is employed to extract the quality of the hop. During the ebullition a great number of white flakes separate from the wort, and float about in it (the separation being partly occasioned by the oleaginous or astringent principle of the hop) and these flakes are either de- posited at the bottom of the coolers, or- amongst the hops when the wort is sepa- rated therefrom by straining, which is ge- nerally done by running the whole contents of the boiler into a vessel perforated with small holes in its bottom, called the hop- back, and as the wort drains off from the hops it is conveyed into the coolers. These hops, when. they have ceased to drain, are again put into the boiler with the whole of eee al lle 14 the remaining wort which has now been drawn off from the mash-tub, and boiled with it for a space of time longer or shorter according to the sort of beer intended to be made, when it is ready to be strained again, and to undergo the cooling process. ‘It must be observed, that the hops.after they have apparently drained dry, still retain.a considerable portion of the wort, which may be separated from them in the same manner as it is expelled from the malt— merely by sprinkling water over their sur- face, (which may now be employed cold :) the water drives the wort before it and takes its place amidst the interstices of the hops. The second boiling ‘increases in specific gravity (or strength) not only in the same manner as the first, by the evapo- ration, but also by the quantity of the rich wort retained, and conveyed into it by the hops from the first boiling, as the sprinkling of the hops above-mentioned is never to be employed until the brewing is concluded. The wort should not remain long separated from the malt before it is put into the boiler, as the heat, at which it drains from the mash, is such as to promote acidity very fast; and this tendency is immediately ' prevented by raising it to the boiling point, at which temperature all vegetable juices are safe from the acetous change. “When therefore the wort has to remain for some time in the underback, a few of the’ hops intended to be boiled with it should be mixed with the wort. "3.—Cooling. The wort after boiling, and while still hot,'is conveyed into large shallow vessels ‘called coolers, placed in some airy situ- ation to promote refrigeration as quickly as possible. In these coolers the wort should ‘be only two or three inches thick. A variety of inventions, to produce the effect rapidly, have been ‘published, and some adopted. 1. Coils of pipe immersed in a current of water, into which the wort en- ters boiling hot, and comes out at the opposite end sufficiently cold. This mode cannot be adopted but where there is an abundant supply of cold water; to eco- nomize which, (2.) coils of double pipe have been employed, the iéterior one containing the stream of hot wort and the evterior the current of cold water, and both rusning in -—_ eer ee TEE eee 16 opposite directions, by which simple arrange- ment, almost a complete exchange of tem- perature takes place in equal bulks, the wort assuming that of the water, and the latter taking away nearly the whdle of the original difference of heat in the wort, bulk for bulk. These plans are objectionable on account of the impossibility of cleaning | the pipes properly, and therefore, (3.) the common cooler has, in some instances, fans placed over it, which promotes -the process by the motion of the air on the. surface of the wort. 4. Another plan has been adopted by placing at the bottom of the cooler a bed of pipes in the form of a — gridiron, as Fig. 1. The cold water is ad- mitted at a and traverses the pipes in the direction of the arrows until it escapes at 56. Meantime the wort ripples over the pipes in the direction of the large arrow, in a thin stream, and meets with a succession of pipes each colder than the preceding, until it reaches that into which the cold water is first admitted, and by running slowly over it is at last reduced nearly to the same temperature. The whole bed of pipes is made to lift perpendicularly,. like the cover of a box,.on union joints fixed to See mage ee - avers . =x = ee EE ated Pe 17 the transverse pipes a 6 within the cooler, thereby allowing every part of their sur- face, and that of the bottom of the cooler, to be perfectly cleaned. This ingenious contrivanee, therefore, combines cleanliness and expedition with the same economy of water as is above stated. During the cool- ing process the wort still increases in specific gravity by evaporation, but the quantum of increase is in the inverse ratio of the rapidity of cooling; the diminution of quantity of the first wort, from the boiler to the cooler, is considerable, occasioned by the evaporation, the separation of the hops and of the wort which the hops re- , tain, which is added to the second boiling, -and contributes to increase the density of pbhat, and also its bulk, at the expense of “the first. 