310 BEER 



of all that has been obtained from the malt ; there is no account of all the losses 

 that arc inevitable in tho process of browing, and these of course vary according 

 to tho peculiarities of each brewing. As to tho amount a quarter of malt ought 

 to yield, there is much diversity of opinion, and of a necessity this must continue 

 to be so according to tho circumstances and class of trade of a brewer, and the 

 kind of alo most suitable to him ; but to ale adapted to tho prevailing taste of tho 

 present day, the experienced- brewer will find that tho moro he can afford to be 

 below 80 Ibs. per quarter when cooled down and got into tho fermenting-tun, tho 

 quicker and more certain will bo his profits, and tho less annoyances will he have ; 

 indeed, for ale that is not vatted it is most advisable, and for those that are, it is 

 prudent, especially in warm weather. 



The object of boiling the wort is not merely evaporation and concentration, but 

 extraction, coagulation, and, finally, combination with tho hops ; purposes which may 

 bo accomplished in a deep confined copper, by a moderate heat, or in an open shallow 

 pin with a quick fire. 



The copper, being encased above in brickwork, retains its digesting temperature 

 much longer than the pan could do. The waste steam of the close kettle, more- 

 over, can be economically employed in communicating heat to water or weak worts, 

 whereas the exhalations from an open pan would prove a nuisance, and would need 

 to be carried off by a hood. 



Tho boiling has a fourfold effect: first, during tho earlier stages of heating, it 

 converts the starch into sugar, dextrine, and gum, by means of the diastase ; secondly, 

 it concentrates the wort ; thirdly, it extracts the substance of the hops diffused through 

 the wort ; fourthly, it coagulates the albuminous matter present in the grain, or pre- 

 cipitates it by means of the tannin of the hops. 



The degree of evaporation is regulated by the nature of the wort and the quality 

 of the beer. Strong ale and stout, for keeping, require more boiling than ordinary 

 porter or table-beer, brewed for immediate use. The proportion of the water carried 

 off by evaporation is usually from a seventh to a fourth of the. volume. 



The hops are introduced at the commencement of the process. They serve to 

 give the beer not only a bitter aromatic taste, but also a keeping quality, as they 

 counteract its natural tendency to become sour an effect partly due to the pre- 

 cipitation of the albumen and starch, by their resinous and tanning constituents, 

 and partly to the antifermontable properties of the lupuline, bitter principle, ethereous 

 oil, and resin. In these respects, there is none of the bitter plants which can be 

 substituted for hops with advantage. 



For strong beer, powerful fresh hops should be selected ; for weaker beer an older 

 and weaker article will suffice. 



Tho stronger the hops are, the longer time they require for the extraction of their 

 virtues ; for strong hops an hour and a half, or two hours' boiling may be proper ; 

 for a weaker sort, an hour may be sufficient ; but it is never advisable to push this 

 process too far, lest a disagreeable bitterness, without aroma, be imparted to tho 

 beer. In some breweries it is the practice to boil the hops with a part of the 

 wort, and to filter tho decoction through a drainer, called the hop-back. The pro- 

 portion of hops to malt is very various ; but, in general, from 1^ Ibs. to 1^- Ibs. of 

 the former are taken for 100 Ibs. of the latter in making good table-beer. 



For porter and strong ale, 2 Ibs. of hops are used, or even more : for instance, from 

 2 Ibs. to 2i- Ibs. of hops to a bushel of malt, if the beer be destined for consump- 

 tion in India. 



During the boiling of the two ingredients, much coagulated albuminous matter, in 

 various stages of combination, makes its appearance in the liquid, constituting what 

 is called the breaking or curdling of the wort, when numerous minute flocks are seen 

 floating in it. The resinous, bitter, and oily ethereous principles of the hops combine 

 'with tho sugar and gum or dextrine of tho wort ; but for this effect they require time 

 and heat ; showing that the boil is not a process of mere evaporation, but one of 

 chemical reaction. A yellowish green pellicle of hop-oil and resin appears upon the 

 surface of the boiling wort, in a somewhat frothy form ; when this disappears the 

 boiling is presumed to be completed, and the beer is strained off into the cooler. The 

 residuary hops may be pressed and used for an inferior quality of beer ; or they may 

 be boiled with fresh wort, and be added to the next brewing charge. 



Many prefer adding the hops when the wort has just come to the boiling point. 

 Their effect is to repress tho passage into the acetous stage, which would otherwise 

 inevitably ensue in a few days. In this respect no other vegetable production hitherto 

 discovered can be a substitute for tho hop. 



The odorant principle is not so readily volatilised as would at first be imagined ; 

 for when hop is mixed with strong beer-wort, and boiled for many hours, it can still 

 impart a, very considerable degree of its flavour to weaker beer. 



