Brewing and Distillation

Brewing and Distillation

BREWING AND DISTILLATION. BY PROPESSOR OF CHEMISTRY IN THE UNIVERSITY AY: - OF GLASQOW, h / - [~: ‘om be WITH a tle N‘, PRACTICAL INSTRUCTIONS ~“ FOR BREWING PORTER AND ALES ACCORDING TO THE ENGLISH AND SCOTTISH METHODS, BY WILLIAM STEWART. EDINBURGH : ADAM AND CHARLES BLACK, NORTH BRIDGE; LONGMAN, BROWN, GREEN, AND LONGMANS, LONDON. " MDCCCXLIX. EDINBURGH: PRINTED BY NEILL AND COMPANY, OLD FISHMARKET. PREFACE. THE following TREATISES by Professor Thom- son, contributed to the last Edition of the Encyclopedia Britannica, having been consi- dered by Brewers and Distillers as containing the most valuable information on the subjects of their manufactures, the Publishers have been persuaded to print them in a separate volume. They have likewise added to the scientific works of Dr Thomson, Instructions by a practical Brewer, on the methods of brewing Porter and Ales, both in the English and Scottish manner, which, they hope, will render the book a valuable acquisition, not only to the extensive manufacturer, but to those also who brew only for their own consumption. EDINBURGH, August 1, 1849. CONTENTS. TREATISE ON BREWING. CHAPTER I. History OF BREWING, . . . : . Pages 1-6 CHAPTER II. OF THE KINDS OF GRAIN USED BY BREWERS.—Species of bar- ley—Its specific gravity —Weight of the grain and husk— Bulk—Constituents of the kernel—Chemical analysis of bar- ley, and barley-meal, by Einboff—Table exbibiting the pro- perties of British barley and big, comparative of weight, mea- sure, and equality of size, . . . . . 7-14 CHAPTER IIE. OF MALTING.—Observations on malting, and brewing from malt and raw grain—Excise-duties on malt made from English and Scotch barley and big—Process oF MALTING—Steeping — Moisture imbibed—Increase in bulk of English and Scotch barley—carbonic acid evolved—Matter dissolved by the steep- water.—CoucHING—Time for throwing the barley from the cistern—Excise-gauge for charging the duties—Sweating— Appearance and temperature of the grain before being spread on the floors.—FLooninG—Sprouting of the roots—Regula- tion of their growth—Temperature— A crospire—Description of growth—State of the gratn—Time of remaining on the malt floor.—KiLN-DRYING—Description of the kiln—Temperature of the malt on the floor—Gradual increase of heat the great CONTENTS. secret of drying malt properly—Combrune’s experiments of drying malt at different temperatures proved erroneous— Methods of kiln-drying—Changes produced on barley by malt- ing—Loes of weight and increase of bulk of English and Scotch barley and big.—TaBLEs oF MALTING. 1. Big—Produce of malt from big of the first, second, and third qualities—Pro- duce of malt from English and Scotch barley of the first, second, and third qualities.—2. Process of malting English barley and Scotch barley and big—Description of the weight and measurement of given quantities of grain, from the steep- cistern until dried off the kiln-floor—Nature of the process of malting—Soluble part of mait—Experiments on English barley, and on Scotch barley and big, . : . 16-45 CHAPTER IV. OF Brewine.—Processes of brewing—Specific gravity of malt.— MasHING.—Temperature of the water and malt when mixed in the mash-tun—Formula for the calculation of the specific heat of the mixture after mashing.— W orTs.— Observations on obtaining the strongest saccharine extract—Heats of the Worts when they flow from the mash—Constituents of wort—specific gravity—Formation of glucosin or starch-sugar.— BOILING THE WoRT.—Examples of boiling the wort from given quan- tities of malt—Description of hops—Examples of their use in making Edinburgh Ale— Quantity of hops used with given quantities of malt.—CooLine THE WorT.— Description of the coolers—Cooling by evaporation—Table shewing the loss of wort by evaporation during the process of cooling—Temper- ature of the worts—Methods of reducing the temperature.— FERMENTATION.—Nature of yeast—Chemical analysis by Westrumb.—Remarks on the fermenting principle—None of the substances found in yeast by Westrumb contain it.—Table of quantities of yeast mixed with wort in the fermenting tun — Appearance of the fermentation of worts after being mixed CONTENTS. vii with yeast— Progress of the fermentation—Increase of temper- ature.—Tables of temperature during fermentation—Change of temperature—Brewings from raw grain during summer— Time which fermentation laste— Varies according to the season of the year.— THEORY OF FERMENTATION.—Chemical ana- lysis of suggr.