Chapter II: BLEACHING of =Linen=:--Linen may be bleached in a similar way to (5)

=Breakfast Pow'der.= _Syn._ RYE'-COFFEE, DILLEN'IUS'S C., HUNT'S ECONOM'ICAL BREAKFAST POWDER, &c. Rye, roasted along with a little fat, after the manner of coffee. It was once sold at 2_s._ 6_d._ the lb., and was formerly extensively used as a substitute for foreign coffee, of which it is one of the cheapest and best. Since the reduction of duty on coffee it has nearly fallen into disuse, unless it be by the grocers to adulterate that article.

=BREAST (Sore).= See NIPPLES.

=Breast Pang.= _Syn._ ANGINA PECTORIS. _Symptoms._--A sudden pain occurring in the parts covered by the breast-bone and the throat, accompanied with a feeling of suffocation, and the apprehension of immediate death. The pain sometimes extends down the arms and through the back. Summon a medical man without a moment's loss of time. Pending his speedy arrival give a drachm of ether with one third of a grain of acetate of morphia. Apply hot applications to the chest and stomach; likewise friction to the chest, back, and sides with spirits. If the relief be only partial, the dose of ether may be repeated after twenty minutes.

=BREATH (Fetid).= Scarcely anything is more disagreeable or disgusting than a stinking breath. Various means have been proposed to remove this annoyance, depending principally on the administration of aromatics, which by their odour smother it for a time; but these require continual repetition, and are liable to interfere with the functions of digestion. The real cause of stinking breath may generally be traced to a diseased stomach, or to decayed teeth. When the former is the case, mild aperients should be administered; and if these do not succeed, an emetic may be given, followed by an occasional dose of the Abernethy-medicines. When rotten teeth are the cause, they should be thoroughly cleansed, and then 'stopped,' or if this is impracticable, they should be removed. When this is impossible or inconvenient, the evil may usually be lessened by keeping them scrupulously clean. Dirty teeth also often cause the breath to smell; and hence the use of the tooth-brush should be a daily habit. Occasionally rinsing out the mouth with a little clean water to which a few drops of solution of chloride of lime, or of chloride of soda, has been added, is often an effective method. Mouth-washes of Condy's fluid, and also of carbolic acid, both very greatly diluted, form useful remedies; as do also chlorate of potash and tannic acid in the form of mouth-washes. As a tooth-powder, fresh-burnt charcoal, and particularly areca-nut charcoal, is without comparison the best. Lozenges, such as the following, have been strongly recommended to sweeten and purify the breath:--Gum-catechu, 2 oz.; white sugar, 5 oz.; orris powder, 1 oz.; neroli, 5 or 6 drops; make them into a paste with mucilage, and divide the mass into very small lozenges. 20 or 30 drops of oil of cloves may be substituted for the orris and neroli, at will. One or two may be sucked at pleasure. When the breath of a child or infant, usually so sweet and fresh, smells unpleasantly, it indicates stomach derangement of some sort. Very frequently it is indicative of worms. See CACHOU AROMATISÉ, PASTILS, &c.

=BREW'ING.= The art of making beer.

The only ingredients allowed by law to enter into the composition of beer are malt, sugar, hops, or any substitute for hops, and water, together with a little yeast.

The apparatus and utensils required under the common system, in brewing beer, are--

1. A copper or boiler capable of holding fully two thirds of the quantity proposed to be brewed; with a gauge-stick to determine the number of gallons of fluid at any given depth therein; and a wooden cover to place over it before the boiling commences, or when not in use. A copper capable of holding not less than 140 galls. is a convenient size for brewing a quarter of malt, and is commonly known as a one-quarter copper.

2. A mash-tub or mash-tun capable of containing one third more than the copper.

3. One or more tuns or vessels, to ferment the beer in.

4. Three or four shallow coolers, to reduce the wort as rapidly as possible to a proper temperature for fermentation.

5. One or two copper or wooden bowls, for baling, &c.

6. A thermometer with a scale reaching from below 32° to a few degrees above the boiling-point of water (say to 225° or 230° Fahr.).

7. A saccharometer, for taking the density of worts and beer.

8. A suitable number of casks (clean and sweet), to contain the beer.

9. One or more large funnels or tunners.

10. Two or more clean pails.

11. A hand-pump of a size proportionate to the brewing.

12. A mill, for crushing the malt. Brewers, for sale, are restricted by law to the use of mills with plain metal rollers.

These articles will vary in value from £10, upwards to many hundreds, or even thousands, according to the extent of the brewing; but the whole of them necessary for a private family may be bought for less than the former amount, as the mill, pump, &c., may then be dispensed with, and the rest may be of the simplest and least expensive character possible. By proper care they will last for 30 or 40 years, and still continue in a useful state.

Preliminary proceedings:--

The malt is chosen according to the intended character of the brewing--pale, amber, roasted, or any mixture of them, as the occasion may require. It is bruised or crushed in a mill (malt-mill) before employing it in brewing, that it may be the more readily acted on by the water. It should not be ground too small, as it would then make the wort thick, and cause it to run with difficulty from the mash-tun. The crushed malt may advantageously lie for a few days in a cool situation, by which it will attract a considerable quantity of moisture from the air, and be the more easily exhausted by the water used in mashing. Pale malt may be used coarser than amber or brown malt. A bushel of good malt should measure 1-1/4 bushel when ground; and a quarter should yield between 9-1/2 and 10 bushels, the quantity slightly varying according to the degree of bruising it has undergone. On the large scale, malt is ground in crushing mills furnished with plain iron rollers; on the small scale, by wooden rollers or mills worked by hand. For private brewing, the malt is generally bought ready crushed or ground, for convenience sake.

