BEER.
Some brewera admit the water int,o the mashing tun at a higher temperature than is necessary for the mash, allowing it to cool before the malt is put in. In other breweries, the malt and water are introduced together into a machined maah tun, the initial heat of the maah being much higher than that required for the operation, so as to compensate for the loss of heat communicated to the mash tun. But it ia preferable firat to heat the mash tun with water, and then to introduce the malt, because the losa of heat in this inotance only accrues from the malt admixed, and the opera tion can be conducted with greater certainty. Another plan extensively adopted ia, to moiaten the malt to be mashed with water at a low temperature, in aufficient quantity to cause the malt to awell, and then to add the remainder of the water at an increased temperature, necesaary to impart the proper temperature for the mashing. The water added ia generally at the temperature of 88° to 90° (190° to 194° F,). This plan is atated to have two advantages : it leaaens the tendency to aet, and is very exhaustive of the extractive matter of the goods. It enablea the diastase to act more freely upon the atarch, because the larger part of the sugar is dissolved out during the firat wetting, leaving the remaining conatituents in a better condition for attack by the solution. With regard to thia syatem, other authorities affirm that, because the diastase is very soluble, it is removed with the sugar and from direct action on the starch. Upon this eonaideration, as well aa from others, the general defects of mashing aa uaually employed, in any ayatem, have been summed up aa follows :— Inefficient extraction, portiona of the gluten and atarch of the grain becoming a gelatinous mass, which prevents, by forming an impermeable coating, the remaining conatituents from being attacked. The starch remains unconverted into glucoae in conaequence of too low a temperature being employed in the operation.
Donovan gives the following temperatures for maahing : For well-dried pale malt, the firat maah water should not exceed 77° (170° F.); the aecond, 82° (180° F.); and the third, 85° (185° F.) ; aaauming the temperature of the atmoaphere not to exceed 10° (50° F.). Sullivan atates that under hia experiments 100 parts of atarch were tranaformed into 100 parts of sugar, but that this sugar woo intermediate in molecular structure between grape sugar and atarch, and he termed it maltase, as previously referred to. This sugar is white, soluble in water, but less soluble in alcohol than glucose.
English mashing, which is an infusion process, differa from the Continental, and distinctly from the Bavarian process, aince the latter is a method of decoction. With the:English procesa, the malt is first opened or cracked, and aometimes cornea from the rollera not perfectly crushed ; on the Continent, the malt is more fine13; crushed. Formerly, the malt was allowed to fall into water that had been firat placed in the mash tun, but iu preaent practice the malt is brought into contact with hot water, at a temperature determined by the eircumstancea of the particular situation and arrangement of the brewery. The Engliah process dependa chiefly in the use of wat,er at a
tolerably high temperature, and its characteristic is a high initial temperature.
The English brewer aeeka to avoid having too much albuminoua matter in solution ; whilst the German brewer endeavoura to render the albumen as soluble aa possible, because he has to make a beer intended to be kept only for a short time. In parts of Germany and Belgium, the English syatem of employing a high initial temperature is adopted, but with some modfficationa. The mash first of all ia given a temperature of 38° to 49° (100° to 120° F.), aud sometimes as high aa 60° (140°F.). It is allowed to ato,nd for a short time, and hot water is added to bring up the tem perature to about 65° to 71° (150° to 160° F.), the wort being run off after sufficient infuaion. A higher temperature is aometimes employed, even boiling liquor being added in order to raise the mash to 77° (170° F.), when it L9 left to digest, until iodine water or an alcoholic solution gives no blue reaction. The infuaion process, general on the Continen.t, diffcra therefore in atarting with a lower temperature, and in attaining a higher temperature by auccessive additiona of hot water.
As an example of the process of decoction, the old Bavarian method may be cited ; and this conaista in boiling the wort along with the grains. The malt after it ia properly ground is thrown into cold water, and is allowed to remain therein for from one to three hours ; after this, hot water is added to raiae the temperature of the mash to 35° to 38° (95° to 100° F.). After atanding a short time, the tap is opened, and grains, meal, in fact the whole of the contents of the tun, run off into the boiler. This thick maah, termed " dickmaiach," ia boiled vigorously for half an hour, and is then ruu back again into the mash tun, where it has a temperature of 49° to 52° (120° to 125° F.), and the infusion process is allowed to go on. A second thick mash is pumped up into the boiler, and boiled for half an hour ; it is then run into the maah tun, the temperature being raised in this manner to 63° (145° F.). After a little mashing, the contents of the tun are allowed to remain. The third mash, or " lautermaisch," is then run off, and is a tolerably clear mash unmixed with graina. This is boiled in a copper for about half an hour, vvhen it is run into the mash tun, to raise the tempe rature to 75° (165° F.). The contents of the tun are then tapped and sparged with cold water.
In Belgium, where malt and raw wheat are used together, the process is first conducted according to the Engliah infusion method, u portion of the thick mash being pumped into the boiler aud boiled. Although this boiling destroys the diastase, it thoroughly breaks up the integuments of