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tered hot out of the oven, or cut in two when cold, toasted brown, and buttered for breakfast or afternoon tea.

Rusks.

Beat seven eggs well, and mix with half a pint of new milk, in which have been melted four ounces of butter; add to it a quarter of a pint of yeast, and three ounces of sugar, and put them, by degrees, into as much flour as will make a very light paste, rather like a batter, and let it rise before the fire half an hour; then add some more flour, to make it a little stiffer, but not stiff. Work it well, and divide it into small loaves, or cakes, about five or six inches wide, and flatten them. When baked, and cold, slice them the thickness of rusks, and put them in the oven to brown a little.

N. B. The cakes, when first baked, eat deliciously buttered for tea; or, with caraways, to eat cold.

Oat Cakes.

Sift a quarter of a peck of fine oatmeal; then take rather more than a pint of milk-warm water, half a gill of mild ale or good small beer yeast, and half an ounce of salt; stir them well together for about ten minutes, strain the whole into the oatmeal, mix the dough high in the same manner as for muffins, and let it remain an hour to rise. Afterward, roll it up with the hand, and pull it into pieces about the size of an egg; roll them out with a rolling-pin on a good deal of flour, cover them with flannel, and they will soon rise to a proper thickness. Should they, however, be found either too big or too little, it will be easy to roll the dough accordingly. They are to be baked on an iron plate, just like muffins. Toast them crisp on both sides, but do not burn them; then pull them open, and they will appear like a honey-comb; lay in some butter, clap the two pieces again together, and only use a knife for the purpose of afterward cutting them into pieces. This is the best method of preparing muffins, as well

as oat cakes.

HOME BREWERY.

Instructions for brewing Malt Liquor.

THE first thing to be considered is, undoubtedly, the being provided with implements proper for the purpose; and of these the copper appears to be the first object.

The position of the copper, and the manner of setting it, must be duly considered, as much depends thereon.

An inconvenience too frequently found in coppers is their being made too exact to their intended quantity; in consequence of which, room is not left sufficient to boil the liquor in with any degree of rapidity or safety, which must naturally be supposed to be essential points. To remedy this inconvenience, let your carpenter prepare good seasoned pieces of elm, or other proper wood, and shape it out like the felly of a stage waggon-wheel, but only half its thickness, and then join them round to compose the dimensions of the circlp of the copper. The rim of the copper, which generally turns over as a bearing at the top, may be beat up, and that part nailed to the bottom part of the wood-work, brushing between the wood -work and the copper a cement composed of bullock's blood and whiting, mixed only to the thickness of common whitewash. This cement will prevent any leak, and last as long as the copper.

This work is of great support and ease to the copper; and by this mode you can also increase its dimensions from three to twelve or more inches in the wood-work, which will add considerably to your guage, especially in large coppers. This method, however, is recommended only where slopdraughts are made use of, in which case the wood may be applied round with great safety; for the fires of those never burn so furiously that the least damage can ensue. For the raising of other coppers, built on different constructions, brick, stone, or tarris mortar, may be used.

The next to be considered are the coolers, and these are things of no small consequence; for, if they are not properly

taken care of, the liquor, by a seemingly secret and unaccountable cause, will attract a disagreeable twang. This often proceeds from wet having been infused in the wood, as it i» sometimes apt to lodge in the crevices of old coolers, and even infect them to such a degree, that it will not depart, though many washings and scaldings are applied. One cause incidental to this evil is permitting women to wash in a brew-house, which ought by no means to be permitted, where any other convenience is to be had; for nothing can be more hurtful than the slops of soap-suds.

It is indispensably necessary that the coolers be well scoured with cold water two or three times; cold water being more proper than hot to effect a perfect cleansing, especially if they are in a bad condition from the undiscovered filth that may be in the crevices. The application of hot water will drive the infection further; or if your drink be let into the coolers, and if any remain in the crevices, as before-mentioned, the heat will collect the foulness, and render the whole unwholesome.

Kopiness in beer is sometimes produced when you mash with water exceedingly hot. This is liable to set the malt; which is clogging it up to such a degree, that it is almost impossible to get it to run off: and when by art you have accomplished the difficulty, it never answers your wishet in point of goodness.