The hops, after being taken from the 'pockets' or 'bag,' are crumbled with the hands ready to be thrown into the copper. For general purposes those grown in Kent, and of the present season, are preferred. For the finer sorts of ale, East Kent hops are commonly used; and when it is intended to keep the liquor for a long time, those known by the names of Country's, Alton's, or Farnham hops, are employed.

The quantity of hops required by a given measure of malt varies from 2 lbs. to 22 lbs. per quarter, according to the strength or gravity of the wort, the character of the beer intended to be brewed, and the climate which the beer may have to sustain. Export beer requires, as a rule, an exceptionally large amount of hops to enable it to bear without injury the heat of the country to which it is shipped. The following are the usual proportions:--

Table beer 2 lbs. 1 qr.
Mild ale or porter 4 " 1 "
Brown stout 5 " 1 "
Scotch ale (best) 5 " 1 "
Strong ale (ordinary) 5-1/2 " 1 "
" (keeping) 8 " 1 "
Bitter ale 10 to 14 " 1 "
East India ale (export) 12 " 22 " 1 "

When a strong, coarse hop is used, a less quantity suffices for the same strength brewed, but the flavour is always inferior.

The water, which should be clear, and free from all traces of decomposing animal and vegetable matter, must be provided in abundance. Of late years hard water has been preferred by many brewers, on the ground that beer brewed with it is self-fining, and hence requires no artificial clarification either in the vat or cask.

Hard water is also much to be preferred to soft in brewing stock beers; since by its rendering the albuminous matters contained in the mash insoluble, it prevents the fermentation to which these would otherwise give rise, and so assists in the preservation of the beer, and in keeping it free from acidity.

The German brewers, however, who do not brew beverages intended to be kept for any time, on the contrary, employ a soft water, by which means the albuminous substances contained in the malt are rendered soluble, and become diffused throughout the beer, and possibly add in some measure to its nutritive qualities. Hard waters are said to have the property, over soft ones, of enabling the beer to retain more saccharine matter, and hence to improve its flavour and to give it more body. The ales of Burton are pre-eminent for their excellent quality and keeping properties. In the neighbourhood of Burton there are extensive beds of new red sandstone and gypsum, by sinking wells into which the Burton brewers obtain the water from which they make their beers. From the subjoined analyses of Burton well waters it will be seen that this water is a very hard one, and contains, besides other salts, a very large quantity of sulphate of lime.

Analysis of the water used in Messrs ALLSOPP'S brewery (Dr Böttinger):--

Amount of ingredients
in the imperial
gallon, represented
in grains.

Chloride of sodium 10·12
Sulphate of potash 7·65
Sulphate of lime 18·96
Sulphate of magnesia 9·95
Carbonate of lime 15·51
Carbonate of magnesia 1·70
Carbonate of iron 0·60
Silica 0·79
------
65·28

Analysis of water from a well at the brewery of Messrs BASS (Cooper):--

Carbonate of lime 9·93
Sulphate of lime 54·40
Chloride of calcium 13·38
Sulphate of magnesia 0·83
------
78·54

The whole of the water used in the Burton breweries is obtained from wells, and not from the river Trent, as was at one time erroneously supposed. A factitious Burton water may, it is said, be obtained by adding sulphate of lime and salt to any soft water, in the proportions stated in the above analyses.

Dr C. Graham is of opinion that, although the properties of the Burton well waters are very greatly due to the large quantity of sulphate of lime contained in them, the chlorides of sodium and calcium are also important constituents.

The yeast must be fresh and good; and all the vessels and utensils perfectly sweet and clean. If the latter be neglected, even the most skilful brewing will prove a failure.

Process of brewing:--

1. MASHING:--The ground or bruised malt placed in the mash-tun is macerated for some time in hot water, and the infusion (_wort_) drawn off from a hole in the bottom, over which a strainer or false bottom is placed, to prevent the malt passing out along with the liquor. During the process of mashing a peculiar principle contained in the malt, called diastase, reacts upon the starch with which it is associated, and converts it into grape-sugar. The more completely this conversion is effected the richer will be the resulting wort in sugar or "_saccharine_," and the stronger and more alcoholic the beer produced by its fermentation. It is, therefore, a desideratum with the brewer to mash at the temperature which most fully promotes this important object. The best temperature for this purpose ranges between 150° and 170° Fahr. When more than one mash is made, the first should be something lower than the first-named temperature; the second may be from 175° to 185°; and the third as high as 200° Fahr.

If the first mashing has been rightly conducted, the whole of the starch will be converted into sugar, and the action of the second and third mashings is merely to wash out any of the remaining saccharine matter still existing in the crushed grain.

In practice, as soon as the water in the copper acquires the temperature of 170°, 45 galls. are run into the mash-tun, and 1 quarter of crushed malt gradually added to it. The whole is now thoroughly mixed with the mash liquor, by means of oars, or machinery, the agitation (_mashing_) being continued for 30 or 40 minutes, when 36 galls. more water from the copper are added, and the whole again well agitated, as before. The mash-tun is now closely covered up, and the mash allowed to repose for about two hours, in order that the diastase may exert its saccharifying power upon the unconverted starch of the malt. At the end of this time the tap is set, and the wort run into the 'underback.' It generally amounts to about 50 galls. The second mash is then made with about 60 galls. of water, at 185° F., and the whole process repeated as before. After an hour the liquor is drawn off, and the malt drained ready for the third mash. This time only 35 galls. of water are added at 200° F., and the whole is seldom allowed to stand longer than half an hour. It is then run off, and the malt allowed to drain as dry as possible.

In some cases the worts of the first and second mashes only are used for strong beer; that of the third mashing being kept for table beer, or as liquor to mash a fresh quantity of malt.

Pale malt and mixtures of malt and raw grain should be mashed for a longer time, and at a somewhat lower temperature than brown or high-dried malt.