4.—Fermenting. The wort from the cooler is, by the pub- lic brewers, let down into a deep round or square vessel, called gyle-tun, in which it is mixed with yeast or barm, for the pur- pose of promoting the fermentation. This yeast is formed and thrown off by beer 18 during its fermentation, which is-an intes- tine motion,(generally accompanied by in- creased. temperature,) within the body of ‘the.fluid undergoing it, occasioned by the formation. and tendency to escape of a. gas, (the carbonic. acid,) which is ineessantly ascending towards: the: surface, and earry- ing with it.a portion of the liquid, where it forms. into-bubbles ; .and if this liquid,. like that of the juice of. the apple or grape, be not. sufficiently tenacious: to. retain , the, im- prisoned_ gas, these bubbles immediately burst.as they reach the:surface, and there- by produce a. constant, hissing noise ;. but the-fermentation of heer differs essentially from that.of cider and wine, in the following respect :—wort, - being .a -glutinous: fluid, holds this gas so obstinately, that as every successive portion arrives at the surface, it forms, with the wort, tenacious bladders or bubbles, which.are forced upwards by the constant accession of fresh supplies, until this frothy head becomes too. heavy to support itself above a certain height, or rather the fluid part of the top of it has a _ constant tendency to drain off and descend; and the head, therefore, ‘then breaks. and falls in the same proportion as fresh sup- 19 plies arrive from underneath, which, for a considerable time, ‘keeps it at the same height; ‘but at last the intestine motion decreases, the ‘temperature descends, the liqiior has now become: of less specific gravity, and acquired a: vinous taste. and spirituosity,.-which is solely produced by fermentation, as no spirit (alcohol) exists in--any fluid: that. has. not: undergone -this process. - The beer is now. drawn off from the .gyle-tun into casks; this is called cleansing :. in these casks the fermentation continues a few days, throwing off from the ‘surface of, the liquor a quantity.of yeast, and permitting’ another portion to subside ‘to the bottom, after which it becomes com- paratively transparent, and is fit for use from the age of one month to twelve, or more, according to the taste of the con- sumets, or the custom: of: the place. . As fermentation is a most delicate part of. the art of brewing, and of preparing ferment- éd liquors in general, we shall say more on the subject when we come to our particular directions for conducting. ‘the process, which, although apparently a spon- ‘taneous act of nature, still may be so re- galated and controlled by art, as to produce 20 the effects desired. The quantity of car- bonic acid gas thrown off by the fermenting process is so immense, that the malt alone, ‘used in this country, produces sufficient in one year to fill a pipe four feet and half in diameter surrounding the whole globe of the earth; this, with the decomposition of vegetables, and all the other sources of its production, would contaminate the whole atmosphere, were there not means appoint- ed by the Almighty Chemist to decompose it as fast as it is produced, among which the vegetable kingdom takes the most prominent part, as already explained, in the Treatises on Vegetable Chemistry ; but -the other modes employed by nature for its decomposition we are as yet unacquainted with. This gas, being much heavier than at- ‘mospheric air, occupies the upper part, or apparently empty space, of the gyle-tun, in which neither flame nor life will exist ‘fora moment. Candles are extinguished, and animals instantly killed, after being plunged therein; and it not only destroys life, but renders the heart and muscle of animals killed by it, insensible to the pow- erful action of the galvanic battery. This Diatzed ty GOORIe 21 fermentation, (which is the only process in nature entitled to that term, notwithstand- ing chemists have added two others, having no phenomena in common with it,) is called the vinous, and can proceed without any contact whatever with the atmosphere, provided that means be taken to allow of the escape of the carbonic acid gas, which generally flows over and falls down the side of the gyle-tun, from its great specific gravity ; this gas itself indeed forms a most complete cover to the liquid undergoing the: process, and cuts. off every communi- cation between it and the atmospheric air. . It has been supposed that the carbonic acid gas, in its escape, carries off with it much of the aroma and spirituosity of the liquor ; and the following plan, (Fig. 2,) for preventing this supposed loss, has been the subject of a patent both in this country and France. 