When the Sap of the Birch-Tree will run, cut a large Notch in the Bark of
the Trunk of the Tree, in such a place as one may conveniently place a
Vessel to receive the Sap; which Will flow at the Incision very
plentifully, without doing any harm to the Tree. If the Trees are pretty
large, you may expect about a Gallon of Liquor from each of them, which
must be order'd in the following manner. Take five Gallons of the Liquor,
to which put five Pounds of Powder-Sugar, and two Pounds of Raisins of the
Sun stoned; to this, put the Peel of one large Lemon, and about forty large
fresh Cloves: boil all these together, taking off the Scum carefully as it
rises; then pour it off into some Vessel to cool, and as soon as it is cool
enough to put Yeast to it, work it as you would do Ale for two days, and
then tunn it, taking care not to stop the Vessel till it has done Working,
and in a Month's time it will be ready to bottle. This is not only a very
Pleasant, but a very Wholesome Wine.
This Month is esteemed one of the principal Seasons for brewing of Malt
Liquors for long keeping; the Reason is, because the Air at this time of
the Year is temperate, and contributes to the good Working or Fermenting
the Drink, which chiefly promotes its Preservation and good Keeping: for
very cold Weather prevents the free Fermentation or Working of Liquors, as
well as very hot Weather; so that if we brew in very cold Weather, unless
we use some Means to warm the Cellar while new Drink is Working, it will
never clear itself as it ought to do; and the same Misfortune will it lie
under, if in very hot Weather the Cellar is not put in a temperate state,
the Consequence of which will be, that such Drink will be Muddy and Sour,
and, perhaps, never recover; or if it does, perhaps not under two or three
Years. Again, such Misfortunes are often owing to the badness of the
Cellars; for where they are dug in springy Ground, or are subject to Wet in
the Winter, then the Drink will chill, and grow flat and dead. But where
Cellars are of this sort, it is adviseable to make your great Brewings in
this Month rather than in _October_; for you may keep such Cellars
temperate in Summer, but cannot warm them in Winter, and so your Drink
brew'd in _March_ will have due time to settle and adjust itself before the
Cold can do it any great harm. It is adviseable likewise to build your
Cellars for keeping of Drink, after such a manner, that none of the
external Air may come into them; for the variation of the Air abroad, was
there free admission of it into the Cellars, would cause as many
Alterations in the Liquors, and so would keep them perpetually disturb'd
and unfit for drinking. I know some curious Gentlemen in these things, that
keep double Doors to their Cellars, on purpose that none of the outward Air
may get into them, and they have good reason to boast of their
Malt-Liquors. The meaning of the double Doors, is to keep one shut while
the other is open, that the outward Air may be excluded; such Cellars, if
they lie dry, as they ought to do, are said to be cool in Summer, and warm
in Winter, tho' in reality, they are constantly the same in point of
Temper: they seem indeed cool in hot Weather, but that is because we come
into them from an hotter abroad; and so they seem to us warm in Winter,
because we come out of a colder Air to them; so that they are only cold or
warm comparatively, as the Air we come out of is hotter or colder. This is
the Cafe, and a Cellar should be thus dispos'd if we expect to have good
Drink. As for the Brewing Part itself, I shall leave that to the Brewers in
the several Counties in _England_, who have most of them different Manners
even of Brewing honestly. What I shall chiefly touch upon, besides what I
shall speak of Cellaring, will relate to Water, Malt, Hops, and the keeping
Liquors.
The best Water, to speak in general, is River Water, such as is soft, and
has partook of the Air and Sun; for this easily insinuates itself into the
Malt, and extracts its Virtue; whereas the hard Waters astringe and bind
the Parts of the Malt, so that its Virtue is not freely communicated to the
Liquor. It is a Rule with a Friend of mine, that all Water which will mix
with Soap is fit for Brewing, and he will by no means allow of any other;
and I have more than once experienc'd, that where the same Quantity of Malt
has been used to a Barrel of River Water, and the same to a Barrel of
Spring Water, the River Water Brewing has excell'd the other in Strength
above five degrees in twelve Months, as I prov'd by a small Glass-Tube with
a Seal, and was much preferable to the Taste, I must observe too, that the
Malt was not only in Quantity the same for one Barrel as for another, but
was the same in Quality, having been all measur'd from the same Heap; so
also the Hops were the same both in Quality and Quantity, and the Time of
boiling, and both work'd in the same manner, and tunn'd and kept in the
same Cellar. Here it was plain that there was no difference but the Water,
and yet one Barrel was worth two of the other.
