Malt

“ As more or less of hops is put in, no doubt the saccharine principle of the malt is subdued, or is suffered to predominate. But in malt there is, besides the mere sugar which it contains in common with so many other vegetables, a flavour peculiar to itself: and this is brought out and modified by the application of more or less of the great chemical agent, heat, to the malted barley. In short, fire makes malt more or less savoury, much as it makes a brandered fowl, or a mutton steak, or a toasted oaten cake, more or less savoury. ”

“ Its richness in sugar and alcohol, on which its stimulating and nutritive properties depend, is hence less than that of an uncoloured mild ale brewed from a like original quantity of malt. For pale malt is assumed to yield 80 to 84 lbs. of saccharine per quarter; whereas the torrefied malt employed by the porter brewers only yields 18 to 24 lbs. per quarter, and much of even this small quantity is altered in its properties, and is incapable of undergoing the vinous fermentation. In the manufacture of porter there is a waste of malt which does not occur in brewing ale ”

“ Of late years various preparations of malt have come to hold a very high place in popular estimation. A first-rate remedy for a cough is made thus: Over half a bushel of pale ground malt pour as much hot, but not boiling, water as will just cover it. In forty-eight hours drain off the liquor entirely, but without squeezing the grains: put the former into a large sweetmeat pan, or saucepan, that there may be room to boil as quick as possible, without boiling over; when it begins to thicken, stir constantly. It must be as thick as treacle. ”

“ Our malt is made all the year long in some great towns; but [Pg 99] in gentlemen’s and yeomen’s houses, who commonly make sufficient for their own expenses only, the winter half is thought most meet for that commodity: howbeit the malt that is made when the willow doth bud is commonly worst of all. Nevertheless each one endeavoureth to make it of the best barley, which is steeped in a cistern, in greater or less quantity, by the space of three days and three nights, until it be thoroughly soaked. ”

“ The difference of malt, by reason whereof it yields better or worse beer, and spirit, consists for the most part in the preparation thereof: for being made after the vulgar way it retains its tast, wherefore it cannot yield good spirit, nor good beer, which is observed of very few, wherefore they could not draw forth good spirit out of corn, but such as savours of the tast and smell of the malt. ”

“ Fat is very necessary in nervous troubles; hence plenty of cream, fresh butter and cream cheese should be taken; also pure oil with the salad.
MALT EXTRACT.
L.F.H. writes.—Is malt extract a good thing to take daily with an ordinary non-flesh diet, two teaspoonfuls or so at breakfast? And is the desiccated or dry malt extract to be preferred to the ordinary sticky article?
Malt extract of good quality, containing an active form of diastase, is a good form of relish to take with meals. The diastase promotes starch digestion and makes a good addition to foods of the cereal order. ”

“ The malt-liquor drunkard should, as a general rule, prefer porter to strong ale. Herb ale and purl are very pernicious, but the lighter varieties, such as small beer and home-brewed, are not only harmless, but even useful. The person who indulges in malt liquor should take much exercise. If he neglects this, and yields to the indolence apt to be induced by these fluids, he becomes fat and stupid, and has a strong tendency to apoplexy, and other diseases of plethora. ”

“ The production of good malt is, without question, the key-stone of the arch of brewing; therefore the brewer's attention should be invariably directed to this point, as the most difficult and important part of his operations. The process of making malt is an artificial or forced vegetation, in which, the nearer we approach nature in her ordinary progress, the more certainly shall we arrive at the perfection of which the subject is capable. ”

“ When malt is suffered to grow too much, or until the spire is shot through the skin of the barley, which is not often the case, though all that is left be malt, that is, containing salts dissoluble in water, yet as too large a portion of oils has been expended out of the grain, such malts cannot be fit to brew drinks for long keeping.—There is, besides, a real loss of the substance of the corn, occasioned by its being overgrown. ”