7 section of the fermenting tun, C a cone surrounded by cold water in the vessel R. This cone of course com- municates with the fermenting tun, (which is made air tight,) and condenses what- ever vapour may ascend into it, which again, in the liquid state, descends into the tun by the pipe p; P is a pipe terminating — 22 about. six inches below the. surface.of the water in W, intending to carry off: the un- condensible carbonic acid. gas, which is; there.-supposed to deposit. whatever con- densible liquid it may still contain :-.44 the man-hole rendered air-tight by the circular channel of water cc. We have. certainly: found that, in a very violent fermentation, and towards the latter. part of the.process, when a considerable quantity of. alcohol. was formed, the carbonic: acid. gas did absorb and bring. over a fluid, which, on, being condensed by causing: the gas to pass through the worm of a small still, showed most decidedly the presence of a consider: able quantity of alcohol, in a much greater proportion than that contained in the fer- menting fluid, and of a very. pure flavor ; but no fermentation ought to be, permitted to proceed with such rapidity, and if con- ducted properly, the loss. of sprituous’ par- ticles by means of the escape of the gas,i is comparatively small ; however, we are not prepared to say that the above or any similar apparatus is totally useless, as it is a matter of calculation whether. the saving will be equivalent to the interest ofthe money expended in fitting it up; but there 23 is yet a more serious objection to its use in this: country, especially amongst the dis-- tillers, who, if any; are the persons most likely:to benefit by it. The fermentation of an extract from grain’ is so far different from. that.of the juices of fruits, as already mentioned, that it produces an intume-: scence and frothy head,. in many instances exceeding the bulk of the liquid submitted to the process; this plan, requiring air tight vessels, and at the same time of a greater capacity than are generally in use, (for it will readily be understood. that the head of froth must never be permitted to enter ‘the cap or cone,) the alterations re- quired would be great, for whenever it has at present a.tendency to overflow the fer- menting tun, a temporary receptacle is frequently made. for it until it subsides. Now: any pressure put on the gas, in its attempts to escape, as by the plan repre- sented, would not only have a tendency to impede the fermenting process, but would also contribute to elevate the frothy head still higher, ‘by preventing the bubbles from breaking and falling down towards the surface of the liquor so readily as at pre- sent. ‘ It is certainly very possible to avoid 24 this pressure, and to convey the whole of the carbonic acid gas, produced in a large distillery, through a worm pipe surrounded with cold water, and then employing this gas (after it has deposited as great a part : of the liquid it held in solution as possible,) for impregnating soda water, and a variety of other liquors therewith, instead of using a much inferior gas (as far as aroma is | concerned,) as at present, produced from carbonate of lime with sulphuric acid. A still more important use may however be made of it, by the property it possesses of preventing putrefaction. All animal sub- stances immersed in an atmosphere of carbonic acid gas are secure from taint, in the hottest weather; if therefore it be received into reservoirs, or gas holders, similar to those employed for carburetted hydrogen, (and the absorbing powers of the water being limited, is therefore no objection,) a stock of fluid anti-septic is at once laid in, sufficient to preserve meat and - fish sweet throughout the summer months :. but here again obstacles are interposed by the excise laws which no individual would — attempt removing. _ 25 Thermometer and Saccharometer. Both these instruments are, or ought to. be, used in brewing, as they form the brewer's rule and .compass; the former is well. known, and the latter is merely a hydrometer. adjusted in its scale, so.as to comprehend and indicate every possible variety. of strength in malt liquors. The saccharometer. in ge- neral use among brewers, merely denotes the difference of weight between a bar- rel of water (36 gallons old measure, or 36. 