Instead of making second and third mashes as above described, it has long been the practice in Scotland, and is now becoming common in England, to sprinkle the surface of the grains in the mash-tun with water, at or about the temperature of 180° Fahr., by means of a simple revolving instrument termed a 'sparger,' and to let the liquor drain through the goods and run off by the tap with the last portions of the first wort. By this means the whole surface of the grain is continuously and regularly sprinkled with hot water.

When sugar is used it may be either mixed with the malt in the mash-tun, at the time of mashing, or put into the underback, just before setting the taps, and the hot wort run upon it. The proportions of malt and sugar vary according to the quality of the latter, but, on an average, from 170 lbs. to 200 lbs. of good raw sugar may be taken as the equivalent of a quarter of malt.

2. BOILING:--The wort is next transferred from the underback to the copper, and heated to the boiling-point as soon as possible, the object of this expedition being to prevent the formation of acid in the wort, by exposure to the air, before undergoing the changes which take place in the copper. As soon as the boiling of the wort commences the hops are added, and the boiling is continued for about 2 or 2-1/2 hours. A longer boiling is highly objectionable, owing to the extraction of a heavy, resinous bitter from the hop, and the danger of losing the volatile oil upon which the aroma depends. For mild beers the worts are seldom boiled so long; for strong keeping ales, sometimes a little longer. The boiling is known to be completed when the liquor 'clears,' as it is called, and albuminous flocks sink to the bottom of the copper.

The hops, strained from each wort, are returned into the copper with the following one.

The average loss by evaporation in the process of boiling varies from 1/6th to 1/7th of the original bulk of the wort. The gravity increases at the same time in about the ratio of 5 to 4; so that if the gravity be, at first, say 32 lbs. per barrel, it will at the end of the operation have risen to about 40 lbs.

3. COOLING:--The wort, under the common system, is 'run off' from the copper into the 'hop-back,' through a strainer which keeps back the hops. It is then pumped into large square shallow vessels called 'coolers,' where it is freely exposed to a current of air to reduce its temperature as quickly as possible, in order to avoid acidity or 'souring.' In 6 or 7 hours, or sooner, the temperature should fall to about 60° Fahr. In warm weather the depth of the liquor in the coolers should not exceed 3 or 4 inches; and in cold weather not more than 5 or 6 inches. As soon as the temperature has fallen to about 60° the liquor is 'tunned' and 'yeasted.'

The loss by evaporation and condensation in the coolers varies from 13 to 18 galls. per quarter.

4. FERMENTATION:--The cooled wort is next run into the fermenting tuns or vessels (gyle-tuns). In small brewings these may be casks with one of their heads removed; but under any form they must not be more than 2/3rds filled. The yeast, previously mixed with a little wort, and kept until the whole has begun to ferment (technically termed '_lobb_'), is now added, and after agitation the vessel is covered up, and kept so, until the fermentation is well established. By this time the temperature has risen from 9° to 15°.

The quantity of yeast employed, and the temperature of the wort when it is added, differ in different breweries and for different kinds of beer. It seldom exceeds 2 lbs. per barrel unless the weather is unusually cold, or the yeast old or stale, when a larger proportion is required. The Scotch brewers generally take only 1 gall. of yeast to fully 4 hhds. of wort.

In England, the temperature at which the yeast is added varies from 55° to 65° Fahr. In Scotland, the common temperature is 51° to 52°. In cold weather the heat may be 5° or 6° higher than in mild and warm weather, and a little more yeast may also be advantageously employed. In cold weather ale is commonly tunned at 60°, porter at 64°, and weaker beers at 65° or 70° Fahr. In 'warm weather' strong beer should be 4° or 5°, and other beers 7° or 8° cooler than the 'heats' just mentioned. On the small scale, 1 to 1-1/4 pint of yeast may be used to every barrel of strong-beer wort, and 3/4 pint to every barrel of mild-beer wort.

The commencement of the fermentation is indicated by a line of small bubbles forming round the sides of the tun, and in a short time extending over the whole surface. A 'crusty head' soon forms, and then a 'fine rocky head,' followed by a 'light frothy' one. At length the head assumes a yeasty appearance, the colour becomes yellowish brown, and a vinous odour is developed. As soon as this last head begins to fall, the tun is skimmed every 2 or 3 hours, until no more yeast is formed. The object of this is, not only to check the violence of the fermentation, but also to remove a peculiar bitterness, with which the first portion of the yeast is impregnated. The beer is then put into casks, or 'cleansed,' as it is called. A minute attention to every stage of this process is necessary to secure a fine flavour and a brilliant beverage.

It may be regarded, as a rule, that the lower the temperature, and the slower, more regular, and less interrupted the process of fermentation, the better will be the quality of the brewing, and the less likely to change by age. A little more yeast is required in winter than in summer. When the fermentation becomes slack in the 'gyle-tun,' a little more 'lobb' is generally added, and the whole is well 'roused up,' On the contrary, if the temperature rises considerably, or the fermentation becomes too brisk, the wort is cooled a little and skimmed, or at once cleansed.

5. CLEANSING:--This consists in running the beer from the gyle-tun into casks, or other vessels, set sloping, so that the yeast as it forms way work off the one side of the top, and fall into a vessel placed below to receive it. In small brewings the beer is often at once transferred from the gyle-tun to the 'store-casks,' which are sloped a little until the fermentation is over, when they are skimmed, filled, and bunged.

The process of cleansing is generally commenced as soon as the 'saccharine' in the fermenting wort falls to about 10 lbs. per barrel, a degree of attenuation which it usually reaches in about 48 hours. Some brewers add a little wheat-flour or bean-flour (about 1/4 lb. per barrel) to the beer in the gyle-tun, shortly before cleansing, to quicken the discharge of yeast; but it is not clearly ascertained whether such a plan is advantageous, or the contrary.