—Experiments by Lavoisier and other distin- guished chemists—Examination of their analyses—Compara- tive view of the results.—Liebig’s statement of the decompo- sition of glucosin, or starch-sugar—Experiments by the Author on the decomposition of glucosin or starch-sugar, in nine dif- ferent brewings made from pure malt—Table of specific gra- vity of the wort before and after fermentation—Alcohol and carbonic acid evolved—Saccharine matter undetomposed— Alcohol lost during the distillation—Result of the experiments —Quick and slow process of fermenting wort—Degrees of heats used in the English and Scotch methods of brewing.— CLEANSING.—General description of cleansing.—Tables of brewing from different qualities of English and Scotch barley and big, . : . . . . 45-102 CHAPTER V. UF ALE AND BEER.—Of the distinction of ale and beer.— PORTER —Its origin—Malt employed annually in Britain.— Table L., Quantity of malt made and charged with duty in England and Wales, and in Scotland and Ireland, from the years 1833 to 1846.—II. Amount of duties on malt and hops charged in the United Kingdom from 1843 to 1846.—III. Number of licensed breweries in the United Kingdom, extent of licenses, and amount of duty thereon, in 1846—General re- marks on the strength and attenuation of Beer and Ale— Table of Attenuation—Description of Porter—Specific gra- vity of Porter wort—Explanation of the Plates, represent- ing the utensils of a London Porter brewery, with a descrip- tion of the operative process of brewing, . 102-132 Vili . CONTENTS. PRACTICAL METHODS OF BREWING ENGLISH AND SCOTTISH ALES. INTRODUCTION, . . . . - 136-156 CHAPTER I. OF THE PracTICAL METHODS OF BREWING.—Of the English and Scotch methods of brewing—Observations on the advantages of these modes of making Ales adapted to the tastes and cus- toms of the inhabitants of the respective countries—Prepara- tion of malt for mashing—Of hops, and method of preserving their qualities in stock —Of water to be selected for brewing —LRemarks on the investigations of the processes of malting and brewing by Dr Thomson of Glasgow.—1. Discovery of the saccharometer.—2. Of the drying of malt at a high tempera- ture, with preservation of its pale colour and germinating principle—3. Theory of fermentatioa—Rules, proportions of materials, and heats, used in the process of brewing malt liquors, . . . . . + 167-189 CHAPTER HI. OF THE ScorTisH SysTEM OF ALE-BREWING.—1l. MasHING— Description of the process—Temperature of the water and malt—Sparging, or sprinkling, to obtain the quantity of worts required—Description of the sparger—Practical inquiry into the comparative advantage of mashing by the English and Scottish methods.—2. Bo1LInc THE WortT—Process of boiling the worts investigated— Divided into four actions, by which the strength of the worts are regulated, and the quantity of the future production of Ales determined in the boiler.— 3. COOLING THE WoRT.—Strength of wort calculated when spread on the coolers—Loss by evaporation and escape of the saccharine extract—Condensation—Improved methods of cool- ing.—4. FERMENTATION—Temperature of the worts when set to ferment—Description of the procese—Charge of onset— CONTENTS. ix —Methods of conducting the process at Edinburgh and in the Alloa district—Dr Thomson’s experiments on brewers’ and distillers’ worte—Attenuation—Inquiry into the maximum quantity of malt used in brewing the highest-priced Ales— Description of Bell’s Beer, a celebrated Ale produced in Edin- burgh.—5. CLEANSING—Methods of cleansing adopted in Edin- burgh and in the Alloa district, . . 189-236 CHAPTER III. OF THE ENGLISH SYSTEM OF ALE-BREWING.—Superiority of the English system of brewing—General description of the me- thod of conducting the process—English malt liquor divided into classes—Practical details of the process of the common brewers in the manufacture of Ale-——1. MaLtT—MasHIne— Description of the mashing-machine, driven by hand—Divi- sion of the worts to brew Ale of different strengths.— Bo1L- ING THE WortT—Process of boiling to be regulated by the quantity of wort in the boiler—Hop extract—Aroma and first bitter principle—Directions for boiling the hope—Con- struction of boilers—Economical iron boiler, with leaden crib, described.—CooLina— Improved refrigeratory coolers Observations on economy in cooling the worts.