The London and Country Brewer

by Anonymous

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.