859. Boiling

859.    Boiling. As soon as the water is taken from the copper for the table-beer, damp the fire with ashes or cinders, and put in the wort. For every bushel of malt used, allow 1 pound hops, previously soaked in water taken from the first mash at 160° of heat; add half of them at first, and the other half after the wort has boiled half an hour. 2 pounds of hops by this method are considered to be equal to 3 pounds used in the ordinary way. The water in which they are steeped is strained off and put into the tun instead of the copper, which preserves the flavor of the hops. Let the wort boil as briskly as possible, for the quicker it is boiled the sooner it will break. Try it occasionally in a glass, and see if it has separated into large flakes; if it has not, boil it a little longer; when nearly ready, it will appear to be broken into fine particles. The extremes of under and over-boiling must be avoided, for when over-boiled it is with difficulty fined again in the casks.

860. Cooling

860.    Cooling. When the wort is ready, damp the fire, and draw it off into the coolers, keeping the hops well stirred to prevent their being burnt to the bottom; strain it through a hair-sieve to take off the hops. The coolers should be as shallow as possible, that the wort may not be too long in cooling, or it may chance to get sour, and should be of the same depth in each, that it may cool equally. When the first wort is drawn off, return the hops again into the boiler, with the wort for the table-beer, and let it boil quickly for one hour and a half; and if 1 pound coarse sugar or molasses, and 1 ounce salt, be added to every 10 gallons wort in the boiling, it will be much improved. When the wort has been cooled down to 75 or 80 degrees of heat by the thermometer (this will depend on the state of the atmosphere, for when the weather is warm it should be cooler), draw it off into the fermenting tun, without disturbing the sediment at the bottom, which gives the ale or beer a disagreeable taste. This is always observed by the Scotch brewers, but others consider that it feeds the beer, which it certainly does, and always use it; for whether it is the oleaginous quality of the hops, or the gluten extracted from the malt, which is precipitated by the boiling, it cannot be of any injury to the wort. If it is the first, it is of essential service to give the full flavor of the hops. In each ease it will be thrown off in the working.

861. Fermentation

861.    Fermentation. 3 pints good white fresh yeast will be about the quantity required to work a hogshead of beer; but in larger brewings this will depend on the quantity there is in a body, the gravity, and heat of the atmosphere - thus, the lower the gravity, the greater the bulk, and the warmer the weather, the less yeast must be used in proportion to work it, and vice versa. 3 pints being sufficient for a hogshead, a gallon will work 4 or 5 hogsheads in a body of the same gravity. First mix the yeast with a gallon or two of the wort, and a handful or two of bean or wheat flour in the fermenting tun; when the fermentation is brisk, pour over another portion, and as soon as the wort is at the proper degree of temperature run. it into the tun, reserving out some of the ferment, to feed the beer as occasion may require. When it becomes languid, or if there is sufficient yeast in, it may be left out altogether. The fermentation should be gradual at first; for if it goes on too quickly the beer is likely to become foxed, that is, to have a rank and disagreeable taste. The next morning the beer should have a thin white creamy head; then, with a bowl or ladle, well rouse and mix it together. If, however, the fermentation has not been favorable, add some of the ferment; and if rather cold, wrap some sacks or old carpet round the tun, and place some more sacks over the top; also keep the door and windows closed. Or take a clean cask (the size according to the quantity of the gyle, or brewing), and fill it full of boiling liquor; bung it close, and put in the tun. In the evening rouse the head well in again; the next morning the beer should have what is termed a cauliflower-head; remove with the skimmer any patches of dark-brown yeast, and mix it well up together again. After the yeast has risen to the top, it will form a thick yeasty appearance, which should be skimmed off as soon as it is inclined to fall. A portion should then be taken out, tried with the saccharometer, and noted. If not sufficiently fermented, it should be tried every two hours until it is so, and the head may be skimmed off at the same time. When sufficiently reduced, cleanse it into the casks.