—FERMEN- TATION—Equivalent fermentation—Heats used by the Eng- lish and Scottish brewers in the quick and slow methods of fermenting the worts, equivalent, in the production of Ales of the finest quality—Description of the Process of quick fermentation. CLEANSING— Process of cleansing—Improved methods of tuming, ee ee 286-276 CHAPTER IV. Or ProvincraL PoRTER-BREWING AND MAKING HOME-BREWED Ate—Superiority of London Porter—Porter-brewing in the x © CONTENTS. English shires, and in Scotland and frelend—Matt np Hops.— Masuine.—Bo1tinc—lIngrediente to be mixed with the worts in the boiler described—Directions for their preparation.— CooLINa. — FERMENTATION. —CLEANSING.— Storine. Home-BREWED ALE—Divided into three classes—1l. Families of distinction.—2. Families of the middle classes.—3. Cottagers. —Directions for conducting the processes of brewing success- fully—Instructions for hopping and preserving the Ale— Cellar management, and recovery of old Ale—With general instructions useful for making Home-brewed, 275-306 CHAPTER V. SuMMARY OF MaLTING aND BREWwING—Design of adding Obser- vations on the Practical Methods of Brewing, to Dr Thomson's Treatise, explained—Retrospective view of the state of the arts of malting, brewing, and distilling in England—Rapid inerease of the brewery business in London towards the end of last century—Decline of malting and brewing after the commencement of the war in 1803—State of the malt trade English and Hertfordshire methods of malting—Sprinkling the floors established by Act of Parliament—Importance to Britain of her establishments of maltings, breweries, and dis- tilleries—Amount of revenue derived from them annually— Population employed—Estimate of the aggregate amount of revenue from the first French revolutionary war—Im- policy of subjecting the fair trader to fiscal restraints, which injure or tend to diminish his manufacture, . 306-321 CONTENTS. xi TREATISE ON DISTILLATION. InTRoDUCTION—Of the manufacture of Ardent Spirits—No other substance can be converted into Ardent Spirits by fermenta- - tion than sugar—Different species of sugar—The names of the Ardent Spirits differ according to the material employed in their manufacture—The processes of the distiller essen- tially the same, . . . . 326-329 CHAPTER I. OF THE MANUFACTURE OF WHISKY.—Four processes employed : 1, MasHING.— Quantity of grain and malt used—Description of the process—Temperature of the water—Quantity of water used—Number of mashes—Strength of the worts—Specific gravity, and produce in alcohol—Remarks on Whisky made by smugglers—Experiments to ascertain the quantity of alco- hol in worts—-Number of mashes used by distillers.—2. CooL- InG—Methods of cooling the wort—Cooling by evaporation —By pipes immersed in a running stream of water—Tem- perature to which the worts are cooled down for fermenta- tion.—3. FERMENTATION—Description of the process—Yeast employed—Different portions mixed with the wort—Time the fermentation lasts—Temperature employed—Increase of heats —Table of temperature in seventy-six brewings—Decrease of specific gravity as the fermentation proceeds—Alcohol stops the process of fermentation—General observations on the pro- cess of fermentation.—4, DisTILLINe—Dimensions of étills— Stills used in Scotland when the license-duty was charged— Construction of the still now in use—Conducting the process— Strength of the weak spirits, or low wines—Description of the process continued—Selection of grain by distillers, 329-366 CONTENTS. CHAPTER II. OF THE MODE OF MANUFACTURING OTHER KINDS oF SPIRITS— 1, Dutch Geneva, known as Gin in Scotland, and in England by the name of Hollands or Geneva—Method of distillation —Comparison of Lowland Whisky and Dutch Hollands— Strength of worts from which these are distilled—Hollands cannot be manufactured in Britain with any probability of success—Failure of several trials—2. Rum—Manufactured from the refuse of the boiled juice of the sugar-cane, mo- lasses, &c.—Short description of the process of its manufacture —Flavour of Rum owing to the peculiar oil contained in the sugar-cane, : : : . +. 866-372 CHAPTER III. OF THE NATURE OF THE VINOUS FERMENTATION.—Analysis of sugar by eminent chemists.— Table of the composition of 100 parts of sugar by Gay-Lussac, Berzelius, and Prout.—Exa- mination of their Analyses—By fermentation sugar is de- composed and converted into alcohol and carbonic acid— Farther investigation of the analysis—Proportions brought out approach very nearly the results obtained by Lavoisier and Thénard.—-Analysis of starch-sugar or glucosin, in refer- ence to the Treatise on Brewing.— Table of spirits made in the United Kingdom, and charged with duties of excise in 1844, 1845, 1846, . . : . 