61 imperial gallons) and a barrel of wort; and it has been ignorantly pre- sumed by some, that this indication ex- pressed the real quantity of extractive matter contained therein, whereas nothing can be more erroneous, as the annexed table will show. As, however, relative specific gravity is all that is required to be known, the saccharometer thus con- structed will just as correctly indicate the proportionate strength of worts, as if formed on any other scale, and its indi- cations are readily made to express - the c 26 real quantity of solid fermentable matter. in ‘the wort, and also its specific gravity in the ordinary language, water being considered 1000, this is done in the table. Trials, with the solid extract of different kinds of malt and of corn, have been frequently made, to ascertain if the spe- cific gravity is a true measure of its re- lative quantity, and the result bes been, that the extract produced the same in- crease in the specific gravity of water when dissolved in it in the same pro- portion. The thermometer is a necessary appendage to the saccharometer, for as liquids vary in specific gravity according to temperature, and as the temperature of the wort, when the instrument is im- mersed in it, is not always the same, (and it would be very tedious to equalize it by heating or cooling the different par- cels to the same degree) a table or scale accompanies the instrument, which cor- rects the indications by difference of temperature within a certain range. By means of the saccharometer, the quality of the malt made or supplied can be easily detected, when the brewings are conducted under similar circumstances. TABLE I.—EourvaLents. Specific | Degrees |Solid Ex- Specific | Degrees |Solid Ex- Gravity, | per Com- |tractinibs, Gravity, | per Com- |tract ig lbs. Water | mon Sac-jAvoir. per! Water | mon Sac-|Avoir. per being 1000.) charomn. {[mpl.Gall. being1000.} charom. |Impl. Gall. 1000 -0 0 1043 | 15.77] 1.11 1 4 .03 44} 16.1|)1.14 2 74.06 45 | 16.5| 1.16 3 1.1 . 08 46 | 16.8 | 1.19 4 1.5} .10 47 | 17.2) 1.2t 5 1.8} .13 48 | 17.6 | 1.24 6] 2.2] .15 49 | 18.0] 1.27 7} 2.6} .18 |} 1050 | 18.3] 1.3 8; 2.9] .20 51 | 18.71 1.32 9} 3.3] .23 52 | 19.0; 1.34 1010 | 3.7 | .26 53 | 19.4 | 1.37 11 | 4.0} .28 541 19.811.4 12| 4.4 31 &5 | 20.1 | 1.42 13 | 4.8 33 56 | 20.5 | 1.45 14| 5.1 36 57 | 20.9 | 1.47 15; 5-5 -39 68 | 21.2/1.5 16] 5-9 4) 59 | 21.6 | 1.52 17 | 6-2] .44 1060 | 22.0 | 1.55 18 | 6.6 246 61 | 22.3 | 1.58 19 | 7-0 5 62 | 22.7 | 1.6 1020 | 7.3 52 .63 | 23-0) 1.63 21 7.7 -54 64 | 23.4 | 1.66 22}; 8.0 57 65 | 23.8 | 1.68 23 8.4 .59 66 | 24.1} 1.7 24; 8-8! .62 67 | 24:5 | 1.73 25 g-1 64 68 | 24.9 | 1.76 26 | 9-5 -67 69 | 25.3 | 1.78 27 | 9-9 7 1070 | 25.6 | 1.81 ° 28 | 10-2 072 71 | 26.1 | 1.84 29 | 10-6 075 72 | 26.4| 1.86 1030 | 11-0 077 73 | 26.7] 1.89 31 | 11-4 -8 74 | 27.0] 1-91 32 | 11-7 -83 75 | 27.4 | 1.94 33 | 12-1 |. .85 76 | 27.8 | 1.96 34 | 12-5 - 88 77 | 28-1] 2.0 35 | 12.8 9 78 | 28.5 | 2.02 36 | 13.2 93 79 | 28.8 | 2.04 37 | 13.6 -96 1080 | 29.2 | 2.06 38 | 13.9 -98 85 | 31:0 | 2.19 39 | 14.3 | 1.0 90 | 33.0 | 2.32 1040 | 14.6 | 1.03 95 | 34.8 | 2.45 41 | 15-0] 1.06 1100 | 36.6 | 2.6 15.4 | 1.08 : 42 TG ceeeeeeceresooers ng au Apausd ogpeds ony, I ® 8t ‘06 qyeowopun pur *g ofquy ut OCOT wuTedy 10g Jo Aytaes8 ogroads v ‘06 38 smoys Gory ‘09 98 30m w Jo Aytavsd oytoads otf 0g [[14 Fey ‘poureyroare st Ayraw8 ogroeds 043 usya 3eay JO ,09 38 eq 07 pavoddns ore som Te sy “ornyesaduta} IOJ WONIALIOD OY) BT “]] TIAV *uolyed petiodary ue ut 30¥Nxa pros yo punod-v-jyeq (OT-G) suTUOD puY ‘sattemarq UT osN UT JajoMIOIEyDI"s UOUTUIOD 94} Aq ‘saeiZep 10 *‘spunod 2 03 penbo et (eSen3ueg] uourmos ut possoidxe st 9t se GY 10) “GTOT Jo Ayravs3 optoads v ‘snyy, “plasyt surejdxoe youre "| A1"Vy, roflo glo sla sie eis pli rl] ses ef ef 1 € | osor Anuoniaw wan sung |e 9/6 Sto s{tg| zr] re plo plz e] ee] 0° ¢ | ozo1 cupadsom uy majomsoramo | T¢ g 14° 9] eo) 6° b 19°F] o HL 6° £1 9° E13 E16 & | O9OL e sig sla cle rlo pl] tris el re] toe] 3° 2%] oor ssopomomogy so waite BS | 90 | 086 | 096 | oF6 | o%6 | 006 | 088 | 098 | ors | ozs | OBHE szslerzlo ele rlo tte rto rye fst | 3 for | osor Lojresli sie rjs° Er@ tfo rts: fs |e fo | ozor gs slesloosla tlw tte rile: fze fe |e [o- | ogot Ssloesle ria tlerjatje: fz: je fe fo | osor erode ee | 008 | 84 | o9L | ofL | 