6. STORING:--As soon as the fermentation is concluded, which generally takes from 6 to 8 days, or longer, the clear liquor is pumped into the store-casks or vats, which are then closely bunged, and deposited in a cool cellar, if not already there, to mature. The preference, which at present exists in most parts of the United Kingdom, is for mild, freshly-brewed malt liquors; the good old or mature-vatted beer being now seldom met with. This, of course, is a source of increased profit to the brewer, as it enables him to turn over his capital more rapidly, and saves the risk and expense attendant on long storage.

7. RIPENING:--After a period varying from one to twelve months or longer, according to the nature of the brewing, and the condition of the cellar, the liquor will have become fine, and sufficiently mature for use. During this period the casks, &c., should be occasionally examined to see that there is no leakage, and to open the vent-holes, should any oozings appear at the joints. As equable a temperature as possible should be maintained in the cellar, by ventilation, on the one hand, and the employment of artificial heat on the other, as circumstances and seasonal changes may render necessary.

8. FINING or CLARIFYING:--Beer which has been badly brewed or badly stored, or which from other causes may be thick or muddy, requires clarifying by artificial means. For a barrel about 1 to 1-1/2 pint of brewer's finings (isinglass or fish-gelatin dissolved in sour beer) is put into a bucket, and some of the beer being gradually added, the whole is violently agitated with a whisk until a frothy head is formed. The mixture is then thrown into the cask of beer, and well 'rummaged up,' after which the bung is replaced, and the liquor allowed to repose for a week or ten days.

Sometimes the above method is found to fail with weak and bad-conditioned beer. When such is the case, the addition of a teaspoonful of sulphuric acid, or a table-spoonful of powdered catechu (previously dissolved in 1/2 a pint of boiling water), followed by agitation for a quarter of an hour, will generally cause the 'finings' to clarify the liquor; 2 or 3 oz. of tincture of catechu (mixed with a little water) may be used in the same way. A handful of hops, previously boiled for five minutes in a little of the beer, and then added to the barrel, and the whole allowed to stand for a few days, before proceeding to clarify it, will generally have a similar effect, and cause the 'finings' to act with certainty. It is the absence of the proper quantity of astringent matter in beer that usually renders them ineffective.

M. Brescius employs tannin for the clarification of beer. To 1000 litres of beer he adds 140 grains of tannin dissolved in 3/4 of a litre of water, which is thoroughly stirred up. After three or four days he adds one litre of isinglass or two of gelatin in the proportion of 1 kilo. to 100 litres. The complete clarification requires about eight days.

_Gen. commentary._ The preceding is a concise account of all the essential operations of the system of brewing at present practised in this country. On the large scale, extensive and costly apparatus and machinery are employed for the purpose. On the small scale, various modifications, of a minor character, or the several processes herein detailed, are frequently adopted according to the circumstances or ingenuity of the operator. The principles and practice of brewing beer are, however, essentially the same under all the conditions here referred to. In Scotland, only one mash is made, and that at a temperature of about 180° Fahr., with one third of the quantity of the water required for the brewing. The 'mash-tun' is then covered up for about half an hour, when the wort is drawn off, and the operation of 'sparging' begun. This operation is continued until the density of the mixed worts becomes adapted to produce the quality of the ale then under process of manufacture. The 'gyle-tun' (fermenting-tun) is set at from 50° to 60° Fahr., the fermentation being continued slowly for fifteen to twenty days; and the ale is not 'cleansed' before the degree of attenuation falls to about 1/2 lb. per day, and not more than one fourth of the original gravity of the wort remains. Scotch ale is justly celebrated for its superior quality. Its usual original gravity is from 34 to 45 lbs. per barrel.

In Bavaria, a country remarkable for the excellence of its beer, the wort is made to ferment at a low temperature, until all the substances which favour acetification have been rendered insoluble, and have separated from the liquor. The fermentation is conducted in wide, open, shallow vessels, which afford free and unlimited access to atmospheric oxygen; and this in a situation where the temperature does not exceed 45° to 60° Fahr. A separation of the nitrogenous constituents thus takes place simultaneously on the surface, and within the whole body of the liquid. The clearing of the fluid is the sign by which it is known that these matters have separated. The fermentation usually occupies three or four weeks, and is conducted during the cooler portion of the year only, and in a situation removed as much as possible from the influence of atmospherical changes of temperature. The sedimentary yeast (unterhefe), and not the surface yeast (oberhefe), of the Bavarian fermenting backs is employed.

The beers of England and France, as well as most of those of Germany, become gradually sour by contact with the air. This defect, as observed by Liebig, does not belong to the beers of Bavaria, which may be preserved, at pleasure, in half-full casks, as well as in full ones, without suffering any material alteration. This precious quality must be ascribed to the peculiar process employed for fermenting the wort, called by the German chemists 'untergährung,' or fermentation from below; and which "has solved one of the finest theoretical problems that had long taxed the ingenuity and patience of both the scientific and practical brewer." (Liebig.)

The 'Comptes Rendus,' lxxvii, 1140-1148, contains a paper by M. Pasteur on the manufacture of an 'unalterable beer.' In this communication he states that the liability of beer to turn sour, ropy, &c., is due to the presence of special ferments derived from the air, and from the materials used. By boiling the infusion of malt and hops, cooling out of contact with air, and fermenting with pure yeast[232] in vessels to which only carbonic acid or pure air is admitted, a beer is produced of superior quality, which may be preserved without trouble for any time. Even a partial adoption of these precautions is attended with valuable results. In preparing pure yeast to start with, the author makes use of the fact that oxygen favours the growth of true yeast, but hinders the propagation of the other ferments. Pure yeast being obtained, the beer is afterwards fermented in an atmosphere nearly destitute of oxygen, as its quality is thereby improved. Pure yeast when kept in pure air undergoes no change, even at summer temperature. The _mycoderma vini_ does not, as the author once thought, become changed into beer-yeast on submersion in a nutritive fluid; under these circumstances it acts as an alcoholic ferment, but does not propagate itself.