372-378 A TREATISE ON BREWING. WEshall commence this treatise with a short view of the history of the art; in the second chapter, we shall give an account of the different kinds of grain em- ployed ; in the third, we shall treat of the process of malting ; in the fourth, of that of brewing ; and in the fifth, we shall give an account of the nature and pro- perties of the different kinds of ale and beer manu- factured by the brewer. The Explanation of the Plates will contain a description of the utensils and machinery used in a London porter brewery. CHAPTER I. HISTORY OF BREWING. No notice is taken of beer or ale in the Books of Moses; from which it is probable that they were un- known till after the death of that legislator. All the ancient Greek writers agree in assigning the honour of the discovery of beer to the Egyptians, whose A 2 A TREATISE ON BREWING. country, being annually inundated by the Nile, was not adapted to the cultivation of vines. Herodotus, who wrote about 450 years before the commencement of the Christian era, informs us that the Egyptians made their wine from barley, because they had no Vines. Omyp 0° sx xgibsow xereinusrw Ora psovras ou yap opi sor v rn wen uurchor. Herodoti, lib. ii.,c. 78. Pliny says that this liquid in Agypt was called zythum (Plinii Hist. Nat., lib. xxii., c. 25). The same name was given to it by the inhabitants of Galatia, who, according to Diodorus Siculus, were unable to culti- vate grapes on account of the coldness of their cli- mate. Beer was distinguished among the Greeks by a variety ofnames. It was called osov xgidwov (barley wine) from. its vinous properties, and from the ma- terial employed in its formation. In Sophocles, and probably other Greek writers, it is distinguished by the name of Bgure. Dioscorides describes two kinds of beer, to one of which he gives the name of Zubo, and to the other xougus; but he gives us no descrip- tion of either sufficient to enable us to distinguish them from each other. (Dioscorides, lib. ii., ¢. 79 and 80.) Both, he informs us, were made from bar- ley ; and similar liquids were manufactured in Spain and Britain from wheat. Tacitus informs us, that, in his time, beer was the common drink of the Germans; and from his imperfect description of the process which they fol- lowed, it is not unlikely, or rather there can be no doubt, that they were acquainted with the method HISTORY OF BREWING. . 3 of converting barley into malt. “ Potui humor ex hordeo aut frumento in quandam similitudinem vini corruptus.” (De Moribus German. c. 23.) Pliny gives us some details respecting beer, though they are by no means satisfactory. He distinguishes it by the name of cerevisia or cervisia, the appellation by which it is always known in modern Latin books. This liquid does not seem to have come into gene- ral use in Greece or Italy; but in Germany and Britain, and some other countries, it appears to have been the common drink of the inhabitants, at least as early as the time of Tacitus, and probably long before. It has continued in these countries ever since, and great quantities of beer are still manufac- tured in Germany, in the Low Countries, and in The first treatise published on the subject, as far as we know, was by Basil Valentine. This treatise, according to Boerhaave, is both accurate and ele- gant. In the year 1585, Thaddeus Hagecius ab Hayck, a Bohemian writer, published a treatise en- titled De Cervisia ejusque consiciendi ratione, natura, viribus et facultatibus. This little treatise, consist- ing only of fifty pages, is written with great simpli- city and perspicuity, and gives as accurate a de- scription of the whole process of brewing as any treatise on the subject which we have seen. In the early part of the eighteenth century, Mr Combrune, who, we believe, was a practical London brewer, pub- lished a book, entitled The Theory and Practice of 4 A TREATISE ON BREWING. Brewing. This book has gone through many edi- tions, and, we believe, is still reckoned the standard book on the subject. But the attempts' made in it to give a rational theory of brewing are far from being satisfactory. Nor can any stress be laid upon the experiments which it contains on the colour of malt, according to the temperature at which it is dried. The fact is, that malt may be rendered brown, or even black, by exposure to a very low heat ; while it may be exposed to a very considerable tempera- ture without losing its colour. The writer of this treatise has seen malt exposed on the kiln to a heat of 175° F. without