Brewing

Subtext: Brewing, 1860, Industrial Process

Note: This entry is paragraphed to suit the reader of a web page. The original text only contains four indented paragraphs. All punctuation and spelling is faithful to the original.

The art of Brewing beer consists in fermenting a decoction of malt and hops, so that the sugary part may be converted into spirit, and thereby produce a sort of wine or intoxicating liquor.

The process is differently conducted by different brewers, but the following is the general mode of proceeding:- The malt is first either crushed between rollers or ground in a mill (this is called a "grist"), it is then placed in a large tub having a false bottom of wood perforated with holes, hot water (160 deg. Fahrenheit is considered best) is next poured on it and well stirred up, this in large breweries is done by large machinery (see cut) ; after a time a tap is opened and all the liquid, called sweet wort, run off into an under another vessel, named the "underback," the tap is closed and more hot water poured on; this process is repeated until all the wort required has been obtained, the quantity depending on the quantity of the malt used and the strength of the beer to be brewed; where table beer is made, the last washings of the malt are used for it, and only the first wort for strong beer.

When all the worts have run through, they are put into the boiler and hops added, the proportion varying from four to twenty-eight pounds to the quarter of malt, this last only being used in making "bitter beer," the hops and wort are then well boiled together; then the whole contents of the boiler are poured out into a large vessel called the "hop-back" and thence the liquid is drained off into a cooler.

In large brewings the quantity is so great that it would become sour and mouldy before it would cool, artificial means are therefore resorted to; thus it is passed over a cooling floor, or shallow vessel lined with iron and having iron tubes placed in a serpentine manner through which cold water is allowed to flow; this contrivance (see cut) effects the object, but before quite cold it is drawn off into the fermenting tun and well mixed with yeast ( a sort of scum produced in a former brewing), the fermentation is then continued.

The sugary matters got from the malt are slowly conversted into spirit and carbomic acid, this last escapes with a hissing sound but the spirit remains mixed with the liquid, giving to the beer its strength and pungent taste.

While the fermentation is going on a scum is thrown up which is skimmed off and the liquid run into barrels; these are placed side by side in the fermenting room (see cut), and the fermentation allowed to continue, more yeast is thus formed, which is collected by short tubes fixed to the bungholes of the barrels to cause it to run into troughs, as shown in the cut; this is called cleansing the beer, and when it has proceeded sufficiently, the beer is either run off into vats for stock, or casks for use.

If the fermentation be carried to far the beer becomes sour from the formation of acetic acid, if not far enough it is too sweet from the sugary portion not being all changed into spirit.

The kinds of malt used to a great extent determine the nature of the beer or ale produced; for pale ale the very palest malt is used, called "amber," for ordinary ales a mixture of this with brown malt, and for porter or stout brown malt mixed with roasted or burnt malt, this last gives them their dark colour and peculiar flavour.

Hops give to the beer its bitter and aromatic flavour, they moreover preserve it from too much fermentation and thereby keep it from becoming sour, it is customary to put a handful of fresh hops into each cask of ale before it is bunged up.

In large breweries there is generally a steam engine and machinery employed for much of the labour required, such as pumping up water and wort into and out of the cooling floor and vats, stirring up the malt in the mash tun and hops in the boiler, which is done by a beam loaded with chains and made to revolve around the vessel, so as to stir up and keep the hops from burning, which they have a great tendency to do and which would spoil the flavour of the beer.

Between two and three million barrels of beer are supposed to be consumed yearly in London alone.

In the year 1841, 507,207 quarters of malt were consumed by twelve principal London brewers, and there has been a regular increase in the quantity each year since; in 1852, 535,887 quarters, or 4,287,096 bushels were used, and somewhere between 5,600,000 pounds of weight of hops.

The quantities thus consumed, reckoning at a rate of three bushels to the barrel of 36 gallons, which is a fair proportion, would produce the enormous number of 1,429,032 barrels of beer; all of which, however, is not consumed in London, for very large quantities are exported and sent out of London to various parts of the country.

But on the other hand it must be observed there are very large supplies sent from various other sources, chiefly ale and stout, for the London brewers brew much more porter than ale.

Large quantities of ale are brought from Burton and the Scottish breweries, and also stout from Dublin, besides which there are the numerous small or "family brewers," who supply a considerable quantity.

The art of brewing has been in use in Germany for many centuries, and it is even supposed that it was known to the ancient Egyptians. The cheif of the beer drunk in this country was imported from Germany til within about 200 years ago, but a heavy duty then being imposed, the manufacture in this country increased rapidly.

source: The Boys Indiustrial Information Illustrated (1860)
Published by Ward, Locke and Tyler. London
pages 179/180/1/2/3/4

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