[Footnote 232: M. Pasteur does not state how this is to be obtained.]

"In the ordinary fermentation of grape-juice and worts these liquids do not furnish a quantity of alcohol equivalent to the sugar which they contain; and this because a certain portion of the sugar serves for the oxidation of the gluten, and is not transformed like the rest. But wherever the liquor has arrived at the second period of transformation, the product in alcohol ought to be equivalent to the quantity of sugar present, as actually happens in all fermentations (sedimentary) which are not accompanied with a formation, but a disappearance of the yeast. According to Dr Ure, worts furnish, in the Bavarian breweries, from 10% to 20% more alcohol than they do by the ordinary process of fermentation (obergährung), or that excited by the use of 'oberhefe' or top-yeast."

East-India Ale or Pale Ale, for exportation, is brewed from worts of a sp. gr. of from 1·063 to 1·070. For the best varieties, 15 to 16 lbs. of the finest East Kent hops are used to every quarter of pure malt. The pale ale or bitter beer of the publicans is commonly a very weak liquor (mere table beer), highly bittered with the hop, and too often with quassia, wormwood, and other still more objectionable substances. The process now adopted by the great brewers of pale ale at Burton-on-Trent combines all the most admirable points of both the Bavarian and Scotch systems of brewing.

Berlin White ale or Pale beer is brewed from wheat-malt mixed with about 1/6th part of barley-malt, the 'wort' being boiled with hops, 1/2 lb. to the bushel, and slightly fermented with 'top-yeast,' at a rather higher temperature.

The desire of evading the duty led to the discovery of its being only necessary to employ 1/3rd, or less, of the grain, in the form of malt; this portion being sufficient to convert into sugar, in the process of mashing, the starch of the unmalted grain forming the other part. This plan answers well when the wort is merely intended for the production of 'grain spirit,' but beer so made is insipid and inferior in quality to that brewed wholly of malt. Inferior kinds of beer have also been made from other ingredients than barley-malt, among which may be named the grain of the cheaper cereals, bran, potatoes, turnips, beet-root, carrots, parsnips, pea-shells, and other vegetable substances rich in starch and sugar, all of which will produce beer by being mashed with water in the common way, with about 9% or 10% of barley-malt.

One quarter of the best barley-malt yields, by skilful mashing, fully 84 lbs. of 'saccharine,' or soluble sweet extractive matter. This concentrated within the compass of one barrel (33 galls.) gives a sp. gr. of 1·234. In the process of mashing about 4/7ths of this quantity of saccharine (or 48 lbs.) is generally carried off in the first wort; 2/7ths (or 24 lbs.) in the second wort; and 1/7th (or 12 lbs.) in the third wort; the strengths of the worts being to each other respectively as 4, 2, 1. The average gravity obtained by the common brewers from malt of current quality ranges from 80 to 81 lbs. Sugar may be used as a partial substitute for malt, with, in most cases, some degree of saving to the brewer, and without injury to the quality of the beer. The kind of sugar to be used will depend on the quality of the beer to be brewed, but it should be remembered that a bad sugar will not, any more than bad malt, yield a sound palatable beer. From 170 lbs. to 200 lbs. of good raw sugar may be taken as the average equivalent of a quarter of malt.

When the process of mashing has been properly conducted, the wort, after leaving the cooler, should not be turned blue by tincture of iodine, or by iodide of potassium mixed with a few drops of nitric acid. If it turns blue some of the starch has escaped conversion into sugar, and is dissolved in the liquor.

By multiplying the decimal part of the number representing the specific gravity of a wort by 360 (the weight in pounds of a barrel of pure water), we obtain the quantity of saccharine per barrel, corresponding to the given sp. gr.; and by dividing the joint weight of saccharine and water, per barrel, by 360, we obtain the specific gravity. Thus--

Suppose a sample of wort to have a specific gravity of 1·055, then--

Decimal of sp. gr. ·055 × 360 = 19·8 lbs. per barrel.

Again, a barrel of wort weighs 379·8 lbs., that is, 360 lbs. for the weight of a barrel of water, and 19·8 lbs. for the weight of saccharine in the water, then--

297·8 ÷ 360 = 1·055 specific gravity.

It is usually stated in works on brewing that certain temperatures must be reached by each variety of beer, during the progress of the fermentation, in order for the liquor to acquire its characteristic flavour. Thus, it is stated that mild beer begins to acquire flavour when the heat of fermentation arrives at 75° Fahr., increases at 80°, and is highest at 90°, but sometimes even reaches 100°. Old ale is said to obtain its best flavour at a temperature not exceeding 75°; and porter at 70° Fahr. In order to reach these temperatures the worts are directed to be set at from 10° to 15° lower, the rise being due to the heat generated during the fermentation. That these statements refer principally to the old methods of brewing is shown by the fact that some of the brewers of Bavaria, Scotland, and Burton-on-Trent produce rich and high-flavoured liquors at temperatures vastly below those above enumerated. Still, however, the fact must not be concealed, that since the introduction of the new German system of brewing into England the general character of its beers, as they reach the consumer, are inferior in strength and flavour to those of a former period. We may now seek almost in vain for the fine vinous, high-flavoured, invigorating old beers vended in our early days by the common publicans and tavern-keepers, of whom the larger majority were their own brewers. Under the new system of chemical brewing, as worked by those huge monopolists, the 'great brewers,' the only object appears to be to obtain the largest quantity possible of saccharine out of the quarter of malt, and to convert this into the largest possible quantity of beer, with little regard to flavour or quality, but an excessive one for their own profits. In due course this liquor is forced on their helpless tenants the publicans, who, in their turn, 'reduce' and 'doctor' the liquor, until, by the time it reaches the consumer, its insipidity and low strength would have led even a brewer's drayman of the last century to cast it into the kennel.