Be particularly careful that the mash-tub be kept perfectly clean: nor must the grains be left in the tub any longer than the day after brewing, lest it should sour the tub; for if there be a sour smell in the brew-hou9e before your beer is tunned, it will be apt to infect your liquor and worts.

As we have now properly explained the precautions necessary to be taken in the preparation of vessels, we shall enter into a concise detail of what is to be observed in the course of brewing.

Having your utensils scalded, yoHr malt ground, your copper boiling, and your penstaff well set, you must then prodeed to mash, by letting a sufficient quantity of boiling water into your tub, in which it must stand until the greater part of the steam is gone off, or until you can see your own shadow in it. It will then be necessary that one person should pour

the mult gently in, while another is carefully stirring it; for it is as necessary that as much care should be observed when the mash is thin as when it is thick. This being effectually and well done, and having a sufficient reserve of malt to cover the mash, to prevent evaporation, you may cover your tub with sacks, &c. and leave your malt three hours to steep.

Previous to your letting the mash run, you should not fail to be prepared with a pail to catch the first flush, as that is generally thickish; and another pail being applied while you return the first on the mash, and so on tor two or three times, or at least until it run fine. By this time your copper should be boiling, and a convenient tub placed close to your mashtub; let into it through your spout half the quantity of boiling water you mean to use for drawing off your best wort. After this, you must instantly turn your cock to fill up again, which will boil in due time with cinders or coal-ashes. During such time, you must stop the mash with this hot water out of the convenient tub, in moderate quantities, every eight or ten minutes, until the whole is consumed; then letting off the remaining quantity, which will be boiling hot, to the finishing purpose for strong beer.

You must then fill your copper quite full, so as to boil quickly for the second mash, whether you intend it for ale or small beer. Being thus far prepared, let off the remaining quantity of water into the tub, as you did for the strong beer, stopped up as before; but if you would have small beer besides, you must judge it accordingly, by boiling a proper quantity off in due time, and letting it into the tub as before. It is better to avoid the latter article, that you may entirely draw out the strength for the ale.

Twenty-four bushels of malt will make two hogsheads of as good strong beer as any in England, and also two hogsheads of very pretty ale, but the malt should consist of equal portions of brown, amber, and pale. The strong beer should be kept two or three years, and the ale never less than one, before tapped. If your mash be only for one hogshead, it should be two hours in running off; if for two hogsheads, two hours and a half; and for any greater quantity, three hours: for there is no good in letting it be too long, as the whole strength is extracted by the frequent stoppings.

You must be particular in the time of steeping your mashes. Strong beer must be allowed three hours; ale one hour; and, if you draw small beer after, half an hour. By this mode of proceeding, your boilings will regularly take place of each other, which will expedite the business, by preventing loss of time. Be jmrticularly careful, in the course of each mashing, that it be thoroughly stirred from the bottom, and especially round the muck basket; for, being well shaken, it prevents a stagnation of the whole body of the mash; and were this last process omitted, it would certainly fox your beer, and give it an exceeding bad taste.

In preparing for boiling, be particularly careful to put the hops in with the first wort, or it will char in a few minute?. As soon as the copper is full enough, a good fire should be made under it; but be careful, in filling it, to leave room enough for boiling. Quick boiling is one of the most necessary things to be observed; though in this particular there are variety of opinions. However, there is perhaps but one good method, and that is quick boiling. Great caution should be observed when it begins to swell in waves in the copper; if you have no assistant, be particularly attentive to its motions; on the approach of the first swell, you will have sufficient time to proportionate your fire, as care should be taken that it be not too predominant. When the boil is properly got under, you may then add a fire that will boil briskly, and there may be a variation of a few minutes.

With respect to the time it should boil, experienced brewers proceed in this manner:—They take a clean copper bowl dish, to dip out some of the liquor, and when they discover a working, and the hops sinking, they conclude it to be suffi ciently boiled. This is sometimes completed in thirty-five or forty minutes; but this rule is often extended five or ten minutes, according to the different qualities of malt. Long and slow boiling is very pernicious, as well as wasting the liquor for the slower it boils, the lower it drops, and singes to your copper; whereas quick boiling has a contrary effect. Essence of malt is extracted by length of boiling, by which you can make it to the thickness of honey or treacle, so that a small quantity will weigh pounds. In some parts of Yorkshire, they value their liquor for its great strength, by its

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