0&4 | 004 | 089 | 099 | ob9 | 89 | 009 | Spode ‘AMNLVAAINAT— |] AIAVL ON THE © MATERIALS FOR BREWING. As we are desirous to go forward re- gularly with this subject, and to take it step by step, it will naturally commence with the different qualites of Water. We feel'a diffidence in being obliged, in some degree, to dissent from received opinions on the qualities of this menstruum, when applied to brewing. There are two methods of producing the higher qualities — of beer—the slow and the expeditious— the former in country situations principally, and the latter in the larger breweries of cities and towns, where the adoption of the plan of producing early ripeness, by hastening the fermentation, is become common, to the impoverishment of the —_ a ree Te eee oe 30 national beverage ; and the distinguishing marks of the superiority of the British brewery to all others, are now nearly lost. We would therefore wish, if possible, to see it brought back in some measure to its original excellence, not by increasing the quantum of materials used, but by making the most of them, in conducting the fermentation much slower than it is at present the custom to do. For this purpose, we most decidedly prefer hard spring water, and particularly that from wells dug in a chalk soil, where it can be obtained, for reasons which will be given under the head ‘ Fermentation.’ For, although before the introduction of the thermometer in brewing, the heats of the mashes were so injudiciously applied, that it was found soft water produced the great- est extract from the malt, yet from our present knowledge of the effects resulting from the variation of the heats, we can now oblige the hardest water to make an extract from the malt in equal quantity (if necessary) to that produced by rain or snow water, possessing besides the valu- able property of checking the fermentative ‘process. To those, therefore, who still ee TS ee on) a oer 31 wish to hasten that process, so as to an- ticipate age to the impoverishment of the liquor, we would by no means recommend the use of hard water; for if the ferment- ation is to be conducted with expedition, hard water will be found inimical to its progress: but in all other cases, where a fulness on the palate is sought to’be pre- served after keeping the beer a con- siderable length of time, we invariably approve of the hardest and most transparent water that can be procured. Mak. Malting is a process so hedged up, and confined by law into a particular path, that it may be safely said the maltster has no field left for the exercise of his skill, and therefore the act of parliament regu- lating the manufacturer may be referred to as almost the only guide: but it may be as well to say something on the theory of the process. During the vegetation of seeds, whilst the future stem is advancing through the body of the grain, the substance thereof, by some hidden process in nature, becomes saccharine, and more soluble; 32 intended doubtless for the nourishment of _the infant plant before it reaches the sur- face of the ground, which nourishment is afterwards supplied by the soil and atmos- phere. Malting, therefore, is nothing but a forced vegetation, and the excellence of its management depends on advancing the vegetation to the point at which the sac- charine matter becomes most abundant, and there stopping it. This point is ge- nerally considered to be attained when the _ aerospire, or future stem, has reached - nearly to one end of the grain, whilst the roots form a short bushy knot at the other. If the acrospire (Plumula) has not reached this point, the grain is not supposed to be perfectly malted ; and if it proceeds farther, and projects beyond the end, the saccha- rine principle is absorbed by it, and di- minished very rapidly. This incipient.ve- getation is produced, first, by putting the corn into acistern, and covering it with water, where it remains for a period fixed by law: the water is then drained off, and the wet corn (having imbibed a quantity of water, on the average amounting to 47 per cent. that is, every 100 pounds of ‘barley will weigh 147 pounds wet,) is then 33 thrown out of the cistern on the floor, and formed into a rectangular heap, about 16 or 18 inches deep, and called the couch, where it remains for some hours, until:a little heat is perceptible in the heap, when it is gradually spread thinner over the floor, and frequently turned, to prevent the vegetation proceeding with too great ra- - pidity. If this turning on the floor be~ neglected, the roots run out to a great length, impoverishing