The best times for brewing are the spring and autumn; as at those periods of the year the temperature of the air is such as to permit of the easy cooling of worts sufficiently low, without having recourse to artificial refrigeration, or to the use of machinery for the purpose. Old ale cannot be conveniently brewed in summer.

Beers are classed by the brewers into--

_Small beers_--made from worts not exceeding the sp. gr. 1·025, or 9
lbs. per barrel.
_Middlings_--made from worts of the sp. gr. 1·030 to 1·050, and
averaging about 14 lbs. per barrel.
_Strong beers_--made from worts of the sp. gr. 1·040 to 1·080, extending
from about 35 lbs. per barrel upwards.

The densities of the worts employed for different kinds of beer vary considerably, as will be seen by the following table:--

TABLE _of the Densities of Beers_.

|----------------------------------------------------|
| | Pounds | |
| Description. | per | Specific Gravity. |
| | barrel. | |
|----------------------------------------------------|
|Burton ale, Class 1 |40 to 43 | 1·111 to 1·120 |
| " " 2 |35 " 40 | 1·097 " 1·111 |
| " " 3 |28 " 33 | 1·077 " 1·092 |
|Ordinary ale |25 " 27 | 1·070 " 1·075 |
|Common " | 21 | 1·058 |
|Scotch ale, Class 1 |40 to 44 | 1·111 to 1·122 |
| " " 2 |33 " 40 | 1·092 " 1·111 |
|Porter (ordinary) | 18 | 1·050 |
| " (good) |18 to 21 | 1·050 to 1·058 |
| " (double) |{?} to 22| 1·055 " 1·060 |
|Brown stout | 23 | 1·064 |
| " (best) | 26 | 1·072 |
|Table beer |12 to 14 | 1·033 to 1·039 |
|Small " (com.) | 6 | 1·017 |
|----------------------------------------------------|

EXPORTATION OF BEER:--When beer is exported from any part of the United Kingdom, either as merchandise or ships' stores, the brewer or exporter of such beer is allowed a certain drawback of duty. The amount is proportional to the quantity of malt or sugar inferred to have been used in the brewing of the beer. Thus, if the original specific gravity of the worts from which the beer was brewed were not less than 1·040, a drawback is granted of 4_s._ 3_d._ per barrel. This is equivalent to a return of the duty on 1-1/2 bushels of malt, with an allowance of 3_d._ for licence duty, now charged in lieu of the abolished hop duty. For every additional 5 degrees of specific gravity, from 1040° to 1125° inclusive, a further sum of 5_d._ per barrel is allowed.

[For further information connected with the above subject the reader is referred to the separate articles--ALE, BEER, DEXTRINE, DIASTASE, FERMENTATION, MALT LIQUORS, PORTER, SACCHAROMETER, SPECIFIC GRAVITY, WORT, YEAST, &c.]

=Brewing Uten'sils.= The cleansing and preservation of brewing utensils, beer casks, &c., has frequently engaged the attention of practical men and brewers' chemists. To preserve them sweet they should always be thoroughly cleaned before setting them aside. Contact with soap, or any greasy material, should be carefully avoided. A scrubbing-brush and scalding-hot water are generally sufficient to clean them. Great care should be taken to remove every particle of yeast or fur on the sides and bottom; and after being well drained they should be stowed away in some clean and cold situation, properly exposed to the fresh air. Should they become tainted or mouldy, a strong lye of pearl-ash, common salt, or quick-lime, may be spread over them, scalding hot, with a broom or scrubbing-brush. Washing them with oil of vitriol diluted with about 7 or 8 times its bulk of water, is another excellent and very effective method. Fresh-burnt charcoal has also been employed for the same purpose. In each case the vessels must be subsequently thoroughly washed out with clean water, as before. Steam, assisted by the action of a chain, has been successfully applied to clean casks in several breweries. Bisulphite of lime has, within the last few years, been highly recommended for sweetening and cleaning vats, casks, &c. It is also said to prevent beer from developing acidity. See CASKS, VATS, SPOROKTON, &c.

=BRICKS.= Brick-making scarcely comes within the province of this work. In connection with hygiene, however, we may call the reader's attention to the superior advantages of both hollow and waterproof bricks; the first, for ventilation and lightness; the last, for preserving the dryness and integrity of our homes under all the vicissitudes of climate, season, and weather, either on damp soils or dry ones. Workman's "Patent Waterproof Bricks" received a strong commendatory notice from the Commissioners of the "Great International Exhibition" of 1851.

=BRILLIANTINE.= 1. Castor oil, 1 part; eau de Cologne, 4 parts. Mix. 2. Honey, 1 _oz._; glycerin, 1/2 _oz._; eau de Cologne, 1/2 _oz._; spirit of wine, 2 _oz._ Mix.

=BRINE= (for Meat). _Prep._ 1. A nearly saturated solution of common salt, 1 lb.; and saltpetre, 1 oz.; in soft water.

2. To the last add of sugar or treacle, 1/2 lb. Bay-salt is recommended when the meat is to be kept for a very long period. Meat preserved in brine that has been used for curing several times is said to become poisonous. See PICKLING, &c.

=Brine, Red-Cabbage.= Red-cabbage leaves steeped in a strong solution of common salt. Used as a test for acids and alkalies.

=Brine, Vi'olet.= From the petals of the blue violet, as the last. Used as a test for acids.

=BRIOCHE PASTE= (bre-[=o]sh'). In _cookery_, a species of paste, or crust, prepared of eggs and flour, fermented with yeast, to which a little salt, a large quantity of sugar, and about half as much butter as the weight of the flour used, are afterwards added, and well worked in. Used as an addition to soup, and as a casing for lobsters, patties, eggs, &c.

=BRISK'NESS.= The natural briskness and sparkling of fermented liquors depends on the gradual evolution of carbonic acid gas within the body of the fluid, by the process of fermentation. See MALT LIQUORS, PORTER, WINES, &c.