There is one thing which has long puzzled the best Brewers, which I shall
here endeavour to explain; and that is, where several Gentlemen in the same
Town have employ'd the same Brewer, have had the same Malt, the same Hops,
and the same Water too, and brew'd all in the same Month, and broach'd
their Drink at the same time; and yet one has had Beer which has been
extremely fine, strong, and well tasted, while the others have hardly had
any worth drinking. I conjecture there may be three Reasons for this
difference: One may be the different Weather which might happen at the
different Brewings in this Month, which might make an Alteration in the
Working of the Liquors: Or, secondly, that the Yeast or Barm might be of
different sorts, or in different states, wherewith these Liquors were
Work'd: And, thirdly, that the Cellars were not equally good: for I am very
sensible, the goodness of such Drink, as is brew'd for keeping, depends
upon the goodness of the Cellars where it is kept; for at a Gentleman's of
my Acquaintance, who for many Years has used the same Brewer, and the same
Method, his Beer is always of the same Taste, his Cellars, or Vaults, are
very dry, and have two or three Doors to them.
The _Dorchester_ Beer, which is esteem'd preferable to most of the
Malt-Liquor in _England,_ is for the most part brew'd of chalky Water,
which is almost every where in that County; and as the Soil is generally
Chalk there, I am of opinion, that the Cellars being dug in that dry Soil
contributes to the good keeping of their Drink, it being of a close
texture, and of a drying quality, so as to dissipate Damps; for damp
Cellars, we find by experience, are injurious to keeping Liquors, as well
as destructive to the Casks. The Malt of this Country is of a pale Colour;
and the best Drink of this County that I have met with to be sold, is at a
small House against the Church at _Blackwater,_ four Miles beyond
_Dorchester_, in the Road to _Bridport_, in _Dorsetshire_; they broach no
Beer till it is a Year old, and has had time to mellow. But there must be
such Cellars as I speak of, which inclose a temperate Air, to ripen Drink
in; the constant temperate Air digests and softens these Malt Liquors, so
that they drink smooth as Oil; but in the Cellars which are unequal, by
letting in Heats and Colds, the Drink is subject to grow stale and sharp:
For this reason it is, that Drink, which is brew'd for a long Voyage at
Sea, should be perfectly ripe and fine before it is exported, for when it
has had sufficient time to digest in the Cask, and is rack'd from the
Bottom or Lee, it will bear carriage without injury. It is farther to be
noted, that in proportion to the quantity of Liquor, which is enclosed in
one Cask, so will it be a longer or a shorter time in ripening. A Vessel
which will contain two Hogsheads of Beer, will require twice as much time
to perfect itself as one of a Hogshead; and from my experience I find there
should be no Vessel used for strong Beer, which we design to keep, less
than a Hogshead: for one of that quantity, if it be fit to draw in a Year,
has Body enough to support it two, or three, or four Years, if it has
strength of Malt and Hops in it, as the _Dorseshire_ Beer has; and this
will bear the Sea very well, as we find every day.
There is one thing more to be consider'd in the preservation of Beer; and
that is, when once the Vessel is broach'd, we ought to have regard to the
time in which it will be expended: for if there happens to be a quick
Draught for it, then it will last good to the very bottom; but if there is
likely to be a slow draught, then do not draw off quite half, before you
bottle it, or else your Beer will grow flat, dead, or sour. This is
observed very much among the Curious.
