_The Country or private way of Brewing_.
Several Countries have their several Methods of Brewing, as is practised
in _Wales, Dorchester, Nottingham, Dundle_, and many other Places; but
evading Particulars, I shall here recommend that which I think is most
serviceable both in Country and _London_ private Families. And first, I
shall observe that the great Brewer has some advantages in Brewing more
than the small one, and yet the latter has some Conveniences which the
former can't enjoy; for 'tis certain that the great Brewer can make more
Drink, and draw a greater Length in proportion to his Malt, than a Person
can from a lesser Quantity, because the greater the Body, the more is its
united Power in receiving and discharging, and he can Brew with less
charge and trouble by means of his more convenient Utensils. But then the
private Brewer is not without his Benefits; for he can have his Malt
ground at pleasure, his Tubs and moveable Coolers sweeter and better
clean'd than the great fixed Tuns and Backs, he can skim off his top Yeast
and leave his bottom Lees behind, which is what the great Brewer can't so
well do; he can at discretion make additions of cold wort to his too
forward Ales and Beers, which the great Brewer can't so conveniently do;
he can Brew how and when he pleases, which the great ones are in some
measure hindred from. But to come nearer the matter, I will suppose a
private Family to Brew five Bushels of Malt, whose Copper holds brim-full
thirty six Gallons or a Barrel: On this water we put half a Peck of Bran
or Malt when it is something hot, which will much forward it by keep in
the Steams or Spirit of the water, and when it begins to Boil, if the
water is foul, skim off the Bran or Malt and give it the Hogs, or else
lade both water and that into the mash Vat, where it is to remain till the
steam is near spent, and you can see your Face in it, which will be in
about a quarter of an Hour in cold weather; then let all but half a Bushel
of the Malt run very leisurely into it, stirring it all the while with an
Oar or Paddle, that it may not Ball, and when the Malt is all but just
mix'd with water it is enough, which I am sensible is different from the
old way and the general present Practice; but I shall here clear that
Point. For by not stirring or mashing the Malt into a Pudding Consistence
or thin Mash, the Body of it lies in a more loose Condition, that will
easier and sooner admit of a quicker and more true Passage of the
after-ladings of the several Bowls or Jets of hot water, which must run
thorough it before the Brewing is ended; by which free percolation the
water has ready access to all the parts of the broken Malt, so that the
Brewer is capacitated to Brew quicker or slower, and to make more Ale or
small Beer; If more Ale, then hot Boiling water must be laded over to
slow that one Bowl must run almost off before another is put over, which
will occasion the whole Brewing to last about sixteen Hours, especially
if the _Dundle_ way is followed, of spending it out of the Tap as small
as a Straw, and as fine as Sack, and then it will be quickly so in the
Barrel: Of if less or weaker Ale is to be made and good small Beer, then
the second Copper of boiling water may be put over expeditiously and
drawn out with a large and fast steam. After the first stirring of the
Malt is done, then put over the reserve of half a Bushel of fresh Malt
to the four Bushels and half that is already in the Tub, which must be
spread all over it, and also cover the top of the Tub with some Sacks or
other Cloths to keep in the Steam or Spirit of the Malt; then let it
stand two or three Hours, at the end of which, put over now and then a
Bowl of the boiling water in the Copper as is before directed, and so
continue to do till as much is run off as will almost fill the Copper;
then in a Canvas or other loose woven Cloth, put in half a Pound of Hops
and boil them half an Hour, when they must be taken out, and as many
fresh ones put in their room as is judged proper to boil half an Hour
more, if for Ale: But if for keeping Beer, half a Pound of fresh ones
should be put in at every half Hour's end, and Boil an Hour and a half
briskly: Now while the first Copper of wort is Boiling, there should be
scalding water leisurely put over the Goods, Bowl by Bowl, and run off,
that the Copper may be filled again immediately after the first is out,
and boiled an Hour with near the same quantity of fresh Hops, and in the
same manner as those in the first Copper of Ale-wort were. The rest for
small Beer may be all cold water put over the Grains at once, or at
twice, and Boil'd an Hour each Copper with the Hops that has been boil'd
before. But here I must observe, that sometimes I have not an
opportunity to get hot water for making all my second Copper of wort,
which obliges me then to make use of cold to supply what was wanting.