=BRIS'TLES= (br[)i]s'lz). The stiff hair of swine, &c. They are commonly stiffened by immersion for a short time in alum-water; and are dyed by steeping them for a short time in any of the common dyes used for cotton or wool.

=BRITAN'NIA METAL.= _Syn._ TUTANIA. A superior species of pewter, used for teapots, spoons, &c.

_Prep._ 1. Plate-brass, bismuth, antimony, and tin, equal parts, melted together, and the resulting alloy added at discretion to melted tin, until it acquires the proper degree of colour and hardness.

2. To the first alloy, prepared as in No. 1, add one fifth of its weight of metallic arsenic, before mixing it with the melted tin.

3. Antimony, 1 part; brass, 4 parts; tin, 5 or 6 parts; melted together. See QUEEN'S METAL (ALLOYS), PEWTER, &c.

4. Tin, 150 parts; copper, 3 parts; antimony, 10 parts.

5. Tin, 46-1/2 parts; copper, 1 part; antimony, 3 parts.

=Britannia Metal for Casting.= _a._ Tin, 100 parts; hardening (see _below_), 5 parts; antimony, 5 parts. _b._ Tin, 105 parts; copper, 2 parts; antimony, 12 parts.

=Britannia Metal (Best) for Handles.= Tin, 140 parts; copper, 2 parts; antimony, 5 parts.

=Britannia Metal, Hardening for.= Tin, 1 part; copper, 2 parts.

=Britannia Metal (Best) for Lamps, Pillars, and Spouts.= Tin, 75 parts; copper, 1 part; antimony, 3-3/4 parts.

=Britannia Metal for Registers.= Tin, 25 parts; antimony, 2 parts; hardening, 2 parts.

=Britannia Metal for Spinning.= Tin, 25 parts; antimony, 1 part; hardening, 1 part.

=Britannia Metal (Best) for Spoons.= Tin, 20 parts; antimony, 2 parts; hardening, 1 part.

=Britannia Metal for Spouts.= Tin, 46-1/2 parts; copper, 1 part; antimony, 2 parts.

=BRITANNIA SILVER.= Under this name there is, or was, offered to the public at Vienna, and probably elsewhere, under the misleading recommendation that it is a perfect substitute for silver, a heterogeneous metallic composition, in the form of spoons, forks, candlesticks, cups, &c. The Britannia silver is sometimes, or always, light, silvered, Britannia metal (an alloy of 86 tin, 10 antimony, 3 zinc, 1 copper; or of 2 copper, 6 zinc, 21 antimony, 71 tin; or of 1·84 copper, 81·90 tin, 16·25 antimony, and 1 zinc). One firm announces that Britannia silver is silver-white throughout, a colour which can only be obtained in similar alloys by the addition of arsenic. Another firm sells candlesticks of inferior packfong as Britannia metal, and another actually sells tinned Bessemer steel-plate cups as guaranteed Britannia silver. (Ackerman.)

=BRIT'ISH GUM.= See GUM.

=BRITISH WINES.= See WINES.

=BROC'COLI.= [Eng., L., Ger.] _Syn._ BROCOLI, Fr.; BROCCOLO, It. A well-known sub-variety of cauliflower. The qualities, and the mode of dressing broccoli, are similar to those of cabbages, noticed elsewhere. See VEGETABLES (Culinary), &c.

=BROKEN KNEES= (IN HORSES). The wound should first be thoroughly washed, and then sewn up, and fomented with tepid water. Afterwards cold-water dressings containing a little carbolic acid may be applied. Perfect rest is essential, and, where necessary, splints and slings must be had recourse to. After the wound has thoroughly healed blisters are recommended for restoring the hair.

=BROKEN WIND= (IN HORSES). Of the many remedies said to be useful in this malady few, if any, appear to exercise any permanent advantage. There is no reason, however, why a horse affected with broken wind should not be made serviceable if the precaution be taken to put him to moderately slow work, if the following precautions be followed. His food should be given him in small quantity and at frequent intervals. The oats should be bruised and the hay cut small, and both be slightly damped before he partakes of them. This dietary may be varied by small doses of carrots or turnips.

The amount of fluids should be restricted, and he should be fed and watered at least an hour before going to work. A mild physic ball should also be occasionally administered.

Dogs suffering from asthma should be subjected to the same treatment. To a full-sized dog ten drops each of ether and tincture of belladonna may be given every hour during an attack of spasm until the breathing becomes easier.

=BRO'MA.= _Prep._ 1. Pure cocoa, 1 lb.; sugar and sago-meal, of each 4 oz.; mix. British arrow-root (_i. e._ carefully prepared potato-starch) is often substituted for the sago.

2. As the last, but using fine wheat flour in lieu of sago-meal. Made into a beverage in a similar way to cocoa.

=BRO'MAL.= C_{2}Br_{3}HO. A colourless, oily liquid, obtained by the action of bromine on alcohol. Sp. gr. 3·34; boiling point above 212° F. Like chloral it yields a solid hydrate with water. Because of its powerful irritant properties it seems unlikely to prove useful, either as a hypnotic or as an anæsthetic.

=BRO'MIDE= (-m[)i]d). _Syn._ BRO'MURET*, HYDROBRO'MATE*; BROMI'DUM, BROMURE'TUM, HYDROBRO'MAS, L.; BROMIDE, BROMURE. Fr. A chemical compound of bromine with another radical.

_Prop._, _&c._ The soluble bromides give white precipitates with nitrate of silver, acetate of lead, and protonitrate of mercury. That from the first of these is insoluble in dilute nitric acid and in ammonia water unless concentrated; and it has a slight yellowish tinge, changing to a violet on exposure to the light. A few drops of liquid chlorine poured upon a bromide, followed by agitation of the mixture with a little sulphuric ether, furnishes an ethereal solution of bromine. [For the other bromides see the respective bases.]

