AmbJe°cu,r  ^rm'}  Preparations  of  Malt.  533 
is  generally  the  best,  because  of  its  containing  more  starch,  which,  in 
the  process  of  mashing,  is  converted  into  sugar,  and  of  course,  there 
being  more  sugar,  the  yield  of  extract  is  larger,  thus  making  the  opera- 
tion more  successful,  pecuniarily,  to  the  manufacturer. 
The  process  of  malting  we  need  not  describe,  being  familiar  to  us 
all,  and  for  the  purposes  of  the  malt-making  pharmacist  may  be  prac- 
tically ignored,  it  being  better  to  purchase  the  malted  barley  of  a  pro- 
fessional maltster. 
The  barley,  then,  being  properly  malted,  is  ground  coarsely,  and  a 
tub,  preferable  of  cedar,  with  a  false  bottom,  perforated,  and  of  a  capa- 
city of  say  20  gallons  (an  old-fashioned  upright  churn  answers  very 
well),  is  filled  with  about  14  gallons  of  water,  at  a  temperature  of  from 
1680  to  1720  F.  Into  this  tub  about  half  a  bushel  of  malt  is  added, 
little  by  little,  until  the  whole  is  well  stirred  in.  The  tub  is  then  well 
covered  and  set  away  in  a  warm  room,  and  allowed  to  remain  perfectly 
at  rest  for  a  period  of  three  or  four  hours,  taking  care  that  the  temper- 
ature does  not  fall  below  I50°F. 
This  is  the  process  of  mashing.  At  the  expiration  of  the  allotted 
time,  the  stop-cock  below  the  perforated  diaphragm  is  opened,  and 
water  of  a  temperature  a  little  above  the  extract,  which  is  now  being 
drawn  off  below,  and  which  we  shall  now  call  the  wort,  is  sprinkled  by 
means  of  a  sieve  or  plant  sprinkler,  upon  the  top  of  the  malt  until  the 
wort  being  drawn  off  below  is  almost  tasteless  or  of  so  low  a  specific 
gravity  that  it  will  not  pay  the  cost  of  evaporation.  In  large  opera- 
tions this  sprinkling  is  done  by  means  of  a  patented  revolving  instru- 
ment called  a  "sparge,"  and  which  much  resembles  a  lawn-sprinkler, 
that  revolves  by  the  pressure  of  the  water  being  ejected  from  each  side 
in  opposite  directions,  the  water  being  supplied  from  a  large  tank  in 
which  it  is  heated  by  steam,  and  the  exact  temperature  being  easily 
controlled  by  valves  commanding  abundant  supplies  of  both  cold  water 
and  steam.  This  wort  that  we  have  drawn  off  from  our  mash-tub  or 
percolator,  we  now  place  in  the  capsule  or  copper  kettle,  and  evaporate 
by  means  of  a  water-bath  to  the  required  consistence  ;  the  first  run 
should  have  a  high  specific  gravity,  and  contain  about  a  pound  of  malt 
sugar  to  the  gallon  of  wort.  We  present  samples  of  this  evaporated 
wort,  which  is  now  our  malt  extract. 
A  word  now  regarding  cleanliness.  The  mash-tub  and  all  other 
wooden  or  metal  utensils  should  be  washed  out  at  least  once  a  week 
