Chapter 1

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THE AMERICAN PRACTICAL BREWER AND TANNER:

IN WHICH IS EXHIBITED

THE WHOLE PROCESS OF

Brewing without boiling.

Brewing strong Beer with the extract only of the Hop, leaving out the substance.

A simple method of giving new Beer all the qualities of age, thereby fitting it for the bottle before it is three weeks old.

A simple method of preventing Beer bursting the bottle.

An economical mode of constructing Vats above ground, possessing the temperature of the best cellars and thus rendered fireproof.

An economical mode by which every Housekeeper may brew his own Beer.

A method of brewing good Beer from Bran and Shorts, and of preserving it.

The Bordeaux method of making and preparing Claret Wine for shipping, which may be successfully applied to the wines of this country, particularly those of Kaskaskias.

The best method and season for malting Indian Corn, from which alone good Beer can be made, a process highly important to Brewers.

The best mode of raising Hops.

The best mode of preparing Seed Barley for sowing.

Best construction and aspect of Breweries and Malt Houses in this country.

The French mode of tanning the heaviest Soal Leather in twenty-one days, and Calf Skins in three or four. (Highly important.)

BY JOSEPH COPPINGER. Practical Brewer.

_NEW-YORK_: PRINTED BY VAN WINKLE AND WILEY, No. 3 Wall Street.

1815.

Transcriber's Note: Part of the last sentence in Footnote 6 is illegible and has been marked [remainder of text is illegible]. In addition, the Contents were moved from the rear to the front of this text for the convenience of the reader.

CONTENTS.

Page.

Advertisement 3

Preface 5

The best position for placing a brewery and malt house, also the best aspect, with different arrangements of the vessels 11

A description of the form and plan of a brewery, distribution of the vessels; the most judicious and convenient manner of placing them, with a view to economy, cleanliness, and effect 13

Malt house, the best construction of, with proper barley lofts, dropping room, and flooring, how, and in what manner made, and best likely to last 18

Wooden kilns, how constructed 23

A new and economical construction of vats for keeping beer, which, in this way, may be rendered fire proof, whilst at the same time possessing the temperature of the best cellars, although above ground 29

Grinding, how substituted for 31

Malting 33

Plain practical process of malting 44

Malting winter barley 50

Malting oats ib.

Malting rye ib.

Malting wheat ib.

Indian corn, how malted 51

Fermentation 54

Hops, how cultivated 99

Barley cultivation 109

Table beer 112

Small beer for shipping 113

Keeping table beer 114

Small beer of the best kind 116

Another method to brew small beer 118

Another process for brewing small beer 120

Single ale and table beer 123

Strong beer 126

Table beer, English method of brewing it 129

Unboiled beer 131

Strong beer, brewed with the extract of hops, leaving out the substance 134

Table beer for housekeepers, well worth their attention 136

Fermenting and cleansing in the same vessel 138

Plate of the worker 139

A new method of fermenting strong beer, that will produce a pure and good liquor 140

Process of brewing Windsor ale, on a small scale 142

Reading beer, how brewed 145

Two-penny amber beer, as brewed in London 147

London ale, how brewed 149

Windsor ale, on a large scale 151

Welsh ale, how brewed 154

Wirtemberg ale 156

Hock 158

Scurvy grass ale 160

Dorchester ale 162

Porter 165

Porter process No. I. 167

Porter process No. II. 170

Porter process No. III. 172

Porter malt 174

Porter colouring 176

Strong beer 182

Filtering operation (with a Plate) 189

Returned beer, how to make the most of 193

To Bring several sorts of beer, when mixed, to one uniform taste 194

Finings, the best method of preparing them 195

Heading 197

Bottling beer 198

Brewing coppers, the best method of setting them 202

Pumps, the best construction of, and how freed from ice in winter 205

Cleansing casks 208

To make mead wine 210

To make ginger wine 212

To make currant wine 213

Yest, how prepared to keep good in any climate 214

To make a substitute for brewer's yest 217

Another method 218

Another method 220

Process of making and preparing claret wine for shipping, as practiced in Bordeaux and its neighbourhood 221

Brewing company 227

The author's notice about plans and sections of elevation for breweries and malt houses 230

French mode of tanning 232

_Errata._

In the Advertisement, 4th page, 6th line, first word, for _wine_ read _vine_; and in the next line, first word, for _it_ read _its produce_.

