_A Philosophical Account for Brewing strong_ October _Beer. By an
Ingenious Hand_.
In Brewing, your Malt ought to be sound and good, and after its making to
lye two or more Months in the Heap, to come to such a temper, that the
Kernel may readily melt in the washing.
The well dressing your Malt, ought to be one chief Care; for unless it be
freed from the Tails and Dust, your Drink will not be fine and mellow as
when it is clean dressed.
The grinding also must be considered according to the high or low drying
of the Malt; for if high dryed, then a gross grinding is best, otherwise a
smaller may be done; for the Care in grinding consists herein, lest too
much of the Husk being ground small should mix with the Liquor, which
makes a gross Feces, and consequently your Drink will have too fierce a
Fermentation, and by that means make it Acid, or that we call Stale.
When your Malt is ground, let it stand in Sacks twenty-four Hours at
least, to the end that the Heat in grinding may be allayed, and 'tis
conceived by its so standing that the Kernel will dissolve the better.
The measure and quantity we allow of Hops and Malt, is five Quarter of
Malt to three Hogsheads of Beer, and eighteen Pounds of Hops at least to
that Quantity of Malt, and if Malt be pale dryed, then add three or four
Pounds of Hops more.
The Choice of Liquor for Brewing is of considerable advantage in making
good Drink, the softest and cleanest water is to be prererr'd, your harsh
water is not to be made use of.
You are to boil your first Liquor, adding a Handful or two of Hops to it,
then before you strike it over to your Goods or Malt, cool in as much
Liquor, as will bring it to a temper not to scald the Malt, for it is a
fault not to take the Liquor as high as possible but not to scald. The
next Liquors do the same.
And indeed all your Liquors ought to be taken as high as may be, that is
not to scald.
When you let your Wort from your Malt into the Underback, put to it a
Handful or two of Hops, 'twill preserve it from that accident which
Brewers call Blinking or Foxing.
In boiling your Worts, the first Wort boil high or quick; for the quicker
the first Wort is boiled, the better it is.
The second boil more than the first, and the third or last more than the
second.
In cooling lay your Worts thin, and let each be well cooled, and Care must
be taken in letting them down into the Tun, that you do it leisurely, to
the end that as little of the Feces or Sediment which causes the
Fermentation to be fierce or mild, for Note, there is in all fermented
Liquors, Salt and Sulphur, and to keep these two Bodies in a due
Proportion, that the Salt does not exalt itself above the Sulphur,
consists a great part of the Art in Brewing.
When your Wort is first let into your Tun, put but a little Yeast to it,
and let it work by degrees quietly, and if you find it works but moderate,
whip in the Yeast two or three times or more, till you find your Drink
well fermented, for without a full opening of the Body by fermentation, it
will not be perfect fine, nor will it drink clean and light.
When you cleanse, do it by a Cock from your Tun, placed six Inches from
the Bottom, to the end that most of the Sediment may be left behind, which
may be thrown on your Malt to mend your Small Beer.
When your Drink is Tunn'd, fill your Vessel full, let it work at the
Bung-hole, and have a reserve in a small Cask to fill it up, and don't put
any of the Drink which will be under the Yeast after it is work'd over
into your Vessels, but put it by itself in another Cask, for it will not
be so good as your other in the Cask.
This done, you must wait for the finishing of the fermentation, then stop
it close, and let it stand till the Spring, for Brewing ought to be done
in the Month of _October_, that it may have time to settle and digest all
the Winter Season.
In the Spring you must unstop your Vent-hole and thereby see whether your
Drink doth ferment or not, for as soon as the warm Weather comes, your
Drink will have another fermentation, which when it is over, let it be
again well stopped and stand till _September_ or longer, and then Peg it;
and if you find it pretty fine, the Hop well rotted and of a good pleasant
taste for drinking.
Then and not before draw out a Gallon of it, put to it two Ounces of
Ising-glass cut small and well beaten to melt, stirring it often and whip
it with a Wisk till the Ising-glass be melted, then strain it and put it
into your Vessel, stirring it well together, stop the Bung slightly, for
this will cause a new and small fermentation, when that is over stop it
close, leaving only a Vent-hole a little stopp'd, let it stand, and in ten
Days or a little more, it will be transparently fine, and you may drink of
it out of the Vessel till two parts in three be drawn, then Bottle the
rest, which will in a little time come to drink very well. If your Drink
in _September_ be well condition'd for taste, but not fine, and you desire
to drink it presently, rack it before you put your Ising-glass to it, and
then it will fine the better and drink the cleaner.
To make Drink fine quickly, I have been told that by separating the Liquor
from the Feces, when the Wort is let out of the Tun into the Underback,
which may be done in this manner, when you let your Wort into your
Underback out of your Tun, catch the Wort in some Tub so long, and so
often as you find it run foul, put that so catched on the Malt again, and
do so till the Wort run clear into the Underback. This is to me a very
good way (where it may be done) for 'tis the Feces which causes the fierce
and violent fermentation, and to hinder that in some measure is the way to
have fine Drink: Note that the finer you make your Wort, the sooner your
Drink will be fine, for I have heard that some Curious in Brewing have
caused Flannels to be so placed, that all the Wort may run thro' one or
more of them into the Tun before working, by which means the Drink was
made very fine and well tasted.
