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18th Century Brewing

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THE LONDON and COUNTRY BREWER 1736

CHAP. IX.

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 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.

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