In page 25, 25th line, the last word should be omitted, and read thus, _malt or grain intended to be dried on it, requiring less fuel_, &c.

In page 36, 25th line, first word, for _proportion_ read _preparation_.

SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF NEW-YORK, _ss._

BE IT REMEMBERED, that on the fourteenth day of September, in the fortieth year of the independence of the United States of America, Joseph Coppinger of the said district, has deposited in this office the title of a book, the right whereof he claims as proprietor, in the words and figures following, to wit:

"The American Practical Brewer and Tanner: in which is exhibited the whole process of Brewing without boiling; Brewing Strong Beer with the extract only of the Hop, leaving out the substance; a simple method of giving new Beer all the qualities of age, thereby rendering it fit for the Bottle before it is three weeks old; a simple method of preventing Beer bursting the Bottle; an economical mode of constructing Vats above ground, possessing the temperature of the best Cellars, and thus rendered fireproof; an economical mode by which every Housekeeper may brew his own Beer; a method of brewing good Beer from Bran and Shorts, and of preserving it; the Bordeaux method of making and preparing Claret Wine for shipping, which may be successfully applied to the vines of this country, particularly those of Kaskaskias; the best method and season for malting Indian Corn, from which alone good Beer can be made, a process highly important to Brewers; the best mode of raising Hops; the best mode of preparing Seed Barley for sowing; best construction of Breweries and Malt Houses in this country; the French mode of tanning the heaviest Soal Leather in twenty-one days, and Calf Skins in three or four--highly important. By Joseph Coppinger, Practical Brewer."

In conformity to the act of the Congress of the United States, entitled "An act for the encouragement of learning, by securing the copies of maps, charts, and books to the authors and proprietors of such copies, during the times therein mentioned;" and also to an act entitled "an act, supplementary to an act, entitled an act for the encouragement of learning, by securing the copies of maps, charts, and books, to the authors and proprietors of such copies, during the times therein mentioned, and extending the benefits thereof to the arts of designing, engraving, and etching historical and other prints."

THERON RUDD, Clerk of the Southern District of New-York.

ADVERTISEMENT.

Since writing the Preface, I have been induced to make an addition to this little work, in order to increase its usefulness, by giving the French mode of tanning, as practised by the famous Mr. Seguine. Of such importance did the Academy of Arts and Sciences at Paris consider this improvement, that they thought it worth while to appoint a committee of their own members to go down to one of the provinces where this gentleman resides, and there, on the spot, superintend his operations, which they did with minute attention; and it is from the journal of their reports to the academy, that the different processes of tanning leather in this ingenious artist's way are here given; an improvement that can, no doubt, be successfully applied to that important manufacture in this country, affording the tanner the opportunity of turning his capital twelve or fourteen times in a year, instead of once. This single advantage alone so forcibly recommends its adoption, particularly in a country like ours, where capital is scarce, that further comment is unnecessary. I have also added the Bordeaux method of making and preparing claret wine for shipping, as practised in that city and its vicinity; which practice may possibly hereafter be successfully applied to the red wines of this country. The more so, when it is known that in the reign of Louis XVI., the merchants of Bordeaux presented a memorial to that monarch, praying him to put a stop to the importation of the wines of Kaskaskias into France, as likely, if permitted, to be injurious to the trade of Bordeaux. There was at that time a College of Jesuits established in that country, the superiors of which caused the wine to be cultivated with great success, and quantities of it were at that time sent to France. As that territory is now in our possession, and its soil and climate peculiarly favourable to the growth of the grape, which is indigenous there, may it not be an object well worth the attention of our government, to encourage and improve the growth of the wine in that section of the union; which wise measure would, probably, in a few years, supply our own consumption, and leave a considerable surplus for exportation. To offer an apology for giving these subjects a place in this publication, seems wholly unnecessary, when their importance is considered.

PREFACE.