Out of five Bushels of Malt, I generally make a Hogshead of Ale with the
two first Coppers of wort, and a Hogshead of small Beer with the other
two, but this more or less according to please me, always taking Care to
let each Copper of wort be strained off thro' a Sieve, and cool in four
or five Tubs to prevent its foxing. Thus I have brewed many Hogsheads of
midling Ale that when the Malt is good, has proved strong enough for
myself and satisfactory to my friends: But for strong keeping Beer, the
first Copper of wort may be wholly put to that use, and all the rest
small Beer: Or when the first Copper of wort is intirely made use of for
strong Beer, the Goods may be help'd with more fresh Malt (according to
the _London_ Fashion) and water lukewarm put over at first with the
Bowl, but soon after sharp or boiling water, which may make a Copper of
good Ale, and small Beer after that. In some Parts of the North, they
take one or more Cinders red hot and throw some Salt on them to overcome
the Sulphur of the Coal, and then directly thrust it into the fresh Malt
or Goods, where it lies till all the water is laded over and the Brewing
done, for there is only one or two mashings or stirrings at most
necessary in a Brewing: Others that Brew with Wood will quench one or
more Brands ends of Ash in a Copper of wort, to mellow the Drink as a
burnt Toast of Bread does a Pot of Beer; but it is to be observed, that
this must not be done with Oak, Firr, or any other strong-scented Wood;
lest it does more harm than good.
_Another Way_.
When small Beer is not wanted, and another Brewing is soon to succeed the
former, then may the last small Beer wort, that has had no Hops boiled in
it, remain in the Copper all Night, which will prevent its foxing, and be
ready to boil instead of so much water to put over the next fresh Malt:
This will greatly contribute to the strengthening, bettering and colouring
of the next wort, and is commonly used in this manner when Stout or
_October_ Beer is to be made, not that it is less serviceable if it was
for Ale, or Intire Guile small Beer; but lest it should taste of the
Copper by remaining all Night in it, it may be dispersed into Tubs and
kept a Week or more together if some fresh cold water is daily added to
it, and may be brewed as I have mentioned, taking particular Care in this
as well as in the former ways to return two, three, or more Hand-bowls of
wort into the Mash Tub, that first of all runs off, till it comes
absolutely fine and clear, and then it may spend away or run off for good:
Others will reserve this small Beer wort unboiled in Tubs, and keep it
there a Week in Winter, or two or three Days in Summer, according to
Conveniency, by putting fresh water every Day to it, and use it instead of
water for the first Mash, alledging it is better so than boiled, because
by that it is thickened and will cause the wort to run foul; this may be a
Benefit to a Victualler that Brews to Sell again, and can't Vent his small
Beer; because for such small raw wort that is mix'd with any water, there
is no Excise to be pay'd.
_For Brewing Intire Guile Small Beer_.
There can be no way better for making good small Beer, than by Brewing it
from fresh Malt, because in Malt as well as in Hops, and so in all other
Vegetables, there is a Spirituous and Earthy part, as I shall further
enlarge on in writing of the Hop; therefore all Drink brewed from Goods or
Grains after the first or second worts are run off, is not so good and
wholsome, as that intirely brewed from fresh Malt, nor could any thing but
Necessity cause me to make use of such Liquor; yet how many thousands are
there in this Nation that know nothing of the matter, tho' it is of no
small Importance, and ought to be regarded by all those that value their
Health and Taste. And here I advertise every one who reads or hears this,
and is capable of being his own Friend, so far to mind this _Item_ and
prefer that small Beer which is made entirely from fresh Malt, before any
other that is brewed after strong Beer or Ale. Now to brew such Guile
small Beer after the boiling water has stood in the Tub till it is clear,
put in the Malt leisurely, and mash it that it does not Ball or Clot, then
throw over some fresh Malt on the Top, and Cloths over that, and let it
stand two Hours before it is drawn off, the next water may be between hot
and cold, the next boiling hot, and the next Cold; or if conveniency
allows not, there may be once scalding water, and all the rest cold
instead of the last three. Thus I brew my Intire Guile small Beer, by
putting the first and last worts together, allowing half, or a Pound of
Hops to a Hogshead and boiling it one Hour, but if the Hops were shifted
twice in that time, the Drink would plainly discover the benefit.
Sometimes, when I have been in haste for small Beer, I have put half a
Bushel of Malt and a few Hops into my Barrel-Copper, and boil'd a Kettle
gallop as some call it an Hour, and made me a present Drink, till I had
more leisure to brew better.
_A particular way of Brewing strong_ October _Beer_.
