[ Table Beer, English method of brewing it. ]
- Take 8 bushels of Malt, and 6 lb. of Hops.
- This quantity of materials should deliver four barrels of beer.
- First liquor 161; mash the first time one hour.
- Second liquor 170; mash the second time half an hour.
- Third liquor 152; mash the third time twenty minutes.
Boil the three runnings together for two hours in a close covered copper; three pints of good solid yest will be sufficient to pitch this quantity, mixing it, before adding, with about one gallon of the wort, then add this to the rest; a low attenuation for this kind of beer will not answer, the specific gravity being too light, the fermentation rarely exceeding 30 hours in the tun. It being generally wanted for immediate use; it is pitched high, and worked quick. It is further important to bung it down close as soon as it has done working. This kind of beer may be securely and advantageously administered to fever patients, instead of other drink: I have known it to be attended with the happiest consequences.
[ Unboiled beer, how Brewed. ]
The following process, I confess, I never myself tried, but, from the manner it was spoken of by the party giving it, I would strongly recommend a trial of it on a small scale, at first, until its advantages and superiority was well ascertained over the old and long established mode of boiling wort. Mash your full complement of malt, or rather one third more, and that in the usual way, (suppose you are brewing strong beer,) and while your mash stands, let your copper have as much cold water run into it as will save it from burning; rouse your fire, salt and rub your hops, as recommended in previous processes; let their quantity be increased one third more than if brewed in the ordinary way; and when got into your copper, cover close, and let these hops simmer for two hours, but not boil; then run down your first wort in sufficient quantity as, when added to the water and the extract of the hops, will give you the length you contemplate; you will observe the malt is increased to meet the quantity of water in the copper; but this cannot be considered a loss, as the second mash will answer for single ale, or good table beer; the hops in the same way. When you have got your intended complement of strong wort in your copper, rouse it well, cover close, and let your copper stand two hours more, keeping up a moderate fire just enough to make it simmer but not boil; during this time your second mash may be going on with water from your second copper; this, as already stated, will make single ale, or good table beer; if the latter, it may be boiled in the usual way, but not longer than half an hour, on account of the increased quantity of hops; which hops should be all retained in the copper after the first worts are run off, by means of a strainer placed at the mouth of the cock hole; one hour strong boiling will be sufficient for the succeeding wort, if single ale be wanted; the remainder of the process for both worts is the same as already directed for such quality of drinks. It was further stated to me that unboiled beer will appear very turbid and unpromising for some time after it is brewed, and will take three months at least to come round; but that after that period it will improve rapidly, and become transparently fine; when second worts are found too weak, they may be assisted with good Muscovado sugar, of which eight pounds is considered equivalent to one bushel of malt. In fact, pleasant beer might be made from sugar alone, without any malt.
This extract was obtained by the hot infusion, in a close covered wooden vessel set to infuse the evening before brewing; in this process one third more hops should be allowed; these hops need not be wasted, as they will answer well for table beer, or single ale, brewed according to the preceding processes; but, in either case, one hour's strong boiling will answer for single ale, half an hour for table beer will be sufficient, on account of the increased quantity of hops.
When you have got up your first wort in your copper, that you intend to preserve with extract, boil the first half hour without it, and one hour with it, very hard in both instances. It should have been mentioned that, in preparing your first, or mashing liquor, two pounds of rice is to be added to your water in the copper before boiling, supposing the length of your brewing 20 barrels, or in that proportion.