Brewing, in every country, whose soil and climate are congenial to the production of the raw materials, should be ranked among the first objects of its domestic and political economy. If any person doubt the truth of this position, I have only to request him to cast an eye on England, where the brewing capital is estimated at more than fifteen millions sterling; and the gross annual revenue, arising from this capital, at seven million five hundred thousand pounds sterling, including the hop, malt, and extract duties. Notwithstanding this enormous excise of 50 per cent. on the brewing capital, what immense fortunes have been made, and are daily making, in that country, as well as in Ireland and Scotland, by the intelligent and judicious practice of this _more than useful art_. Yet how much stronger inducements for similar establishments in this country, where we have no duty on the raw materials, or the extract;[1] and where the important article of hops is raised in as high perfection as in any part of Europe, and often for one third of the price paid in England. But a still more important consideration is the health and morals of our population, which appears to be essentially connected with the progress of the brewing trade. In proof of this assertion, I will beg leave to state a well known fact; which is, that in proportion as the consumption of malt liquors have increased in our large towns and cities, in that proportion has the health of our fellow citizens improved, and epidemics and intermittents, become less frequent. The same observation holds good as respects the country, where it is well known that those families that brew their own beer, and make a free use of it through the summer are, in general, all healthy, and preserve their colour; whilst their less fortunate neighbours, who do not use beer at all, are devoured by fevers and intermittents. These facts will be less doubted, when it is known that yest, properly administered, has been found singularly successful in the cure of fevers. This the practice of the Rev. Doctor Townsend, in England, places beyond all doubt, where he states, that in fifty fever cases that occurred in his own parish, (some of which were of the most malignant kind,) he only missed a cure in two or three, by administering yest. Having considered the produce of the brewery as it is connected with health, we may, with equal propriety, say it is not less so with morals; and its encouragement and extension, as an object of great national importance, cannot be too strongly recommended, as the most natural and effectual remedy to the too great use of ardent spirits, the baneful effects of which are too generally known, and too extensively felt, to need any particular description here. The farmer and the merchant will alike find their account in encouraging and improving the produce of the brewery. The farmer can raise no crop that will pay him better than hops; as, under proper management, he may reasonably expect to clear, of a good year, one hundred dollars per acre. Barley will also prove a good crop, if proper attention be paid to seed, soil, and time of sowing. The merchant will alike find his account in encouraging the brewery, from the many advantages derivable from an extensive export of its produce to the East and West Indies, South America, the Brazils, but particularly to Russia, where good beer is in great demand; large quantities are annually sent there from England, at a much higher rate, it may be presumed, than we could afford to supply them from this country. All these considerations united seem forcibly to recommend giving the breweries of the United States every possible encouragement and extension. Here, it is but justice to state, that the brewers of New-York deserve much credit for the high improvement they have made in the quality of their malt liquors within a few years, which seem to justify the hope that they will continue these advances to excellence, until they realise the opinion of Combrune and others, that it is possible to produce a "_malt wine_."

[1] Save five per cent. on brewery sales--a war tax.

THE AMERICAN PRACTICAL BREWER AND TANNER

_The best position for placing a Brewery and Malt house, also the best aspect, with different arrangements of the Utensils._

Cleanliness being as essential in the brewery as in the dairy, it is of the greatest importance, never to lose sight of it in every part of the operations, and particularly in selecting the ground and soil to place a brewery on. The situation to be preferred should be an elevated one, and the soil either sand or gravel, as it is of great importance in the preservation of beer that the cellars be dry and sufficiently ventilated by windows properly disposed. If the cellars of the brewery be under ground, it would be very desirable to have them kept sweet and clean by properly constructed sewers, without which, pumping by a hand or a horse power is a poor substitute, as by this means (which we find too common in breweries) the washings of the cellars have time to become putrid, particularly in summer, emitting the most offensive and unwholesome effluvia, contaminating the atmosphere, and frequently endangering both the health and lives of the workmen. This is a serious evil, and should in all cases, as much as possible, be avoided. It is true, there are times, when a choice of situation cannot be made; in that case, circumstances must be submitted to, and people do the best they can. The cellars and coolers of the breweries in this country should have a northern aspect, and the cellars principally ventilated from east to west. The windows on the south side of cellars should be always close shut in summer, and only occasionally opened in winter; the floors of cellars should be paved with either tile or brick, these being more susceptible of being kept clean than either pavement or flags, and not so subject to get out of order. Supposing the brewery to have all its cellars above ground, which I conceive to be not only practicable, but, in many cases, preferable to having them under, as more economical, and more cleanly, particularly where vats for keeping strong beer are constructed on the plan herein after recommended, in which it is expected the temperature necessary for keeping beer will be as securely preserved above, as under ground, and the erections so constructed, as not only to be air, but fire proof. (See description of these vats.)

_A description of the form and plan of a Brewery, distribution of the Vessels, the most judicious and convenient manner of placing them, with a view to economy, cleanliness, and effect._