There was a Man in this Country that brewed for a Gentleman constantly
after a Very precise Method, and that was, as soon as he had put over all
his first Copper of water and mash'd it some time, he would directly let
the Cock run a small stream and presently put some fresh Malt on the
former, and mash on the while the Cock was spending, which he would put
again over the Malt, as often as his Pail or Hand-bowl was full, and this
for an Hour or two together; then he would let it run off intirely, and
put it over at once, to run off again as small as a Straw. This was for
his _October_ Beer: Then he would put scalding water over the Goods at
once, but not mash, and Cap them with more fresh Malt that stood an Hour
undisturbed before he would draw it off for Ale; the rest was hot water
put over the Goods and mash'd at twice for small Beer: And it was observed
that his _October_ Beer was the most famous in the Country, but his Grains
good for little, for that he had by this method wash'd out all or most of
their goodness; this Man was a long while in Brewing, and once his Beer
did not work in the Barrel for a Month in a very hard Frost, yet when the
weather broke it recovered and fermented well, and afterwards proved very
good Drink, but he seldom work'd, his Beer less than a Week in the Vat,
and was never tapp'd under three Years.
This way indeed is attended with extraordinary Labour and Time, by the
Brewers running off the wort almost continually, and often returning the
same again into the mash Vat, but then it certainly gives him an
opportunity of extracting and washing out the goodness of the Malt, more
than any of the common Methods, by which he is capacitated to make his
_October_ or _March_ Beer as strong as he pleases. The Fame of _Penly
October_ Beer is at this time well known not only throughout
_Hertfordshire_, but several other remote Places, and truly not without
desert, for in all my Travels I never met with any that excell'd it, for a
clear amber Colour, a fine relish, and a light warm digestion. But what
excell'd all was the generosity of its Donor, who for Hospitality in his
Viands and this _October_ Beer, has left but few of his Fellows. I
remember his usual Expression to be, You are welcome to a good Batch of my
_October_, and true it was, that he proved his Words by his Deeds, for not
only the rich but even the poor Man's Heart was generally made glad, even
in advance, whenever they had Business at _Penly_, as expecting a
refreshment of this Cordial Malt Liquor, that often was accompany'd with a
good Breakfast or Dinner besides, while several others that had greater
Estates would seem generous by giving a Yeoman Man Neighbour, the
Mathematical Treat of a look on the Spit, and a standing Drink at the Tap.
_Of Brewing Molosses Beer_.
Molosses or Treacle has certainly been formerly made too much use of in
the brewing of Stout Beer, common Butt Beers, brown Ales and small Beer
when Malts have been dear: But it is now prohibited under the Penalty of
fifty Pounds for every ten Pounds weight found in any common Brewhouse,
and as Malts are now about twenty Shillings _per_ Quarter, and like to be
so by the Blessing of God, and the Assistance of that invaluable excellent
Liquor for steeping Seed Barley in, published in a late Book intituled,
_Chiltern and Vale Farming Explained_: There is no great danger of that,
Imposition being rife again, which in my Opinion was very unwholsome,
because the Brewer was obliged to put such a large quantity of Treacle
into his water or small wort to make it strong Beer or Ale, as very
probably raised a sweating in some degree in the Body of the drinker: Tho'
in small Beer a lesser quantity will serve; and therefore I have known
some to brew it in that for their Health's sake, because this does not
breed the Scurvy like Malt-liquors, and at the same time will keep open
the Pipes and Passages of the Lungs and Stomach, for which purpose they
put in nine Pounds weight into a Barrel-Copper of cold water, first mixing
it well, and boiling it briskly with a quarter of a Pound of Hops or more
one Hour, so that it may come off twenty seven Gallons.
_A Method practiced by a Victualler for Brewing of Ale or_ October _Beer
from_ Nottingham.