=BRO'MINE= (-m[)i]n), (_bromos_, a stink). Br. _Syn._ BROME*; BRO'MIUM, BROMIN'IUM, L.; BRÔME, Fr. An elementary substance, discovered by M. Balard, of Montpellier, in 1826.

_Prep._ 1. A current of gaseous chlorine is passed through the uncrystallisable residuum of sea-water called bittern, which then assumes an orange tint, in consequence of bromine being set free from its combinations; sulphuric ether is then agitated with it, and the mixture is allowed to stand, in a close vessel, until the ethereal portion floats upon the surface. This is a solution of crude bromine, and for common purposes the ether may be at once evaporated by a very gentle heat. To render it pure, caustic potassa is added in excess to the ethereal solution, or the latter is agitated with a solution of potassa, by which means bromide and bromate of potassium are formed. The whole is evaporated to dryness, and submitted to a dull red heat. The residuum is next powdered and mixed with pure peroxide of manganese; the mixture having been placed in a retort, sulphuric acid (diluted with half its weight of water) is poured in. Red vapours immediately arise, and condense into drops of bromine, which are collected by plunging the neck of the retort nearly to the bottom of a small receiver containing a little very cold water. The bromine forms a stratum beneath the water, and may be collected and at once put into a stoppered bottle; or it may be further purified by distillation from dry chloride of calcium.

2. Leisler's patent for a method of obtaining bromine consists in decomposing the lye containing the bromine salt by heating it with hydrochloric acid and bichromate of potash in a leaden still having an earthenware head. The volatilised bromine with the vapour of water is conducted into a receiver containing iron turnings, bromide of iron, which dissolves in the water contained in the receiver, being formed. The bromide of iron so produced is either converted into other metallic bromides by the usual processes, or the bromine is obtained in a separate state from the iodide by treatment with sulphuric acid and bichromate of potash.

3. Large quantities of bromine are extracted from the mother liquor of carnallite, a double chloride of magnesium of potassium occurring in enormous quantities in a bed of clay in the neighbourhood of Stassfurt, near Magdeburg. The mother liquid of the carnallite at 35° B. is first freed as much as possible from the chloride of calcium it contains, by means of refrigeration. It is next evaporated down until it acquires a density of 40° B. Frank says it cannot be concentrated to the above extent, because of a waste of bromine resulting from the formation of hydrobromic acid produced by the decomposition of the lye, owing to its being overheated at the bottom of the pan. Upon being cooled to 25° C. a quantity of chloride of magnesium crystallises out, whilst the remaining liquor contains from 0·3 to 0·5 of bromine as bromide of magnesium. The liquor is then put into a sandstone apparatus such as is used for the preparation of chlorine, and the requisite quantity of manganese and hydrochloric acid being added, steam is poured into the apparatus. After about a quarter of an hour the bromine is evolved in the form of vapour, which becomes condensed by being made to pass through a leaden worm cooled in water, and is finally collected as liquid bromine in Woolff's bottles.

The crude bromine so obtained is purified by redistillation in glass retorts. It is stated that the sandstone apparatus can be charged six times in 24 hours. In order to free the bromine from the presence of any chloride it is shaken up with a solution of bromide of potassium.

The chlorine unites with the potassium, forming chloride of potassium and liberating an equivalent quantity of bromine in so doing. Dr Frank suggests the use of earthenware worms in preference to leaden ones, these latter being acted upon and corroded by liquid bromine. In Dr Frank's bromine works at Stassfurt the distillation is conducted in cubic stoneware vessels, having a capacity of about three cubic metres. These vessels are surrounded with belts of iron, in case of the occurrence of fracture. It was found that few stones answered the purpose required of them, as by reason of their porous nature they permitted the chloride of manganese formed during the distillation to ooze through. To remedy this the stones had to be coated with tar, a process which entailed a very serious loss of bromine, from the formation of bromine compounds with the hydrocarbons of the tar, as well as a contamination of the bromine with the tar. Subsequently Dr Frank found in the neighbourhood of Porta Westphalia a stone which answered the purpose without requiring the previous objectionable and expensive preparation with tar.

It seems that the workmen discard the respirators which are provided for their use in the bromine works, and merely tie a cloth over the mouth and nose (sometimes neglecting this precaution) when decanting the bromine.

To lessen the evil effects of the vapours upon the health of the workmen under these circumstances, the building is rendered as airy as possible by being thoroughly ventilated throughout. No workmen afflicted with asthma or with any catarrhal affection are employed, whilst those engaged are strictly prohibited from taking spirituous liquids in any form, a custom which begets an irritability of the mucous membranes, which is found to be exceedingly dangerous; on the contrary, a generous diet, and one consisting of an abundant use of bacon and butter, was found very beneficial.

Bromine is sometimes contaminated with chlorine, iodine, and occasionally bromide of carbon. A small quantity of the bromine agitated with a solution of soda, in such proportion that the fluid is made very slightly alkaline, forms a colourless solution, which, if coloured by the further addition of a small quantity of the bromine, does not become blue on the subsequent addition of a cold solution of starch. This shows the absence of iodine. Chlorine may be detected by adding a small quantity of the suspected bromine to some warm solution of potash in a capsule, evaporating, drying the residue, and distilling with bichromate of potash and sulphuric acid. Bromide of carbon has a higher boiling-point than pure bromine.

_Prop., &c._ A dark, reddish-coloured, volatile liquid, having an odour intermediate between that of chlorine and iodine, but much more suffocating and offensive. It solidifies at about 19°, and boils at about 145° Fahr. It is slightly soluble in water, more so in alcohol, and abundantly so in ether. Its aqueous solution bleaches like chlorine, but less powerfully. With hydrogen it forms HYDROBRO'MIC ACID; and with the bases, compounds called BRO'MIDES. Its sp. gr. is 2·976; that of its vapour, 5·39.