BREWING. 



BREWING. 



cause they prey not only upon the spawn j copper." The wcrt is let off into coolers, 

 itself, but upon the young fry from the first either of wood or iron ; where, when sufficient- 

 hatching to the time they are of a considerable j ly cooled, or else in proper fermenting tuns, 



size. Some fish are observed to breed indiffer- 

 ently in all kinds of waters; of this nature are 

 the roach, pike, and perch. 



The introduction of certain voracious fish, 

 such as the pike or pickarel, into ponds or 

 lakes well stocked with trout, white and yellow 

 perch, &c., has been attended with serious 

 consequences, and even led to the total ex- 

 tinction of some kinds and the diminution of 

 all. The mischief in such cases has perhaps 

 been less owing to the exceeding voracity of 

 the pike or pickarel, than to its habits of 

 thrusting itself into the shallows and retired 

 breeding places of other fish, and there break- 

 ing up the spawn or devouring the small-fry, 

 without allowing them a chance to live or in- 

 crease. The trout contents itself with preying 

 upon such bait as it can catch away from the 

 shallows, leaving the breeding places and 

 spawn of other fish undisturbed. Hence, in 

 lakes where plenty of bait is seen along the 

 shores, trout may be found in abundance and 

 in fine condition. Trout and perch both mul- 

 tiply in the same ponds or lakes, provided no 

 pike or pickarel be present. 



BREWING. The process of obtaining the 

 saccharine solution from malt, or other mat- 

 ters, and converting this solution into spiritu- 

 ous liquors, ale, porter, or beer. There is little 

 doubt of the antiquity of this art. The Egyp- 

 tians are said to have been the inventors of 

 beer. The early Germans, and our Saxon 

 forefathers, were as fond of beer as the mo- 

 dern citizens of Lubec and Rostock are now, 

 or the English of all ages. It is hardly neces- 

 sary, in this work, to go deeply into the de- 

 scription of a process which most country 

 persons understand so well. The directions 

 may be divided into several heads. 1. The 

 grinding of the malt: in this there is, as in 

 many other parts of brewing, considerable 

 difference of opinion ; some prefer it ground 

 between stones, others crushed by rollers ; 

 some prefer a fine grist, others a coarse one. 

 2. The mashing is usually performed in a 

 vessel of wood, with a false bottom pierced 

 full of holes ; on this bottom the malt is laid ; 

 the water is then admitted, which, for pale ale, 

 or pale spirits, should be of the temperature 

 of from 170 to 185, according to the quan- 

 tity mashed ; the heat being increased as the 

 mass diminishes. For porter, not higher than 

 165, or lower than 156. For the second 

 mash, an increased temperature of 15 or 20 

 will be advisable. For the first mash: for 

 every quarter of malt, a barrel and a half of 

 water may be used, and the grist well mixed 

 with the water. The mash is permitted to 

 rest for some time, and then allowed to run 

 off into an auderback, whence it is pumped 

 into the boiler, where it is raised to the boiling 

 temperature. When the wort is sufficiently 

 drained from the mash-tub, another portion of 

 hot water is added for a second mash. The 

 hops are next added, and the boiling is com- 

 pleted, which in general requires an hour and 

 a half, " or until the wort breaks bright from 

 the hops, when a s?xnple is taken from the 

 224 



the yeast or barm is added. The fermentation 

 speedily begins ; and when it is thought that a 

 sufficient quantity of alcohol is formed, the 

 fermentation is stopped, and the yeast is sepa- 

 rated by running it into smaller vessels, and 

 skimming off the barm ; or else by allowing 

 it to run off from the bung-holes of the casks, 

 which are, for this purpose, kept completely 

 filled. A small portion of salt is commonly 

 added, and, occasionally, especially by the 

 professional brewer, a portion of isinglass or 

 other finings. In all these operations, cleanli- 

 ness is a most essential part, for without this 

 it is impossible to have good beer. 



The quantity of hops to be added varies 

 with the- quality of the beer. 4 Ibs. to the 

 quarter of malt is sufficient for beer for present 

 use, and from this to 28 Ibs. have been used 

 for beer for long keeping, as for exporta- 

 tion, &c. 



The temperature of the fermentation should 

 range between 56 and 62. Not more than 

 60 for ale wort, nor more than 62 for porter. 

 Great care should be taken to have good, 

 sound, healthy, and new yeast, and of this 

 about 2 Ibs. per barrel are commonly needed. 

 Good malt and hops, of course, are requisite; 

 but the quality of the water is not of so much 

 consequence as is very often considered to be 

 the case. Some of the best ales m England 

 are brewed either with soft or with hard water, 

 and from rivers, or springs, or ponds. From 

 those issuing from the limestones of Notting- 

 hamshire, the chalks of Dorsetshire, the clays 

 of Staffordshire, the gravels and sands of Sur- 

 rey and Middlesex, is made some of the most 

 excellent beer in the United Kingdom. Th 

 quantity of alcohol, upon an average, in bn 

 stout is about 6-80. in ale 8-88, and in smal, 

 beer from 2 to 3 per cent. (Brandt,') B r 

 came under the excise in the year 164;.., , > .t 

 the duties were repealed in 1830. The ex- 

 portation of beer from England was in 



1830 

 1832 

 1834 



.Tuns. 

 10,212 

 11,330 

 10,406 



The specific gravity of the wort, when it is 

 placed in the fermenting vessels, varies from 

 1-060, when it contains 14-25 per cent, of solid 

 matter, to 1-127, when it contains 28-2 per cent. 

 That of small beer varies from 1-015 to 1-040, 

 the first containing about 3-5 per cent, of solid 

 matter, the latter about 9-5 per cent. The 

 chief use of the hops (ground ivy and other 

 herbs were used by our Saxon ancestors for 

 this purpose) is to communicate the peculiar 

 bitter flavour from the oil which is contained 

 in them ; partly to hide the sweetness of the 

 saccharine matter, a.nd partly to counteract the 

 tendency which wort has to run into acidity. 

 (Thomson's Chcni. vol. iv. p. 376.) 



" Hops," says Dr. Lardner (Domestic Econo- 

 my, vol. i.), "are by no means the only bitter 

 which may be made use of for preparing and 

 flavouring ales ; others can be much more 

 conveniently procured in certain situations. 

 Mixtures, in various proportions, of worm- 