losing its colour, or without being de- prived of the power of vegetating when put into the ground ; and he has reason to believe that these pro- perties would have remained unaltered had the tem- perature been raised still higher. It is not the de- gree of heat applied, but the rapidity with which it is raised, that darkens the colour of malt. If the heat at first does not exceed 100°, and if, after the malt is dried as much as it can be at that temperature, the heat be raised to 120°, kept some time at that temperature, and then raised gradually higher, and if we continue to proceed in this manner, the tempe- rature of the kiln may be elevated at least to 175° without in the least discolouring the malt. In the year 1784 Mr Richardson of Hull published his Theoretic Hints on Brewing Mali Liquors, and his Statical Estimates of the Materials of Brewing, shewing the use of the Saccharometer. These books HISTORY OF BREWING. 5 are reprehensible, on account of the air of mystery in which the subject is invested, and the avowal of the author, that he conceals certain parts of the processes. Tf a brewer conceives he knows more.of his art than his neighbours, and chooses to keep his knowledge to himself, there is nothing to be said; but if he pub- lish a book upon the subject, and yet persists in his concealment, he deserves no quarter. His book, in such a case, can be looked upon in no other light than as a quack bill to advertise the goodness of his wares. Mr Richardson, however, deservesconsiderable praise for the sacchdrometer, which he appears to have been the first to bring under the notice of the brewer. This instrument is of material service, by making brewers acquainted with the strength of their worts, and con- sequently with the proportion of soluble matter which is furnished by the materials that they employ. Mr Richardson’s saccharometer, indeed, was not accurate, because it was founded on an erroneous principle. The method which he followed was to determine the weight of a barrel of purewater. The liquid beingthen converted into wort, a barrel of it was weighed again, and the increase of weight was considered as the mat- ter which the water held in solution. Mr Richardson did not seem to be aware that, when water dissolves the sweet portion of malt, its bulk is altered ; and that, for this reason, the specific gravity of it does not in- dicate the quantity of solid matter which it holds in solution. A set of experiments made on purpose, by dissolving determinate weights of the solid extract of 6 A TREATISE ON BREWING. malt in given quantities of water, is necessary to de- termine the point. The same objection applies to the saccharometer of Dring and Fage, and to various others in common use. That of Dicas is nearly cor- rect, having been constructed upon proper principles. But perhaps the best is one constructed about forty- five years ago by Dr Thomson, and used by the excise- officers in Scotland. It indicates the specific gravity of the wort; from which, by means of a sliding rule, which accompanies the instrument, the weight of saccharine matter contained in it is at once deter- mined. : One of the latest books on the subject which we | have seen, is entitled Practical Treatise on Brewing and Distilling. This book was published in quarto in the year 1805. The author, whose name is Shan- non, appears to have had seme practical] knowledge of brewing; but he must have been extremely illite- rate, as he was totally unable to write either gram- mar or common sense. The book is a tissue of ab- surdities from beginning to end; and the impracti- bility of his proposed improvements is surpassed only by the absurdity of his theory, which consists of scraps and sentences taken out of chemical books, and tacked together, so as to have no meaning what- ever. | OF THE KIND OF GRAIN USED BY BREWERS. 