THE LONDON and COUNTRY BREWER
1736CHAP. XVI.
Of the Cellar or Repository for keeping Beers and Ales.It's certain by long Experience, that the Weather or Air has not only a Power or Influence in Brewings; but also after the Drink is in the Barrel, Hogshead or Butt, in Cellars or other Places, which is often the cause of forwarding or retarding the fineness of Malt Liquors; for if we brew in cold Weather, and the Drink is to stand in a Cellar of Clay, or where Springs rise, or Waters lye or pass through, such a Place by consequence will check the due working of the Drink, chill, flat, deaden and hinder it from becoming fine. So likewise if Beer or Ale is brewed in hot Weather and put into Chalky, Gravelly or Sandy Cellars, and especially if the Windows open to the South, South-East, or South-West, then it is very likely it will not keep long, but be muddy and stale: Therefore, to keep Beer in such a Cellar, it should be brewed in October, that the Drink may have time to cure itself before the hot Weather comes on; but in wettish or damp Cellars, 'tis best to Brew in March, that the Drink may have time to fine and settle before the Winter Weather is advanced. Now such Cellar Extremities should, if it could be done, be brought into a temperate State, for which purpose some have been so curious as to have double or treble Doors to their Cellar to keep the Air out, and then carefully shut the outward, before they enter the inward one, whereby it will be more secure from aerial Alterations; for in Cellars and Places, that are most exposed to such Seasons, Malt Liquors are frequently disturb'd and made unfit for a nice Drinker; therefore if a Cellar is kept dry and these Doors to it, it is reckoned warm in Winter and cool in Summer, but the best of Cellars are thought to be those in Chalks, Gravels or Sands, and particularly in Chalks, which are of a drying quality more than any other, and consequently dissipates Damps the most of all Earths, which makes it contribute much to the good keeping of the Drink; for all damp Cellars are prejudicial to the Preservation of Beers and Ales, and sooner bring on the rotting of the Casks and Hoops than the dry ones; Insomuch that in a chalky Cellar near me, their Ashen broad Hoops have lasted above thirty Years. Besides, in such inclosed Cellars and temperate Air, the Beers and Ales ripen more kindly, are better digested and softned, and drink smoother: But when the Air is in a disproportion by the Cellars letting in Heats and Colds, the Drink will grow Stale and be disturbed, sooner than when the Air is kept out. From hence it is, that in some Places their Malt Liquors are exceeding good, because they brew with Pale or Amber Malts, Chalky Water, and keep their Drinks in close Vaults or proper dry Cellars, which is of such Importance, that notwithstanding any Malt Liquor may be truly brewed, yet it may be spoiled in a bad Cellar that may cause such alternate Fermentations as to make it thick and sour, tho' it sometimes happens that after such Changes it fines itself again; and to prevent these Commotions of the Beer, some brew their pale Malt in March and their brown in October, for that the pale Malt, having not so many fiery Particles in it as the brown, stands more in need of the Summer's Weather to ripen it, while the brown sort being more hard and dry is better able to defend itself against the Winter Colds that will help to smooth its harsh Particles; yet when they happen to be too violent, Horse-dung should be laid to the Windows as a Fortification against them; but if there were no Lights at all to a Cellar, it would be better.
Some are of Opinion, that October is the best of all other Months to brew any sort of Malt in, by reason there are so many cold Months directly follow, that will digest the Drink and make it much excel that Brewed in March because such Beer will not want that Care and Watching, as that brewed in March absolutely requires, by often taking out and putting in the Vent-peg on Change of Weather; and if it is always left out, then it deadens and palls the Drink; yet if due Care is not taken in this respect, a Thunder or Stormy Night may marr all, by making the Drink ferment and burst the Cask; for which Reason, as Iron Hoops are most in Fashion at this time, they are certainly the greatest Security to the safety of the Drink thus exposed; and next to them is the Chesnut Hoop; both which will endure a shorter or longer time as the Cellar is more or less dry, and the Management attending them. The Iron Hoop generally begins to rust first at the Edges, and therefore should be rubbed off when opportunity offers, and be both kept from wet as much as possible; for 'tis Rust that eats the Iron Hoop in two sometimes in ten or twelve Years, when the Ashen and Chesnut in dry Cellars have lasted three times as long.