One great piece of Oeconomy is the good management of Small Beer; for if
that is not good, the Drinkers of it will be feeble in Summer-time, and
incapable of strong Work, and will be very subject to Distempers; and
besides, when Drink is not good, a great deal will be thrown away. The use
of Drink, as well as Meat, is to nourish the Body; and the more Labour
there is upon any one, the more substantial should be the Dyet. In the time
of Harvest I have often seen the bad Effects of bad Small Beer among the
Workmen; and in great Families, where that Article has not been taken care
of, the Apothecaries Bills have amounted to twice as much more as the Malt
would have come to, that would have kept the Servants in strength and good
health; besides one thing more, which I observed above, good wholesome
Drink is seldom flung away by Servants, so that the sparing of a little
Malt ends in loss to the Master. Where there is good Cellaring, therefore,
it is adviseable to brew a flock of Small Beer, either in this Month or
_October_, or in both Months, and to be kept in Hogsheads, if possible: The
Beer brew'd in _March_ to begin drawing in _October_, and that brew'd in
_October_ to begin in _March_, for Summer drinking; having this regard to
the quantity, that a Family of the same number of working Persons, will
drink a third more in Summer than in Winter,
If Water happens to be of a hard nature, it may be softened by setting it
exposed to the Air and Sun, and putting into it some Pieces of soft Chalk
to infuse; or else when the Water is set on to boil, for pouring upon the
Malt, put into it a quantity of Bran, which will help a little to soften
it.
I shall now mention two or three Particulars relating to Malt, which may
help those who are unacquainted with brewing: In the first place, the
general Distinctions, between one Malt and another, is only that one is
high dried, the other low dried; that which we call high dried, will, by
brewing, produce a Liquor of a brown, deep Colour; and the other, which is
the low dried, will give us a Liquor of a pale Colour. The first is dried
in such a manner, as may be said rather to be scorch'd than dried, and will
promote the Gravel and Stone, and is much less nourishing than the low
dried, or pale Malt, as they call it; for all Corn in the most simple way
is the most feeding to the Body. I have experienc'd too, that the brown
Malt, even tho' it be well brewed, will sooner turn sharp than the pale
Malt, if that be fairly brewed. I am told, that a Gentleman in
_Northamptonshire_ has dried Malt upon the Leads of a House, and has made
very good Drink of it: And the Method of drying Malt by hot Air, which was
once proposed to the Publick, will do very well for a small quantity, but
'tis much too tedious to be ever rendered profitable; however, any means
that can be used to dry Malt without parching of it, will certainly
contribute to the goodness of the Malt. At the _Greyhound_ at _Marlborough_
I have drank of the palest-colour'd Ale I ever saw, and the best tasted,
and the strongest that I have met with. In that place they dry their Malt
very tenderly, and brew with chalky Water, and their Cellars are dug in
Chalk: So at the _Crown_ at _Hockrell_ near _Bishop-Starford_ in
_Hertfordshire_, is excellent Beer of a pale Colour, strong, and well
tasted; there the Malt is tenderly dried and the Soil chalky: likewise at
_Nottingham_ and _Derby_ they brew with pale Malt, chalky Water, and their
Cellars are dug in Chalk.
These Places are noted for the Goodness of their Ale all over _England_,
insomuch that it has been computed, that there has been above two Hundred
Thousand Pounds worth of Ale sold in and about _London,_ under the
Denomination of _Nottingham, Derby, Dorchester,_ _&c._ in one Year's time:
but it is not in _London_ that we must expect to taste these Liquors in
perfection; for it is rare to find any of them there without being
adulterated, or else such Liquors are sold for them as are unskilful
Imitations of them; and I may add, are unwholesome into the bargain. While
I am writing this, a Gentleman of good Judgment in this Affair informs me,
that the Brown Malt he finds makes the best Drink, when it is brew'd with a
coarse River Water, such as that of the River _Thames_ about _London_; and
that likewise being brew'd with such Water, it makes very good Ale: but
that it will not keep above six Months, without turning stale, and a little
sharp, even tho' he allows fourteen Bushels to the Hogshead. He adds, that
he has try'd the high-dry'd Malt to brew Beer with for keeping, and hopp'd
it accordingly; and yet he could never brew it so as to drink soft and
mellow, like that brew'd with Pale Malt. There is an acid Quality in the
high-dry'd Malt, which occasions that Distemper commonly called the
Heart-burn, in those that drink of the Ale or Beer made of it. When I
mention Malt, in what I have already said above, I mean only Malt made of
Barley; for Wheat-malt, Pea-malt, or these mix'd with Barley-malt, tho'
they produce a high-colour'd Liquor, will keep many Years, and drink soft
and smooth; but then they have the Mum-Flavour. I have known some People,
who used brewing with high dry'd Barley-malt, to put a Bag, containing
about three Pints of Wheat, into every Hogshead of Drink, and that has
fined it, and made it to drink mellow: others I have seen put about three
Pints of Wheat-malt into a Hogshead, which has produced the same Effect.