7 - CHAPTER II. OF THE KIND OF GRAIN USED BY BREWERS. Every kind of grain, with perhaps hardly an excep- tion, may be employed for the purposes of the brewer. In America it is not uncommon to make beer with the seeds of Indian corn or Zea mais. In order to con- vert it into malt, it is found necessary to bury it for some time under the ground; and when germination has made sufficient progress, it is dug up and kiln- dried. (See Philosophical Transactions, vol. xii., p. 1065.) Mr Mungo Park informs us, that, in Africa the negroes make beer from the seeds of the Holcus epicatus, and the process employed, as he describes it, seems to differ but little from the one followed in this country. (See Park's Travels, p. 63, 8vo edition.) Dioscorides assures us, that in Spain and Britain wheat. was employed for the manufacture of beer ; and the writer of this treatise has been informed by a gentle- man in the service of the East India Company, that he has made beer from wheat at Madras. We have ourselves seen oats employed for this purpose in Great Britain ; and in Germany and the north of Europe we believe that it is not uncommon to employ rye for the same purpose. But the material which answers’ 8 A TREATISE ON BREWING. best, and which is almost solely used in Great Britain, and we believe in every part of Europe where beer is manufactured, is barley. Barley ig the seed of the Hordeum vulgare, a plant which has been cultivated from time immemorial, chiefly for the manufacture of beer. There are two species of hordeum under cultivation in Britain. The first is, the Hordeum vulgare, or barley in which the seeds are disposed in two rows on the spike. - This is the species usually cultivated in England and in the southern parts of Scotland. The second is the Hor- deum hexastichon, called in the south of Scotland bear, and in Aberdeenshire big. In this species, the - grains are disposed in two rows, as in the other; but three seeds spring from the same point, so that the head of big appears to have the seeds disposed in six rows. Big is a much more hardy plant than barley, and ripens more rapidly. Hence it thrives better than barley in cold and high situations. On this account it is sown in preference in the Highlands and nor- thern parts of Scotland, where the climate is colder than farther to the south. We have been assured that there is a third species of hordeum cultivated in Scotland, in which the seeds in the spike are arranged in four rows. To this the term bear is exclusively confined by some. But we do not find it noticed by botanists. The trivial name tetrastichon might be applied to it. The grains of barley are much larger than those of big, and the cuticle which covers them is thinner. OF THE KIND OF GRAIN USED BY BREWERS. 9 Indeed the thickness of the skin of barley itself varies according to the heat of the climate in which it is cul- tivated, being always the thinner the warmer the cli- mate. Thus it will be found that the cuticle of Nor- folk barley is thinner than that of Berwickshire or East Lothian barley; and if Norfolk barley be sown in Scotland for several successive years, its cuticle will be found to become thicker. The specific gravity of barley is rather greater than that of big. The specific gravity of barley, tried in more than 100 different specimens, was found by us to vary from 1-333 to 1-250, and that of big from 1:265 to 1-227. The average weight of a Winchester bushel of barley was found to be 50-7 Ibs. avoirdupois, and the average weight of a bushel of big 46-383 lbs. The heaviest barley tried weighed 52-265. Ibs. per bushel, and the heaviest big weighed 48-586 Ibs. The big grew in Perthshire, and the season was peculiarly favourable. It was not absolutely free from a mix- ture of barley, as was ascertained by sowing a quan- tity of it, but the proportion of barley was very small. The average weight of a grain of barley is 0-6688 grain, or very nearly two-thirds of a grain, while the average weight of a grain of big is 0-5613 grain. The average length of a grain of barley, from many thousand measurements, is 0°345 inch, while that of a grain of big is0°3245inch. So that the average of both would give us very nearly the third of an inch, which it ought to do, according to the origin of our measures, as commonly stated. The average breadth 10 A TREATISE ON BREWING. of a grain of barley is 0°145 inch, while the average breadth of a grain of big is 0-136 inch. The average thickness of a grain of barley is 0°1125 inch, while the average thickness of a grain of big is 0-1055 inch, Thus we perceive that the grain of big is smaller than the grain of barley in all its dimensions. To determine the relative weight of the skins of barley and big, we made choice of three parcels of grain, all excellent in their kinds, namely, Norfolk barley, Haddington barley, and Lanark big. The weights of the whole grain, and of the cuticles of each of these, were as follow : Weight of a Weight of cuticle corn in grains. in grains. Norfolk barley . . . . 06809 . . O1100r 3 Haddington barley . . . 0°7120 . . 0°1230r 3% Lanark big . . . . . 