_Observations on the foregoing Account_.
This Excellent Philosophical Account of Brewing _October_ Beer, has
hitherto remained in private Hands as a very great Secret, and was given
to a Friend of mine by the Author himself, to whom the World is much
obliged, altho' it comes by me; In justice therefore to this ingenious
Person, I would here mention his Name, had I leave for so doing; but at
present this Intimation must suffice. However, I shall here take notice,
that his Caution against using tailed or dusty Malt, which is too commonly
sold, is truly worthy of Observation; for these are so far from producing
more Ale or Beer, that they absorb and drink part of it up.
In Grinding Malts he notifies well to prevent a foul Drink.
The quantity he allows is something above thirteen Bushels to the Hogshead
which is very sufficient; but this as every body pleases.
The Choice of Liquors or Waters for Brewing, he says, is of considerable
advantage; and so must every body else that knows their Natures and loves
Health, and pleasant Drink: For this purpose, in my Opinion, the Air and
Soil is to be regarded where the Brewing is performed; since the Air
affects all things it can come at, whether Animal, Vegetable or Mineral,
as may be proved from many Instances: In the Marshes of _Kent_ and
_Essex_, the Air there is generally so infectious by means of those low
vaesy boggy Grounds, that seldom a Person escapes an Ague one time or
other, whether Natives or Aliens, and is often fatally known to some of
the _Londoners_ and others who merrily and nimbly travel down to the Isles
of _Grain_ and _Sheppy_ for a valuable Harvest, but in a Month's time they
generally return thro' the Village of _Soorne_ with another Mien. There is
also a little _Moor_ in _Hertfordshire_, thro' which a Water runs that
frequently gives the _Passant_ Horses that drink of it, the Colick or
Gripes, by means of the aluminous sharp Particles of its Earth; Its Air is
also so bad, as has obliged several to remove from its Situation for their
Healths: The Dominion of the Air is likewise so powerful over Vegetables,
that what will grow in one Place won't in another, as is plain from the
Beech and Black Cherry Tree, that refuse the Vale of _Ailesbury_ tho' on
some Hills there, yet will thrive in the _Chiltern_ or Hilly Country: So
the Limes and other Trees about _London_ are all generally black-barked,
while those in the Country are most of them of a Silver white. Water is
also so far under the Influence of the Air and Soil, as makes many
excellent for Brewing when others are as bad. In Rivers, that run thro'
boggy Places, the Sullage or Washings of such Soils are generally
unwholsome as the nature of such Ground is; and so the Water becomes
infected by that and the Effluvia or Vapour that accompanies such Water:
So Ponds are surely good or bad, as they are under too much Cover or
supply'd by nasty Drains, or as they stand situated or exposed to good and
bad Airs. Thus the Well-waters by consequence share in the good or bad
Effects of such Soils that they run thorough, and the very Surface of the
Earth by which such Waters are strained, is surely endowed with the
quality of the Air in which it lies; which brings me to my intended
purpose, to prove that Water drawn out of a Chalky, or Fire-stone Well,
which is situated under a dry sweet loamy Soil, in a fine pure Air, and
that is perfectly soft, must excel most if not all other Well-waters for
the purpose in Brewing. The Worts also that are rooted in such an Air, in
course partakes of its nitrous Benefits, as being much exposed thereto in
the high Backs or Coolers that contain them. In my own Grounds I have
Chalks under Clays and Loams; but as the latter is better than the former,
so the Water proves more soft and wholsome under one than the other. Hence
then may be observed the contrary Quality of those harsh curdling
Well-waters that many drink of in their Malt Liquors, without considering
their ill Effects, which are justly condemn'd by this able Author as unfit
to be made use of in Brewing _October_ Beer.
The boiling a few Hops in the first Water is good, but they must be
strained thro' a Sieve before the Water is put into the Malt; and to check
its Heat with cold Liquor, or to let it stand to cool some time, is a
right Method, lest it scalds and locks up the Pores of the Malt, which
would then yield a thick Wort to the end of the Brewing and never be good
Drink.
His putting Hops into the Underback, is an excellent Contrivance to
prevent foxing, as I have already hinted.
The quick boiling of the Wort is of no less Service, and that the smaller
Wort should be boiled longer than the strong is good Judgment, because the
stronger the Wort, the sooner the Spirits flie away and the waste of more
Consequence; besides if the first Wort was to be boiled too long, it would
obtain so thick a Body, as to prevent in great measure its fining
hereafter after so soon in the Barrel; while the smaller sort will
evaporate its more watry Parts, and thereby be brought into a thicker
Confidence, which is perfectly necessary in thin Worts; and in this
Article lies so much the Skill of the Brewer, that some will make a longer
Length than ordinary from the Goods for Small Beer, to shorten it
afterwards in the Copper by Length of boiling, and this way of consuming
it is the more natural, because the remaining part will be better Cured.
