676 



SKEWING. 



sugar ; thai Is, when the pluinula has passed along 

 one third of tin- length of the grain, that thinl is 

 starch sugar, while the remaining two thinls are still 

 starch ; and so with the rest. The starch sugar 

 MTIIIS in he sonir combination of starch and water. 

 The final cause of the change is undoubtedly the 

 support of the growing plant, sugar being evidently 

 necessary to the growth of plants, as it is always 

 found in their sap, and sometimes, as in the sugar 

 maple, in great quantities. The moment, however. 

 the plumula begins to protrude beyond the end of 

 the grain, the sugar diminishes, as it is consumed 

 by the yoiin-r stalk ; and tlic substance of the seed is 

 also consumed, though by no means to the same ex- 

 tent, by the growth of the root. To produce this 

 change in seeds, and thereby to fit them for yielding 

 a sweet fluid, when mixed with water, is the business 

 of the maltster ; and it is an operation of great deli- 

 cacy, upon the successful performance of which the 

 success of a manufactory of ale or beer in a great 

 measure depends. 



The first operation in malting is, to plunge the 

 barley, or other grain to be malted, into a large cis- 

 tern, containing water enough to cover the whole 

 mass. The barley immediately separates into two 

 parts ; one is heavy, and remains at the bottom of 

 the water, while the lighter portion, consisting of 

 chaff, defective grains, c. floats on the top. This 

 latter is skimmed off as of no use. The heavier part, 

 or sound barley, is suffered to remain till it has ab- 

 sorbed a portion of the water, sufficient for the pur- 

 pose of enabling it to germinate. This is steeping. 

 It is the first process, and usually occupies about two 

 days. When the grain is sufficiently steeped, the 

 water is let off, and the grain thrown out of the cis- 

 tern, and piled in a heap, or, as it is technically called, 

 a couch. After a few hours, the bottom and inner 

 part of the heap begin to grow warm, and the radicle 

 or root to make its appearance ; and the germination 

 thus commenced would go on rapidly but for the 

 labour of the maltster, who, with a view of making 

 all the grains grow alike, checks the growth of such 

 as are in the middle of the heap by turning them to 

 the outside, and vice versa. For this reason, malting 

 cannot be performed, with any success, in summer, 

 which would, at first sight, seem to be the fittest sea- 

 son. On the contrary, the best maltsters prefer the 

 coldest weather ; for, at this season, they can always 

 keep the germination going on at the rate they wish, 

 by heaping up the grain ; whereas, in warm weather, 

 it grows so rapidly, that no effort can make the pro- 

 cess equal and regular. Thus the grain is turned 

 backwards and forwards for fourteen days, at the end 

 of which period the acrospire, as it is called, or the. 

 plumula, having nearly reached the end of the grain, 

 and the latter having acquired a sweet taste, the pro- 

 cess of growth is suddenly and effectually stopped by 

 spreading the whole upon a kiln, which is a floor of 

 iron or tiles, perforated with small holes, and having 

 a fire beneath it. There the life of the grain is de- 

 stroyed, and it is thoroughly dried. 



The malt thus made is ground, or rather crushed, 

 by passing it between a pair of iron rollers. It is 

 then prepared for brewing. The first step in brewing 

 is called mashing. It consists in stirring up the malt 

 with a quantity of hot water, which dissolves the 

 starch sugar of the malt, and forms a sweet liquor 

 called worf, similar to the must, or sweet juice of the 

 grape, from which wine is made. The manufacture 

 differs, however, in some essential particulars, at this 

 stage of the process, from that of wine ; for, if the 

 wort were allowed, as the must is, to ferment without 

 obstruction, it contains so much of the mucilage and 

 starch of the grain, that it would run into the acetous, 

 and from thence into the putrefactive fermentation, 



and would be fojced, as it is technically termed; tliat 

 is, it would become ill-smelling vinegar instead of 

 beer. To prevent this, it is first boiled. This proc* ss 

 renders it stronger, by evaporating a portion of the 

 water; and, further, it coagulates or curdles the 

 mucilage, which subsides afterwards, and is not a^iun 

 dissolved, thus separating an injurious ingredient. 

 While boiling, a portion of hops is added. One ob- 

 ject of this is to give an aromatic, bitter taste to the 

 liquor, which habit lias rendered agreeable. The 

 principal object of adding the hops, however, is, to 

 check the tendency to the acetous fermentation, which 

 is always far greater in liquor so compound in its 

 character as beer, than in the simpler liquors, as wine 

 and cider. It is further a common opinion, that hops 

 add to the intoxicating qualities of the article; and 

 this opinion is probably well founded. 



After the worts are sufficiently boiled, they are 

 poured out into large shallow cisterns or coolers, till 

 they become cool, and deposit much of the curdlea 

 mucilage. They are then allowed to run into a deep 

 tub or vat to ferment. If left to themselves, however, 

 the process would take place very imperfectly, and it 

 is therefore assisted by the addition of yeast. The 

 true nature of this substance, notwithstanding much 

 attention and some laborious analysis, is not yet 

 understood. It excites fermentation, however, which 

 continues for a period of time longer or shorter, ac- 

 cording to the fancy of the brewer, and is then 

 checked by drawing off the liquor into barrels or 

 hogsheads. In these the fermentation still goes on, 

 but it is now called by brewers cleansing. With a 

 view to take advantage of this process, the casks are 

 placed with their bung-holes open, and inclined a 

 little to one side. The scum, as it rises, works out 

 at the bung, and runs over the side, and thus the 

 beer is cleansed from a quantity of mucilage, starch, 

 and other unfermented matters. What does not run 

 out at the bung subsides to the bottom, and consii- 

 tutes the lees. After this cleansing is completed, the 

 clear beer is racked off into barrels, and preserved 

 for use. The scum and lees are collected, and the 

 former constitutes the yeast for the next brewing. 



Such is the general history of brewing, whether 

 the product is to be beer, ale, porter, or wash, except 

 that in the latter the cleansing is not necessary. 

 Even this recking, however, does not remove all the 

 unfennented matter. Some starch and gluten still 

 remain ; of course, the liquor soon begins to ferment 

 again in the barrels ; but, as these are closely stop- 

 ped, the carbonic acid gas, or fixed air, cannot escape, 

 but becomes mingled with the beer. Every succes- 

 sive fermentation causes some lees, from which the 

 beer may be racked off, and, by repeated racking, 

 the fermentative matter may be completely removed, 

 and such beers become clear, transparent, and some- 

 what like the German wines, as, for instance, that 

 commonly called hock. But, the disposition to fer- 

 ment being thus entirely destroyed, they are, like 

 these wines, perfectly still, and acquire no disposition 

 to froth by being bottled. Hence old sound beers 

 may remain in bottles for years without coming vp, 

 as it is technically called. The object of the brewer 

 is to produce an agreeable beverage, distinguished 

 not so much for absolute strength, or quantity of 

 alcohol, as for colour, flavour, transparency, liveliness, 

 and power of keeping well. Some of these qualities 

 are not compatible with the development of the 

 greatest quantity of alcohol or ardent spirit, which is 

 the main object of the whisky-distiller. To effect 

 this purpose, he makes a kind of beer, which is 

 called wash. This differs from breviers' beer in 

 some important particulars. In the first place, the 

 grain is not all malted : in Britain, only a part of it 

 is so ; in the United States, generally, not at all. In 