65408 . . O1250rq, | From this we see that there is little difference be- tween the weight of the skin of Norfolk and Hadding- ton barley, but a very considerable difference between Haddington barley and Lanark big. Hence it would seem that this difference is not owing to the climate in which the barley vegetates, but rather to the na- ture of the two species. The bulks of these two species of grain with rela- tion to each other are as follow: ; Barley . . . . « « 0°00217 cubic inch. Big . . . . . « « 0°001777 cubic inch. | OF THE KIND OF GRAIN USED BY BREWERS. 11 These quanties represent the average bulk of a corn of each kind. Thus it appears that a grain of barley is rather more than $th part larger than a grain of big. Finally, from a comparison of many thousand corns of each species with each other, it appears that the ine- quality between the size of different grains of big is greater than that between different kinds of barley. Indeed, if we examine an ear of big when nearly ripe, we shall perceive that the corns towards the bottom of the ear are smaller than those towards the summit and about the middle of the ear. Several of these bottom grains are usually abortive, or consist only of skin ; but this is not always the case. In an ear of barley, on the contrary, we shall find almost all the grains nearly of a size, though in some cases the grain, constituting the upper termination of the spike is rather smaller than the rest. These circumstances may strike the reader as too minute and trifling to be stated in such detail ; but we shall find afterwards that they will furnish us with an explanation of some anomalous circumstances which occur when these two species of hordeum are converted into malt. The value of barley, or its produce in al- cohol, is rather improved, while big, on the contrary, is deteriorated, by nralting it, at least twenty per cent. The constituents of the kernel of barley and big, as far as we are able to ascertain at present, are the same. Barley has been subjected to an elaborate chemical analysis by Einhoff, who obtained from 3840 parts of barley-corns the following constituents : 12 A TREATISE ON BREWING. Volatilematter . . . . 4380 Husk or cuticle . . . . 720. Meal . ..... =. 2690 3840 From the same quantity of barley-meal he obtained, Volatile matter . . . =... =.=. =. ~ 860 Albumen. . - . 1 2 ee te ow 44 Saccharine matter . . . .. . =. =. £200 Mucilage. . . . 2... we © ~~) «176 Phosphate of lime with mucilage . . -. 9 Gluten or vegetable fibrin . . . . . 135 Husk, with some gluten and starch. . . 260 Starch, not quite free from gluten . . . 2580 Loss . 1. 1 ee ew ee we we ew eC 3840 The writer of this treatise has likewise extracted from barley, by means of alcohol, a small quantity of an oily matter, which has an asparagus-green colour, and doe’ not burn with the same readiness as an oil. It has very much the appearance of olive oil coagu- — lated, but its consistence is less, and its colour is darker. It has little smell, and its taste resembles the flavour of spirits from raw grain. We have like- wise found in big a quantity of nitrate of soda. Hence it is likely that this salt exists as a common consti- tuent of barley. We obtained it by steeping big in water for two days, concentrating the liquid, and set- ting it aside ina dry place. Many rhomboidal crys- tals of nitrate of soda gradually make their appear- ance as the liquid evaporates. OF THE KIND OF GRAIN USED BY BREWERS. 13 We shall terminate this chapter by a table, ex- hibiting the most remarkable properties of a consider- able number of specimens of British barley and big, as determined by the writer of this treatise. The dif- ferent specimens are distinguished by the name of the county in which they grew. 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OF MALTING. It is always customary to convert barley into malt before employing it in the manufacture of ale. Not that this conversion is absolutely necessary, but that it adds considerable facility to the different processes of the brewer. The writer of this treatise has seve- ral times tried the experiment of making ale from unmalted barley, and found it perfectly practicable. Several precautions, however, are necessary in or- der to succeed. The water let upon the ground bar- ley in the mash-tun must be considerably below the boiling temperature ; for barley-meal is much more apt to set than malt, that is, to form a stiff paste, from which no wort will separate. The addition of a por- tion of the chaff of oats serves very much to prevent - this setting of the goods, and facilitates considerably the separation of the wort. -Care must likewise be taken to prevent the heat from escaping during the mashing, and the mashing must be continued longer than usual ; for itis during the mashing that thestarch of the barley is converted into a saccharine matter. This change seems to be owing merely to the chemical combination of a portion of water with the starch of the barley ; just as happens when common starch is . 