The laying Worts thin is a most necessary Precaution; for this is one way
to prevent their running into Cohesions and Foxing, the want of which
Knowledge and Care has undoubtedly been the occasion of great Losses in
Brewing; for when Worts are tainted in any considerable degree, they will
be ropy in time and unfit for the human Body, as being unwholsome as well
as unpleasant. So likewise is his _Item_ of great Importance, when he
advises to draw the Worts off fine out of the Backs or Coolers, and leave
the Feces or Sediments behind, by reason, as he says, they are the cause
of those two detested Qualities in Malt Liquors, staleness and foulness,
two Properties that ought to imploy the greatest Care in Brewers to
prevent; for 'tis certain these Sediments are a Composition of the very
worst part of the Malt, Hops and Yeast, and, while they are in the Barrel,
will so tincture and impregnate the Drink with their insanous and
unpleasant nature, that its Drinkers will be sure to participate thereof
more or less as they have lain together a longer or a shorter time. To
have then a Malt Drink balsamick and mild, the Worts cannot be run off too
fine from the Coolers, nor well fermented too slow, that there may be a
Medium kept, in both the Salt and Sulphur that all fermented Malt Drinks
abound with, and herein, as he says, lies a great part of the Art of
Brewing.
He says truly well, that a little Yeast at first should be put to the
Wort, that it may quietly work by degrees, and not be violently forc'd
into a high Fermentation; for then by course the Salt and Sulphur will be
too violently agitated into such an Excess and Disagreement of Parts, that
will break their Unity into irregular Commotions, and cause the Drink to
be soon stale and harsh. But if it should be too backward and work too
moderate, then whipping the Yeast two or three times into it will be of
some service to open the Body of the Beer, for as he observes, if Drink
has not a due fermentation, it will not be fine, clean, nor light.
His advice to draw the Drink out of the Tun by a Cock at such a distance
from the bottom is right; because that room will best keep the Feces from
being disturb'd as the Drink is drawing off, and leaving them behind; but
for putting them afterwards over the Malt for Small Beer, I don't hold it
consonant with good Brewing, by reason in this Sediment there are many
Particles of the Yeast, that consequently will cause a small Fermentation
in the Liquor and Malt, and be a means to spoil rather than make good
Small Beer.
What he says of filling up the Cask with a reserve of the same Drink, and
not with that which has once worked out, is past dispute just and right.
And so is what he says of stopping up the Vessel close after the
Fermentation is over; but that it is best to Brew all strong Beer in
_October_, I must here take leave to dissent from the Tenet, because there
is room for several Objections in relation to the sort of Malt and Cellar,
which as I have before explained, shall say the less here.
As he observes Care should be taken in the Spring to unstop the Vent, lest
the warm Weather cause such a Fermentation as may burst the Cask, and also
in _September_, that it be first try'd by Pegging if the Drink is fine,
well tasted and the Hop rotted; and then if his Way is liked best, bring
the rest into a transparent Fineness; for Clearness in Malt Liquors, as I
said before, and here repeat it again, is a most agreeable Quality that
every Man ought to enjoy for his Health and Pleasure, and therefore he
advises for dispatch in this Affair, and to have the Drink very fine, to
rack it off before the Ising-glass is put in; but I can't be a Votary for
this Practice, as believing the Drink must lose a great deal of its
Spirits by such shifting; yet I must chime in with his Notion of putting
the Wort so often over the Malt till it comes off fine as I have already
taught, which is a Method that has been used many Years in the North of
_England_, where they are so curious as to let the Wort lie some time in
the Underback to draw it off from the Feces there; nor are they less
careful to run it fine out of the Cooler into the Tun, and from that into
the Cask; in all which three several Places the Wort and Drink may be had
clear and fine, and then there will be no more Sediments than is just
necessary to assist and seed the Beer, and preserving its Spirits in a due
Temper. But if Persons have Time and Conveniency, and their Inclination
leads them to, obtain their Drink in the utmost Fineness, it is an
extraordinary good way to use _Hippocrates_ Sleeve or Flannel Bag, which I
did in my great Brew-house at _London_ for straining off the Feces that
were left in the Backs. As to the Quantity of Malt for Brewing a Hogshead
of _October_ Beer, I am of Opinion thirteen Bushels are right, and so are
ten, fifteen and twenty, according as People approve of; for near
_Litchfield_, I know some have brewed a Hogshead of _October_ Beer from
sixteen Bushels of Barley Malt, one of Wheat, one of Beans, one of Pease
and one of Oat Malt, besides hanging a Bag of Flower taken out of the last
four Malts in the Hogshead for the Drink to feed on, nor can a certain
Time Be limited and adjusted for the Tapping of any Drink (notwithstanding
what has been affirmed to the contrary) because some Hops will not be
rotted so soon as others, and some Drinks will not fine so soon as others;
as is evident in the Pale Malt Drinks, that will seldom or never break so
soon in the Copper as the Brown sort, nor will they be so soon ripe and
fit to Tap as the high dryed Malt Drink will. Therefore what this
Gentleman says of trying Drink by first Pegging it before it is Tapp'd, in
my Opinion is more just and right than relying on a limited time for
Broaching such Beer.