18th Century Brewing
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THE LONDON and COUNTRY BREWER 1736
CHAP. VII.
Of Brewing in general.
Brewing, like several other Arts is prostituted to the opinionated
Ignorance of many conceited Pretenders, who if they have but seen or been
concern'd in but one Brewing, and that only one Bushel of Malt, assume the
Name of a Brewer and dare venture on several afterwards, as believing it
no other Task, than more Labour, to Brew a great deal as well as a little;
from hence it partly is, that we meet with such hodge-podge Ales and
Beers, as are not only disagreeable in Taste and Foulness, but indeed
unwholsome to the Body of Man, for as it is often drank thick and voided
thin, the Feces or gross part must in my Opinion remain behind in some
degree. Now what the Effects of that may be, I must own I am not Physician
enough to explain, but shrewdly suspect it may be the Cause of Stones,
Colicks, Obstructions, and several other Chronical Distempers; for if we
consider that the sediments of Malt-liquors are the refuse of a corrupted
Grain, loaded with the igneous acid Particles of the Malt, and then again
with the corrosive sharp Particles of the Yeast, it must consequently be
very pernicious to the British human Body especially, which certainly
suffers much from the animal Salts of the great Quantities of Flesh that
we Eat more than People of any other Nation whatsoever; and therefore are
more then ordinarily obligated not to add the scorbutick mucilaginous
Qualities of such gross unwholsome Particles, that every one makes a
lodgment of in their Bodies, as the Liquors they drink are more or less
thick; for in plain Truth, no Malt-liquor can be good without it's fine.
The late Curious Simon Harcourt Esq; of Penly, whom I have had the
honour to drink some of his famous October with, thought the true Art of
Brewing of such Importance, that it is said to Cost him near twenty Pounds
to have an old Days-man taught it by a Welch Brewer, and sure it was
this very Man exceeded all others in these Parts afterwards in the Brewing
of that which he called his October Beer. So likewise in London they
lay such stress on this Art, that many have thought it worth their while
to give one or two hundred Guineas with an Apprentice: This Consideration
also made an Ambassador give an extraordinary Encouragement to one of my
Acquaintance to go over with him, that was a great Master of this Science.
But notwithstanding all that can be said that relates to this Subject,
there are so many Incidents attending Malt-liquors, that it has puzled
several expert Men to account for their difference, though brewed by the
same Brewer, with the same Malt, Hops and Water, and in the same Month and
Town, and tapp'd at the same time: The Beer of one being fine, strong and
well Tasted, while the others have not had any worth drinking, now this
may be owing to the different Weather in the same Month, that might cause
an Alteration in the working of the Liquors, or that the Cellar may not be
so convenient, or that the Water was more disturbed by Winds or Rains, &c.
But it has been observed that where a Gentleman has imployed one Brewer
constantly, and uses the same sort of Ingredients, and the Beer kept in
dry Vaults or Cellars that have two or three Doors; the Drink has been
generally good. And where such Malt-liquors are kept in Butts, more time
is required to ripen, meliorate and fine them, than those kept in
Hogsheads, because the greater quantity must have the longer time; so also
a greater quantity will preserve itself better than a lesser one, and on
this account the Butt and Hogshead are the two best sized Casks of all
others; but all under a Hogshead hold rather too small a quantity to keep
their Bodies. The Butt is certainly a most noble Cask for this use, as
being generally set upright, whereby it maintains a large Cover of Yeast,
that greatly contributes to the keeping in the Spirits of the Beer, admits
of a most convenient broaching in the middle and its lower part, and by
its broad level Bottom, gives a better lodgment to the fining and
preserving Ingredients, than any other Cask whatsoever that lyes in, the
long Cross-form. Hence it partly is, that the common Butt-beer is at this
time in greater Reputation than ever in London, and the Home-brew'd
Drinks out of Credit; because the first is better cured in its Brewing, in
its Quantity, in its Cask, and in its Age; when the latter has been loaded
with the pernicious Particles of great Quantities of Yeast, of a short
Age, and kept in small Casks, that confines its Owner, only to Winter
Brewing and Sale, as not being capable of sustaining the Heat of the
Weather, for that the acidity of the Yeast brings on a sudden hardness and
staleness of the Ale, which to preserve in its mild Aley Taste, will not
admit of any great Quantity of Hops; and this is partly the reason that
the handful of Salt which the Plymouth Brewers put into their Hogshead,
hinders their Ale from keeping, as I shall hereafter take notice of.
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