“ The brown Malt is the soonest and highest dryed of any, even till it is so hard, that it's difficult to bite some of its Corns asunder, and is often so crusted or burnt, that the farinous part loses a great deal of its essential Salts and vital Property, which frequently deceives its ignorant Brewer, that hopes to draw as much Drink from a quarter of this, as he does from pale or amber sorts: This Malt by some is thought to occasion the Gravel and Stone, besides what is commonly called the Heart-burn ”

“ Malt spirit, or gin, the favourite liquor of the lower order of people, which is characterised by the peculiar flavour of juniper berries, over which the raw spirit is distilled, is usually obtained from a mixture of malt and barley: sometimes both molasses and corn are employed, particularly if there be a scarcity of grain. But the flavour of whiskey, which is made from barley and oats, is owing to the malted grain being dried with peat, the smoke of which gives it the characteristic taste. ”

“ It is of material consequence to the brewer to have the best malts for the purpose of brewing. Some brewers, when working with inferior malt, think that an additional quantity will compensate for quality. This is, however, an erroneous opinion. Inferior malts can never impart the same mellowness and richness to ale or beer as those of superior quality. From using inferior malt, we also run a risk of having unsound worts. The best, therefore, will be found the cheapest. ”

“ Another way to make a cheap malt liquor is to take a bushel of malt, with as much water and hops as if two bushels of malt were allowed in the common way, and put seven pounds of the coarsest brown sugar into the boiling wort. This makes a very pleasant liquor; is as strong, and will keep as long without turning sour or flat, as if two bushels had been employed. Twenty gallons of good beer may be made from a bushel of malt, and three quarters of a pound of hops, if care be taken to extract all their goodness. ”

“ Before I proceed to explain the uses of the several brewing utensils, I must speak of the quality of the materials of which beer is made; that is to say, the malt, hops, and water. Malt varies very much in quality, as, indeed, it must, with the quality of the barley. When good, it is full of flour, and in biting a grain asunder, you find it bite easily, and see the shell thin and filled up well with flour. If it bite hard and steely, the malt is bad. There is pale malt and brown malt ”

“ But in rich and great families, where country hospitality is much practised, the malt liquors consumed by the members of the family make but a small part of the consumption of the house. Either on account of this composition, however, or for other reasons, it is not near so common to malt as to brew for private use. It is difficult to imagine any equitable reason, why those who either brew or distil for private use should not be subject to a composition of the same kind. ”

“ Both wine and malt liquors have a greater tendency to swell the body than ardent spirits. They form blood with greater rapidity, and are altogether more nourishing. The most dreadful effects, upon the whole, are brought on by spirits, but drunkenness from malt liquors is the most speedily fatal. The former break down the body by degrees; the latter operate by some instantaneous apoplexy or rapid inflammation.
No one has ever given the respective characters of the malt-liquor and ardent-spirit drunkard with greater truth than Hogarth, in his Beer Alley and [70] Gin Lane. ”

“ Arthur. I thought brewers made beer?
Mr. Mansfield. You were right. Brewers buy malt. They grind it, and then pour hot water upon it, to get out its strength and goodness. The [51] liquor thus obtained, which is sweet-wort, becomes the most valuable part of the commodity; for the malt has lost its virtue, and is called grains, and is only used to feed pigs and cattle. The wort is afterwards boiled with hops, which give it a bitterish taste instead of a sickly sweet, and keep it wholesome and good. ”

“ The malting for the distilleries is to be conducted on the same principles as for the breweries, but the malt ought to be lightly kiln-dried, and that preferably at a steam heat, instead of a fire, which is apt to give an empyreumatic smell to the grain that passes into the spirits. For such persons, indeed, as relish the smell of burned turf, called peat-reek in Scotland, the malt should be dried by a turf fire, whereby the whiskey will acquire that peculiar odour. ”