His Copper holds twenty four Gallons, and the Mash Tub has room enough for
four and more Bushels of Malt. The first full Copper of boiling water he
puts into the Mash Tub, there to lye a quarter of an Hour, till the steam
is so far spent, that he can see his Face in it, or as soon as the hot
water is put in, throws a Pail or two of cold water into it, which will
bring it at once into a temper; then he lets three Bushels of Malt be run
leisurely into it, and stirred or mash'd all the while, but as little as
can be, or no more than just to keep the Malt from clotting or balling;
when that is done, he puts one Bushel of dry Malt on the Top to keep in
the Vapour or Spirit, and so lets it stand covered two Hours, or till the
next Copper full of water is boiled hot, which he lades over the Malt or
Goods three Hand-bowls full at a time, that are to run off at the Cock or
Tap by a very small stream before more is put on, which again must be
returned into the Mash Tub till it comes off exceeding fine, for unless
the wort is clear when it goes into the Copper, there are little hopes it
will be so in the Barrel, which leisure way obliges him to be sixteen
Hours in brewing these four Bushels of Malt. Now between the ladings over
he puts cold water into the Copper to be boiling hot, while the other is
running off; by this means his Copper is kept up near full, and the Cock
spending to the end of brewing his Ale or small Beer, of which only twenty
one Gallons must be saved of the first wort that is reserved in a Tub,
wherein four Ounces of Hops are put and then it is to be set by. For the
second wort I will suppose there are twenty Gallons of water in the Copper
boiling hot, that must be all laded over in the same manner as the former
was, but no cold water need here be mixed; when half of this is run out
into a Tub, it must be directly put into the Copper with half of the first
wort, strain'd thro' the Brewing Sieve as it lies on a small loose wooden
Frame over the Copper, to keep back those Hops that were first put in to
preserve it, which is to make the first Copper twenty one Gallons; then
upon its beginning to boil he puts in a Pound of Hops in one or two Canvas
or other coarse Linnen Bags, somewhat larger than will just contain the
Hops, that an allowance may be given for their swell; this he boils away
very briskly for half an Hour, when he takes the Hops out and continues
boiling the wort by itself till it breaks into Particles a little ragged,
and then it is enough and must be dispers'd into the cooling Tubs very
thin: Then put the remainder of the first and second wort together and
boil that, the same time, in the same manner, and with the same quantity
of fresh Hops the first was. The rest of the third or small Beer wort will
be about fifteen or twenty Gallons more or less, he mixes directly with
some cold water to keep it free of Excise, and puts it into the Copper as
the first Liquor to begin a second Brewing of Ale with another four
Bushels of Malt as he did before, and so on for several Days together if
necessary; but at last there may be some small Beer made, tho' some will
make make none, because the Goods or Grains will go the further in feeding
of Hogs.
_Observations on the foregoing Method_.
The first Copper of twenty four Gallons of water is but sufficient to wet
three Bushels of Malt, and by the additions of cold water as the hot is
expended, it matters not how much the Malt drinks up: Tho' a third part of
water is generally allowed for that purpose that is never returned.
By the leisure putting over the Bowls of water, the goodness of the Malt
is the more extracted and washed out, so that more Ale may be this way
made and less small Beer, than if the wort was drawed out hastily; besides
the wort has a greater opportunity of coming off finer by a slow stream
than by a quicker one, which makes this Method excel all others that
discharge the wort out of the Mash Tub more hastily. Also by the continual
running of the Cock or Tap, the Goods or Grains are out of danger of
sowring, which often happens in Summer Brewings, especially when the Cook
is stopt between the several boilings of the wort, and what has been the
very Cause of damaging or spoiling many Guiles of Drink.
This Brewer reposes such a Confidence in the Hops to preserve the wort
from fixing even in the very hottest time in Summer, that he puts all his
first running into one Tub, till he has an opportunity of boiling it, and
when Tubs and Room are so scarce that the wort is obliged to be laid thick
to cool, then the security of some fresh Hops (and not them already boiled
or soak'd) may be put into it, which may be got out again by letting the
Drink run thro' the Cullender, and after that a Hair Sieve to keep the
Seeds of the Hop back as the Drink goes into the Barrel: But this way of
putting Hops into the cooling Tubs is only meant where there is a perfect
Necessity, and Tubs and Room enough can't be had to lay the wort thin.
By this Method of Brewing, Ale may be made as strong or as small as is
thought fit, and so may the small Beer that comes after, and is so
agreeable that this Brewer makes his Ale and strong keeping _October_
Beer, all one and the same way, only with this Difference, that the latter
is stronger and more hopp'd than the former. Where little or no small Beer
is wanted, there may little or none be Brewed, according to this manner of
Working, which is no small Conveniency to a little Family that uses more
strong than small, nor is there any Loss by leaving the Grainy in some
Heart, where Horse, Cows, Hogs, or Rabbits are kept.
I am very sensible that the Vulgar Error for many Years, has been a
standard Sign to the ignorant of boiling strong Worts only till they break
or curdle in the Copper, which sometimes will be in three quarters of an
Hour, or in an Hour or more, according to the nature of the Malt and
Water; but from these in some measure I dissent, and also from those that
boil it two or three Hours, for it is certain the longer worts boil, the
thicker they are made, because the watry or thin parts evaporate first
away, and the thicker any Drink is boiled, the longer it requires to lye
in the Barrel to have its Particles broke, which Age must be then the sole
cause of, and therefore I have fixed the time and sign to know when the
wort is truly enough, and that in such, a manner that an ordinary Capacity
may be a true judge of, which hereafter will prevent prodigious Losses in
the waste of strong worts that have often been boiled away to greater Loss
than Profit.
I have here also made known, I think, the true Method of managing the Hop
in the Copper, which has long wanted adjusting, to prevent the great
damage that longer boilings of them has been the sole occasion of to the
spoiling of most of our malt Drinks brewed in this Nation.