462 THE BREWING INDUSTRY IN IRELAND. 



goes on for a period of from eight to ten days, during which it is frequently 

 turned, until the maltster considers the germination has gone far enough. 

 The grain is then transferred to the kiln or drymg chamber, where it remams 

 for about three days. The strong heat to which the grain is subjected stops 

 further germination and thoroughly clears the grain of all moisture. If the 

 malt is required for pale ale the drying on the kiln is light and the malt is 

 consequently pale in colour. Porter brewers and distillers require malt which 

 has been much more highly dried and which has consequently a browner 

 appearance. 



When the process of drying is thoroughly completed, the " malt," into 

 which the barley has now been transformed, is transferred to hermetically 

 sealed bins or stores, where it remains for a few weeks to mature. Gene- 

 rally speaking a quarter of barley of 448 lbs. should yield a quarter of malt 

 which weighs about 336 lbs. It would be quite outside the scope of these 

 pages lo discuss in detail the chemical changes effected in barley by malting. 

 Roughly speaking, a substance called Hordein, a form of starch, which con- 

 stitutes about fifty-five per cent, of the substance of barley is by the process 

 of malting transformed into sugar gum and starch, under the influence of 

 the nitrogenous principle which is contained in the seed, and which is known 

 as diastase. The sugar in the grain nourishes the young plant, and it is just 

 when the sugar is most abundant in the sprouting barley that the vital 

 changes are arrested by heat, and malt formed. The physicial condition of 

 the grain is also altered, the malt being of a mealy nature, and having a 

 sweet taste. 



The actual process of brewing involves about six distinct operations. 



(i) The malt is passed into a mill where it is crushed between a pair of 

 rollers in order to coarsely bruise it, so as to enable the warm water 

 (with which it will be mixed) more easily and thoroughly to per- 

 meate it, and extract its sweet or saccharine matter. 



(2) The grist is then mixed with warm water in a cylindrical vessel 

 known as the masher, fitted inside with revolving arms, which keeps 

 the grist and water in constant motion, and prevents the former from 

 settling at once to the bottom before the water has extracted all 

 the saccharine matter which it contains. The grist and water are 

 then conducted to the mash-tun proper which is a cylindrical vessel 

 having a false bottom percolated with holes or slots, and fitted with 

 revolving arms which further mash the grist if necessary. The 

 " goods," as the malt and water are called, are allowed to stand for 

 about two hours, at the end of which the taps connected with the 

 false bottom are turned and the liquor drained off into the 

 " underback," the grains being deposited upon the top of the false 

 bottom. The liquid which has been drawn off — known as worts — 

 is in fact raw beer, and is very sweet to the taste. If the average 

 strength of it is higher than the brewer requires for the particular 

 class of beer he is making, the malt in the tun is sparged, i.e., 

 sprinkled with sufficient hot water to bring down the strength of 

 the wort. The mashing and sparging processes may last from six 

 to twelve hours, but under the Excise regulations must not exceed 

 the latter limit. 



It should be noted that the Inland Revenue Act of 1880 (Sees. 

 12 and 13) enacted that every brewer shall be deemed to have 



