B R F. W I N G. 



was known to the Spanianls, the OhiiIs, and the inhabitants 

 of tlie Britifli illands, and the north o( Europe. All tlic 

 ancient malt liqno''s, however, ftem to have been made en- 

 tirely of bavlcj', or fome other fariiiaceoiu grain, and tliere- 

 fore were not generally calcnlattd for long keeping, as this 

 ijuality depends confidcrably, though not entirely, on the 

 bitter extracl of hops, or other vegetables, with which the 

 liquor is mingled. 



Modern malt liquor is eflentially compofed of water, of 

 the foluble parts of malt and hops, and of yeall. 



For a particular account of the preparation of Malt, 

 we refer our readers to that article. It will be fufficicnt 

 for our prefent purpofe, to mention, that barky confills 

 of fecula or ftarch, albiuncn, and a little gluten ; and, that 

 by the procefs of germination or malting, the ftarch is con- 

 verted into faccharine mucilage. If each grain of barley 

 was perfectly malted, the whole of its ftarch would be 

 changed into fugar ; this, however, is never the cafe : the 

 foluble contents, therefore, of fuch malt as the brev/ers 

 make ufe of, arranged in the order of their refpeclivc pro- 

 portions, are faccharine mucilage, ftarch, albumen, and 

 gluten, of which only the firft is abfolutely iieccfFary for 

 the produflion of a vinous liquor. Three or four different 

 kinds of malt are diftinguiflied by the brewer by their co- 

 lo'.irs, which depend on the degree of heat that was ufed in 

 the drying. Malt that has been dried by a very gentle heat 

 fcarcely differs in its colour from barley ; if expoftd to a 

 fomewhat higher temperature, it acquires a light amber- 

 yellow hue ; and by fucceflive increments of heat, the colour 

 becomes deeper and deeper, till, at length, it is black. Tlie 

 change of colour is owing to the grain being partially 

 charred or decompofed ; and in proportion to the extent to 

 wliich this alteration is allowed to proceed, will the produce 

 of fugar, that is of fermentable matter, be dimininicd. Tiie 

 principal advantage of high-dried malt over the paler kind, 

 is the detp yellowidi brown tinge which it gives to the 

 liquor : but this colour may be communicated much more 

 fconomicaily by burnt fugar. The malt, whether pale or 

 high-dried, muft be bruifed betiven rollers, or coarftly 

 ground in a mill before it is ufed, and it is foimd by expe- 

 rience, that malt which has lain to cool for fome weeks is, 

 in many refpefts, preferable to that which is ufed as it comes 

 hot from the mill. The firft ftcp in the procefs of brew- 

 ing, is 



§ I. MiT/Jjj/lg. 



This is performed in the mq/h-ttiri, v.-hich is a circular 

 wooden veffel, fliallow in proportion to its extent, and fur- 

 niflied with a falfe bottom, pierced with fmall holes, fixed a 

 few inches above the real bottom: when it is fmall, it ouc[ht 

 to have a moveable wooden cover. There are two fide- 

 openings in the interval between the real and falfe bottom ; 

 to one is fixed a pipe for the purpofe of conveying water 

 into the tud ; the other is fitted with a fpiggot for the pur- 

 ])nfe of drawing the liquor out of the tun. The brewing 

 commences by iirewing the grili or bruifed malt evenly over 

 the falfe bottom of the maih-tun, and then, by means of 

 the fide pipe, letting in from the upper copper the proper 

 quantity of hot water. The water firft fills the interval 

 between the tivo bottoms, then forcing its way through 

 the holes in the falfe bottom, it foaks into the grift, 

 which, at firft lloating on the furface of the water, is thus 

 raifed oft' the bottom on which it was fpread. AV'hcn tiie 

 whole of the water is let in, the procefs of jnafiiing, pro- 

 perly fo called, begins. The object in mafhing is to effect 

 a perfedl mixture of the malt with the water, in order that 

 all the foluble parts may be extracted by this fluid : for this 

 purpofe, the grill is firft incorporated wuh the watw by 



Vol. V. 



