A Treatise on the Brewing of Beer Part 2

Fuel being much dearer than formerly many maltsters are too sparing of their fire; and here arises the princ.i.p.al cause why we have so much bad beer; for if malt is not well cured, that is, sound dried, it will not produce good and wholesome beer.

Malt may appear to be of a fine amber colour, and this may be done by making a strong fire a few minutes before the kiln is shifted, therefore the colour is not at all times a rule for its being well dried. No malt should be used till it has been off the kiln a month, at least; at the end of that time, if the malt bites quick and crisp, you may conclude it is well dried.

It will be very necessary when you give orders for a brewing of malt, to request your maltster to send the malt well dried; this caution may induce him to pay more attention in the drying of his malt.

When a brewing of malt is ordered by private families, perhaps no order is given respecting any particular sort, that is to say, whether pale, amber, or brown, for these are the three sorts of malt; but many retail maltsters in the country have but one sort of malt, and, in fact, one sort is sufficient, provided care is taken to dry their malt sound, of a fine amber colour.

Now I again repeat that the princ.i.p.al reason of our having so much hard and sour beer, is owing to the malt being under dried; for malt is the fundamental article in brewing. If a guile of beer is made from under dried malt it will not be of a fine bright colour, and an extra boiling of the worts will not have the desired effect: then you are under the necessity of using finings and other nostrums, which are only temporary, for no other ingredients whatever can be so beneficial to beer as malt and hops, and if those two commodities are in a good and genuine state, you will not have occasion to seek for any other art or device whatever. Another considerable advantage will arise, for each bushel of sound dried malt will produce a gallon of wort more than slack or under dried malt; this is proved by brewing two sorts of malt, that is, malt perfectly dried will discharge the wort freely, and the grains will be dry and light; when, on the other hand, if a brewing of beer is made from under dried malt, the grains will be clammy and heavy, owing to the raw state of the malt, therefore a part of the wort cannot discharge itself, which is a sufficient voucher that the perfectly dried malt will produce a greater quant.i.ty of wort of an equal degree of strength.

I hinted before that malt should not be brewed till it has been off the kiln a month; but if malt is six or seven months old it will be the better, because it will become mellow, and your beer will be much softer and better than if used immediately from the kiln.

Between michaelmas and christmas the retail maltster's stock of old malt generally lays in a small compa.s.s, and will be slack; I should at this season recommend part old and part new, for the one will help the other.

_On Hops._

Many professed brewers are particularly attached to the colour of the hops, that is, they are partial to those of a fine green colour; these are certainly to be prefered, if they were ripe when gathered:--to prove their goodness, rub them between your fingers, if they are in full condition they will stick to your fingers, will have a good strong scent, and the seeds will appear full and yellow.

Brown spots are frequently to be seen on hops; these are, in general, hops that came to a full ripeness before they were gathered. High winds and rain frequently happen about the middle or latter end of the hop season, which will disfigure them in their colour in a few hours, so that the colour is not at all times to direct you as to their goodness.

In the hop countries most hop-planters keep those hops which are most disfigured in their quality, separate and apart, when picking, from those of a brighter colour; those which are of an inferior colour are kept for their own use, and disposed of to their neighbours, it being their opinion that they answer the purpose in brewing nearly as well as those of a brighter colour, provided they are in full condition, that is, if they are full of seeds; for in the seeds is the virtue and strength of the hop.

The quant.i.ty of hops used in brewing is generally half a pound to a bushel of malt, and so in proportion to a greater quant.i.ty; if mild ale, for present drinking, a lesser quant.i.ty will do; but this must be left to the discretion of the brewer, or master of a family, as some are more partial to the taste of the hop than others.

Hops are found to be of such excellent utility in the bittering of beer, that common brewers and innkeepers are forbidden by law to use any other bitter ingredient whatever in brewing of beer and ale. I have taken the liberty to insert this as a caution to the unwary.

As to the quant.i.ty of beer each bushel of malt should produce, it must rest on the option or circ.u.mstances of the brewer, or the head of a family. A bushel of malt will produce ten gallons of good ale; but the greater the quant.i.ty of malt, brewed at one time, the better will be your beer.