The wort of the first mashing is always by much the richest in saccharine matter; but to exhaust the malt, a second and third mashing is required ; and as no heat is generated except in the first mashing, the water in the succeeding ones may be safely raised to nearly 190°. The propor tion of wort to be obtained from each bushel of malt depends entirely on the proposed strength of the liquor. For sound small beer, thirty gallons of wort may be taken from each bushel of malt ; but for the strongest ale, only the pro. duce of the first mashing, or about six and a half gallons per bushel, is employ ed. But whatever be the proportion of wort required, it must be held in mind, that every bushel of well made malt will absorb and retain three and three quar ters gallons of water, and, therefore, the water made use of must exceed the wort required in the same proportion.
Boiling and hopping. If only one kind of liquor (whether ale or been is to be made, the produce of the three mashings is to be mixed together ; but if both ale and beer are required, the wort of the first, or of the first and second mashings, is appropriated to the ale, and the re mainder is set aside for the beer. All the wort destined for the same liquor, af ter it has run from the is trans ferred to the large lower copper, and mixed while it is heating with the requir ed proportion of hops. The stronger the wort is, the larger proportion of hops does it demand : and this is calculated in two ways, either according to the quanti ty of malt employed, or the richness of the wort. Where the former basis of cal culation is referred to, the quantity of hops, especially in private families, where economy is not so strictly attended to as in large establishments, is one pound of hops to a bushel of malt, whether the wort is intended for the strongest ale or the weakest small beer. In public brew eries, the proportion of hops is consider ably smaller, and is regulated, not mere ly by the quantity of malt, hilt the rich ness of the wort. For strong ales, the common proportion is about one pound of hops to 1.3 bushel of malt ; for beer, the quantity is lowered to one pound of hops to 1.7 bushel of malt. When both ale and beer are brewed from the same malt, the usual practice is, to put the whole quantity of hops in the ale wort; and after they have been boiled a suffi cient time in this, to transfer them to the beer wort, in order to he exhausted by a second boiling. When the hops are mix ed with the wort in the copper, the li quor is brought to boil ; and the best practice is, to keep it boiling as fast as possible, till, upon taking a little of the liquor out, it is found to be full of minute flakes, like curdled soap. These flakes consist of the gluten and starch of the malt separated from their former solution in the wort, by the joint action, in all probability, of the heat, and the bitter ex tract of the hops.
Cooling. When the liquor is sufficient ly boiled, it is discharged into a number of shallow tubs, called coolers, where it remains exposed to a free draft of air, till it has deposited the hop seeds and coagu lated flakes with which it was charged, and is become sufficiently cool to be sub mitted to the next process, which is that of fermentation. It is necessary that the process of cooling should be carried on as expeditiously as possible, particularly in hot weather ; for unfermented wort, by exposure to a hot close air for a few hours, is very liable to contract a pause our smell and taste, when it is said tech nically to be foxed, in consequence of small spots of white mould forming on its surface. Liquor made from pale malt, and which is intended for immediate drinking, need not be cooled lower than 75° or 8U°, and, in consequence, may be made all the year through, except, per haps, during the very hottest season ; hut beer from brown malt, especially if in. tended for long keeping, requires to be cooled to 65° or 70°, and therefore cannot possibly be made, except in cool weather; hence it is, that the months of March and October have always been reckoned pe culiarly favourable to the manufacture of the best malt liquor.
Tanning and barrelling. From the cool ers the liquor is transferred into the fer. menting dr working tun, which is a large cubical wooden vessel, capable of being closed at pleasure. As soon as the wort is let in, it is well mixed with yeast, in the proportion of about one gallon to four barrels, and in about five hours af terwards the fermentation commences. When the wort is let down hot into the working tun, the fermentation is conduct ed with the tun closed, and proceeds ra pidly, so that in about eighteen or twenty hours it is fit to be cleansed or put into the barrels : but when the wort is let down at 65°, it requires forty-eight hours for the first fermentation, and is peculiar ly liable to be affected by a considerable change of weather.
The last process is, transferring the li quor from the working tun to the bar rels, when the fermentation is completed. During a few days, a copious discharge of yeast takes place from the bung-hole, and the barrels must be carefully tilled up every day with fresh liquor : this dis charge gradually becomes less, and in about a week ceases ; at which time the bung-hole is closed up, and the liquor is fit for use, after standing from a fortnight to three months, according to its strength, and the temperature at which it has been fermented.