But all Malt-Liquors, however they may be well-brew'd, may be spoiled by
bad Cellaring, and be now and then subject to ferment in the Cask, and
consequently turn thick and sour. The best way to help this, and bring the
Drink to it self is to open the Bung of the Cask for two or three Days, and
if that does not stop the Fermentation, then put about two or three Pounds
of Oyster-shells wash'd and dry'd well in an Oven, and then beaten to fine
Pouder, and stirring it a little, it will presently settle the Drink, make
it fine, and take off the sharp Taste of it; and as soon as that is done,
draw it off into another Vessel, and put a small Bag of Wheat or Wheat-malt
into it, as above directed, or in proportion, as the Vessel is larger or
smaller.
Sometimes such Fermentations will happen in Drink, by change of Weather, if
it is in a bad Cellar, and it will in a few Months fall fine of it self,
and grow mellow.
It is remarkable, that high-dry'd Malt should not be used in Brewing till
it has been ground ten Days, or a Fortnight, it yields much stronger Drink
than the same quantity of Malt fresh ground; but if you design to keep Malt
some time ground before you use it, you must take care to keep it very dry,
and the Air at that time should likewise be dry. And as for Pale Malt,
which has not partaken so much of the Fire, it must not remain ground above
a Week before you use it.
As for Hops, the newest are much the best, tho' they will remain very good
two Years; but after that, they begin to decay, and lose their good Flavour
unless great Quantities have been kept together; for in that case they Will
keep much longer good than in small Quantities. These, for their better
preservation, should be kept in a very dry Place, tho' the Dealers in them
rather chuse such Places as are moderately between moist and dry, that they
may not lose of their Weight. I cannot help taking notice here of a Method
which was used to some stale and decay'd Hops the last Year 1725, to make
them recover their Bitterness; which was to unbag them, and sprinkle them
with Aloes and Water, which, together with the badness of the Malt of the
same Year's growth, spoil'd great quantities of Drink about _London_; for
even where the Water, the Malt, and the Brewer, and Cellars are good, a bad
Hop will spoil all: So that every one of these Particulars should be
well-chosen before the Brewing is set about, or else we must expect but a
bad Account of our Labour. And so likewise the Yeast or Barm that you work
your Drink with, must be well consider'd, or a good Brewing may be spoil'd
by that alone; and be sure that be always provided before you begin
Brewing, for your Wort will not stay for it.
In some remote Places from Towns it is practised to dip Whisks into Yeast,
and beat it well, and so hang up the Whisks with the Yeast in them to dry;
and if there is no Brewing till two Months afterwards, the beating and
stirring one of these Whisks in New Wort, will raise a Working or
Fermentation in it. It is a Rule that all Drink should be work'd well in
the Tun, or Keel, before it be put in the Vessel, for else it will not
easily grow fine. Some follow the Rule of beating down the Yeast pretty
often while it is in the Tun, and keep it there working for two or three
Days, observing to put it in the Vessel just when the Yeast begins to fall.
This Drink is commonly very fine; whereas that, which is put into the
Vessel quickly after 'tis brew'd, will not be fine in many Months.
We may yet observe, that with relation to the Season for brewing of Drink
for keeping, if the Cellars are subject to the Heat of the Sun, or warm
Summer Air, it is best to brew in _October_, that the Drink may have time
to digest before the warm Season comes on: And if Cellars are inclinable to
Damps, and to receive Water, the best time is to brew in _March_, and I
know some experienced Brewers, who always chuse the brewing of Pale Malt in
_March_, and the Brown in _October_; for they guess that the Pale Malt,
being made with a lesser degree of Fire than the other, wants the Summer
Season to ripen in; and so on the contrary, the Brown having had a larger
share of the Fire to dry it, is more capable of defending itself against
the Cold of the Winter-Season. But how far these Reasons may be just, I
shall not pretend to determine; but in such a Work as this, nothing should
be omitted that may contribute to give the least Hint towards meliorating
so valuable a Manufacture; the Artists in the Brewing Way are at liberty to
judge as they please.