“ It will probably do a larger amount of mischief, however, because more people take it. I refer to the various preparations, so largely advertised, which profess to be compounded of port wine, extract of malt, and extract of meat. To the medically uneducated public this doubtless seems a most promising combination: extract of meat for food, extract of malt to aid digestion, port wine to make blood. Surely the very thing to strengthen all who are weak, and to hasten the restoration of convalescents. ”

“ On coming into warm climates it is obvious that the increased perspiration must be supplied by a considerable quantity of diluting liquids; and such of these as the person has been most accustomed to ought to be preferred. For the rest, diluted malt liquors seem preferable to spirits and water. Cyder, though very agreeable when fresh, is apt to become vapid, and even get a putrescent taint. Perhaps a plain infusion of malt, of late found so useful at sea, might also prove beneficial at land, where proper fermented liquors cannot be had. ”

“ With regard to grinding, the Malt 4 should be reduced to a kind of coarse Meal; for Experience has shewn, that by this means, the whole Substance of the Malt may, through the whole Process, continue mixed with the Tincture, and be distilled with it; whereby a larger Quantity of Spirit will be obtained, and also great Part of the Trouble, Time and Expence in Brewing saved. ”

“ Lucas, the surgeon of this ship, by watching the first beginnings of it, by a proper regulation of diet, and the administration of the essence of malt and juice of limes, not 148 only prevented the progress of the disease, but proved, that, with great attention, it may even be cured at sea. It is of the utmost consequence in this disease to put the men on the sick list on the very first appearance of the symptoms, so that they may early have the advantage of proper treatment and regimen. It is only at this period of it that the effects of essence of malt are sensible ”

“ The water should never be suffered to become cooler during the operation than 160°, or it will not dissolve the starchy matter contained in the malt; and, if it is hotter than 180°, the malt will be set, as the maltsters call it, that is, it will become changed into a glutinous paste, from which no strength can be extracted. When the malt has been sufficiently mashed, the wort is drawn off by the spigot, and it will be found that the eighteen gallons of water have only yielded [Pg 48] about thirteen gallons of wort, and sometimes not so much. ”

“ SYMPTOMS.—The subjects of the malady under consideration are of full habit, even obese. They habitually consume considerable quantities of malt liquors and a diet composed largely of the starchy and saccharine foods. If not in malt liquors, they at least indulge freely in bread, potatoes, pastry, cakes—in all forms of farinaceous food, fats, and sweets. They have a keen appetite, eat largely, and drink freely of fluids. ”

“ I am much disposed to extol the virtues of malt liquors. When properly fermented, well hopped, and of a moderate strength, they are refreshing, wholesome, and nourishing. It is a common observation, that those who drink sound malt liquors are stronger than those who drink wine; and to those who are trained to boxing, and other athletic exercises, old home-brewed beer is particularly recommended, drawn from the cask, and not bottled. ”

“ The cupidity of fraudulent brewers and publicans frequently induces them to introduce other ingredients than malt and bitters into their liquors, with a view of giving them a false appearance and strength. Thus, to give pungency—capsicum, grains of paradise, ginger, &c., have been added; to give intoxicating properties—opium, cocculus indicus, tobacco, &c.; as a substitute for malt—molasses, treacle, colouring, honey, &c.; to impart a false appearance of age—sulphuric acid, alum, green vitriol, glycerin, mustard, &c.; to remove acidity—pearlash, soda, chalk, &c. ”

“ Treating it with malt, which, in a manner not yet known, by a substance contained in it (diastase) , has the power of lacerating the cuticles of the starch granules. The diastase contained in malt is said to be a solid, white, tasteless, uncrystallised body, soluble in water, but insoluble in alcohol. Dissolved in water, it turns sour very soon. ”

“ It affords evidence that in 1596 there was a dearth of corn which was general through the kingdom; that barley was then much used for bread; that there was a custom, either general, or occasioned by the scarcity, that the poor should be served in open market, at an accustomed hour; that one of the means relied upon to supply food to the people was to restrain the making of malt; and, therefore, that malt liquor must have been very generally consumed by our forefathers at that time. ”