28 BREWING. [No. 



to begin brewing. I allow two bushels of malt for the 

 brewing I have supposed. You must now put into 

 the mashing-tub as much boiling water as will be suf- 

 ficient to stir the malt in and separate it well. But 

 here occur some of the nicest points of all ; namely, 

 the degree of heat that the water is to be at, before 

 you put in the malt. This heat is one hundred and 

 seventy degrees by the thermometer. If you have a 

 thermometer, this is ascertained easily ; but, without 

 one, take this rule, .by which so much good beer has 

 been made in England for hundreds of years : when 

 you can, by looking down into the tub, see your face 

 clearly in the water, the water is become cool enough ; 

 and you must not put the malt in before. Now put 

 in the malt and stir it well in the water. To perform 

 this stirring, which is very necessary, you have a stick, 

 somewhat bigger than a broom- stick, with two or three 

 smaller sticks, eight or ten inches long, put through 

 the lower end of it at about three or four inches asunder, 

 and sticking out on each side of the long stick. These 

 small cross sticks serve to search the malt and sepa- 

 rate it well in the stirring or mashing. Thus, then, 

 the malt is in; and in this state it should continue for 

 about a quarter of an hour. In the mean while you 

 will have filled up your copper, and made it boil; and 

 now (at the end of the quarter of an hour) you put in 

 boiling water sufficient to give you your eighteen gal- 

 lons of ale. But, perhaps, you must have thirty gal- 

 lons of water in the whole ; for the grains will retain 

 at least ten gallons of water ; and it is better to have 

 rather too much wort than too little. When your pro- 

 per quantity of water is in, stir the malt again well. 

 Cover the mashing-tub over with sacks, or something 

 that will answer the same purpose ; and there let the 

 mash stand for two hours. When it has stood the 

 two hours, you draw off the wort. And now, mind, 

 the mashing-tub is placed on a couple of stools, or on 

 something, that will enable you to put the underbuck 

 under it, so as to receive the wort as it comes out of 

 the hole before-mentioned. When you have put the 

 underbuck in its place, you let out the wort by pulling 