But when we have been careful in all the above Particulars, if the Casks
are not in good order, still the Brewing may be spoil'd. New Casks are apt
to give Drink an ill Taste, if they are not well scalded and season'd
several days successively, before they are put in use; and for old Casks,
if they stand any time out of use, they are apt to grow musty: unslack'd
Lime, about a Gallon to a Hogshead, with about six Gallons of Water put in
with it, and the Hogshead presently stopp'd up, will clear it of its Taint,
if the same be repeated four or five times; or burning of Linnen dipp'd in
Brimstone, to be close stopped in a Cask, three or four times repeated,
will do the same: or else put Water in your Vessels, and throw in some
burning Coals, and stop them close, will do the like, if it be often
repeated.
I have now but little more to say about the Management of Drink, and that
is concerning the Bottling of it. The Bottles first must be well clean'd
and dry'd; for wet Bottles will make the Drink turn mouldy, or motherry, as
they call it; and by wet Bottles, many Vessels of good Drink are spoiled:
but if the Bottles are clean and dry, yet if the Corks are not new and
found, the Drink is still liable to be damaged; for if the Air can get into
the Bottles, the Drink will grow flat, and will never rise. I have known
many who have flatter'd themselves that they knew how to be saving, and
have used old Corks on this occasion, that have spoiled as much Liquor as
has stood them in four or five Pounds, only for want of laying out three or
four Shillings. If Bottles are cork'd as they should be, it is hard to pull
out the Corks without a Screw, and to be sure to draw the Cork without
breaking, the Screw ought to go through the Cork, and then the Air must
necessarily find a Passage where the Screw has pass'd, and therefore the
Cork is good for nothing; or if a Cork has once been in a Bottle, and has
been drawn without a Screw, yet that Cork will turn musty as soon as it is
exposed to the Air, and will communicate its ill Flavour to the Bottle
where it is next put, and spoil the Drink that way.
In the choice of Corks, chuse those that are soft, and clear from Specks,
and lay them in Water a day or two before you use them; but let them dry
again before you put them in the Bottles, lest they should happen to turn
mouldy: with this care you may make good Drink, and preserve it to answer
your expectation.
In the bottling of Drink, you may also observe, that the top and middle of
the Hogshead is the strongest, and will sooner rise in the Bottles than the
bottom: And when once you begin to bottle a Vessel of any Liquor, be sure
not to leave it till all is complcated, for else you will have some of one
Taste, and some of another.
If you find that a Vessel of Drink begins to grow flat, whilst it is in
common draught, bottle it, and into every Bottle put a piece of Loaf-Sugar,
about the quantity of a Walnut, which will make the Drink rise and come to
itself: and to forward its ripening, you may set some Bottles in Hay in a
warm Place; but Straw will not assist its ripening.
Where there are not good Cellars, I have known Holes sunk in the Ground,
and large Oil Jars put into them, and the Earth filled close about the
sides: One of these Jars may hold about a dozen quart Bottles, and will
keep the Drink very well; but the tops of the Jars must be kept close
cover'd up. And in Winter time, when the Weather is frosty, shut up all the
Lights or Windows into such Cellars, and cover them close with fresh
Horse-Dung, or Horse-Litter; but 'tis much better to have no Lights or
Windows at all to any Cellar, for the reasons I have given above.
If there has been opportunity of brewing a good stock of Small Beer in
_March_ and _October_, some of it may be bottled at six Months end, putting
into every Bottle a lump of Loaf-Sugar as big as a Walnut; this especially
will be very refreshing Drink in the Summer: Or if you happen to brew in
Summer, and are desirous of brisk Small Beer, bottle it, as above, as soon
as it has done working.
* * * * *