the malt, but un-- fortunately, with ignorant people, increas- ing the maltster’s profit, inasmuch as they tend to add to the measure of the malt by preventing the corns from touching each other in the bushel, when the roots are not well rubbed off by proper screening. Weight therefore becomes the only criterion, with well-made malt, to ascertain that a proper quantity is delivered, and nothing less than from 38 to 40 pounds ought to be con- sidered equivalent to the imperial bushel, which will generally be of that weight when thé malt is properly cleaned from its’ roots. When the vegetation has reached the proper period to be arrested in its progress, as explained above, the ‘corn is then thrown on a kiln: to be dried, c2 84 which is generally done by coke or coal that produces no smoke; and here the colour required is given to it—some beer requiring it very pale, and porter, on the contrary, quite brown . Some barleys will not continue their vegetation properly, throughout the whole process, without an additional wetting, which the law positively forbids until a period when it is almost useless, and therefore bad malts are frequently the consequence. Another cause of inferiority arises from malting barley grown on dis- similar soils, when it is impossible to keep the vegetative principle in simultaneous movement ; and the consequence is, that - a part of the corn is fully malted, when the remainder may be only ‘partially so. A good maltster is, therefore, particular in “not mixing together dissimilar samples of barley; and for this reason ship barley never makes good malt, being of course a mixture of a variety of sorts. Barley by being converted into malt, generally increases two or three per cent. in bulk, (when not well screened) and loses at an average about one-fifth of its weight, or twenty per cent. Part of this loss of 35 weight may however be ascribed to the kiln drying, and consists of water which . the barley would have lost had it been ex- posed to the same temperature. A very simple method will in general ascertain the quality of malt sufficiently correct. Put a small quantity into a tumbler glass containing pump water, and the number of corns which immediately (after a slight stirring) fall to the bottom, will show the proportionate inferiority of the sample: if they should all float, the malt must be excellent; but if even a few sink, the . sample should not be regarded as of bad quality, especially if they stand on one end at the bottom of the glass. This test however will not apply to the blown porter malts. - The wort drawn from the palest malt, it is well known, is more ready to ferment than that from the browner sorts; and malt may become what brewers term ‘*foxed,” either by careless stowing away in a damp situation, or by the dishonesty of the maltster in wetting it whilst throw- ing off from the kiln, in order to increase its measure, and make it appear plump and full: the smell, however, will soon 36 detect this injury. Wheat and rye make very superior malt, but few persons have ever given it a trial: those who once do it will always continue it in a proportion cor- responding to its relative value to barley. Oats is too inferior a seed to bear a duty of two shillings and sixpence per bushel ; and as every sort of corn, when malted, will pay the same amount of duty by mea- sure, the following is the relative quantity of extract afforded by the four species named; viz. Wheat, 36 ~ Rye, 32 Barley, 25 Oats, 17 Thus it will be seen that nine bushels of wheat, ten of rye, and nineteen of oats, are respectively equal to thirteen of barley, and will produce equal quantities of beer of the same strength: the calculation, therefore, of the advantage or disadvantage of malting either of these species of corn, can at any time be ascertained from the market price. From this description of the malting process, it may be seen, that it is in the power of any servant to make malt as 37 unproductive as he pleases, by wilful neg- lect or carelessness: it therefore appears rather surprising, that the inventive powers of the present age have not been applied to the improvement of this process, by the substitution of machinery, which is at all times free from obstinacy, idleness, or drunkenness; unless, indeed, the excise regulations have rendered it forbidden ground for the application of science. But it cannot be doubted that permission may be obtained to try any new plans (however ntuch the necessity of asking such permission is to be deplored); and therefore, as it has been already stated, that malting is no