means of iron rakes, and then tlit mafs is beaten and agi- 

 tated, and ftill further mixed by long flat wooden poles, 

 rcfembling ojrs, which indeed is the name l)y which they 

 are teeluiically known. In fome of the large porter brew- 

 cnco, the extent of the tun is fo great, that the procefs oS- 

 mafliing cannot be adequately performed hy human labour, 

 and recourfe is had to a very finiple and offeftua! inftnimcnt 

 for this purpofe. A very ftrong iron flciiw, of the fame 

 height as the malh-tun, is fixed in the centre of tliis vef- 

 fel, from which proceed two great arms or radii, a'fo of iron. 

 and befet with vertical iron teeth a few inches afimdcr, in 

 the manner ol a double comb : by means of a fteain engine, 

 or any other moving power, the iron arms which at full 

 reft on the falfe bottom, arc made ftowly to revolve upon 

 the centra! ficrew, in confequencc of which, in proporticni 

 as they revolve, they alfo afcend through the contents of 

 the tun to the furface; then, inverting the circular motion, 

 they defccnd again in the courfc of a few revolutions to the 

 bottom. Thefe alternate motions arc continued till the 

 grift and water are thoroughly incorporated. When the 

 maftiing is completed, the tun is covered in to prevent the 

 efcape of the heat, and the whole is fuffered to remain ftill, 

 in Older that the inlolublc parts may feparate from the li- 

 quor : the fide fpiggot is then withdrawn, and the clear wort 

 is allowed to run of!', ftowly at firft, but more rapidly as it 

 becomes fine, into the lower or boiling copper. 



The operation of malhing, as it i's the firft in order, is 

 the moll important ; and all the fucceeding ones are raodi- 

 fied according to the circumftances, under which this pii- 

 mary one is elleded. The principal thing to be attended 

 to, is the temperature of the mafli, which depends, partly 

 on the heat of the water, and partly on the ftate of the 

 malt. If any quantity of barky is mingled with twice its 

 bulk of water, the temperature of the mafs will be very 

 nearly that of the mean temperature of the ingredients. If the 

 pakft malt is fubjcfted to the fame expcrim;nt, the tempe- 

 rature will be fomewhat greater than that of the mean heat. 

 This excefs is found to increafc very rapidly, in proportion 

 to the colour or drynefs of the malt employed ; lo that 

 when one part of the highcll dried malt is mixtd with two 

 parts of warm water, the temperature will be no lefs than 

 40° Fah. above the mean. In calculating, therefore, the 

 heat of the mafh, it is iieeeflary to take into confideration, 

 both the drynefs of the malt, and the proportion which it 

 contains of unmalted, or imperfeflly malted barley. The 

 objecl in mnfliing is to extraft from the malt, as much as 

 poftible of the faccharine mucilage ; but this is fo intimately 

 combined with the other parts of the grain, that the range 

 of temperature which can be employed for this purpofe, is 

 very confined. If the water was let upon the grift boiling 

 hot, the ftarch which it contains would not only be diffulved, 

 but converted into a gelatinous fubftance, in which all the 

 other parts of the malt, and moft of the water, would be en- 

 tangled, beyond the poflibility of recovery by any after- 

 .procefs ; and great lofs is perpetually fuftained by inatten- 

 tive brewers, from this very cucumftance. The moft elii;i- 

 ble ter.iperature upon the whole for mailiing, appears to be 

 about U>J° to 190° of Fahrenheit : the heat of the water, 

 therefore, for the firft malliing, muft be fomewhat below 

 this temperature, and the lower in proportion to the dark 

 colour of the malt made ufe of. Thus, for pale malt, tlie 

 water of the mafti may be at 180° and upwards; but for 

 high-dried brown ra;dt, it ought not <pueh fo exceed 170°. 

 I^he wort of the firft maHiing is always by much the lichell 

 iti faccharine matter; but to exhaull the'malt, a fecond and 

 third mafiiilig is required ; and as no heat is generated, ex- 

 cept in the iirll iTinlhiiig, the water in the fucceeding ones may 

 Pp be 