16 A TREATISE ON BREWING. converted into sugar, by boiling it with very dilute sulphuric acid, or any other acid. This method of brewing from raw grain answers admirably for small beer. Some years ago it was practised to a consi- derable extent by several brewers of smal] beer in Edinburgh, and their beer was considered as greatly preferable to small beer brewed in the usual manner. The practice was stopped by a decision of the Court of Exchequer,—a decision which, in our opinion, pro- ceeded upon arbitrary grounds, and which was at all events detrimental to the public; for surely it is highly impolitic to prevent améliorations in the manufactures in order to guard against any defi- ciency in the produce of the taxes. A wise govern- ment would have permitted the improvement, and would have levied the malt-tax in a different manner. In our trials the raw barley did not answer so well for making strong ale as for small beer. The ale was perfectly transparent, and we kept it for several years without its running into acidity ; but it had a peculiar flavour, by no means agreeable. Probably a little practice might have enabled us to get rid of this flavour, in which case raw grain would answer in every respect as well for brewing as malt does. A duty was first charged upon malt during the troubles of the reign of Charles I. But it continued very moderate till the war with France recommenced in 1803. It was then raised to the following sums ‘ per bushel :— OF MALTING. 17 English malt, . . . . . £0 4 4 = or 100 Malt of Scotch barley, . . . 0 3 84 or 84°856 Malt of Scotch big . . . . O 3 0} or 69°472 But two shillings of this tax were to continue only till the end of the war, and for six months after its con- clusion. In consequence of this very heavy tax, se- veral regulations were imposed upon the malister, with a view to facilitate the levying of the duty, and to prevent him from defrauding the revenue. The most important of these are the.two following :—1. The barley must remain in the cistern in which it is steeped with water for a period not less than forty “hours. 2: When the malt is spread upon* the floor the maltster is not at liberty to sprinkle any water upon it, or to moisten the floor. For a number of years past the malt-duties have been as follow :— 1. For malt made from barley, or other corn or grain, in any part of the United Kingdom, 2s. 7d., and 5 per cent., making together 2s. 84d. per bushel. 2. For malt made from bear or big, in Scotland or Ireland, 2s. per bushel,and 5 per cent., equal together to 2s. 14d. The 5 per cent. was imposed in the year 1840, on all custom and exciseable articles, except spirits. We shall now describe the process of malting, as is practised by the best-informed malt-makers in Great Britain. Malting consists of four processes, which follow - each other in regular order ; namely, steeping, couch- ing, flooring, and kiln-drying. B 18 A TREATISE ON BREWING. 1. The steep is a square cistern, sunk at one end of the malt barn, lined with stone, and of a sufficient size to hold the whole barley that is to be malted at atime. The barley is put into this cistern with the requisite quantity of pure water to cover it. It is laid as evenly as possible upon the floor of the cis- tern. Here it must remain at least forty hours; but in Scotland, especially when the weather is cold, it is customary to allow it to remain much longer. We have seen barley steeped in Edinburgh for 112 hours by one maltster, and by another usually ninety-eight or ninety-two hours. It is the common practice te introduce the water into the cistern before the bar- ley, and it is usually once drawn off and new water _ added during the steeping, Three changes take place on the barley while in the steep. 1. It imbibes moisture and increases in bulk. 2. Some carbonic acid gas is evolved, most of which remains dissolved in the steep-water. 3. A portion of the husk or skin of the barley is dissolved, in consequence of which the steep-water acquires 4 yellow colour, and contracts a peculiar smell, not un- like that of moist straw. The quantity of moisture imb