Page:Cyclopaedia, Chambers - Supplement, Volume 2.djvu/757

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ind pungent afomatics: the cheapeft chofen for this pur- poSe, and the moft ufed, are, the cortex winteranus, ginger, and grains of paradife. Shaw's EfTay on Diftilling. In the common way, thefe additions, however, do very little, though by a proper artifice in the management they may be made of confiderable ufe. Upon this foundation, {lands a very inftructive method ufed abroad, of making geneva ab origine, by mixing the bruifed juniper berries among the malt, and brewing the whole together ; by this means a compound tinc- ture, or IVaJh^ is prepared, which, by fermentation and di- ftiliation, affords a Spirit much more intimately and homoge- neouily impregnated with the eftence of the berry, than that prepared by our diftillcrs, in the common way of adding the berry to the malt fpirit, and diftilling it from them again. The inconveniencies that attend the brewing directly with malt, are very confiderable, the malt being of a very large bulk, in proportion to the faccharine part, which it can alone impart to the water, and in which its virtues, as yielding a fpirit, wholly confift. On this account numerous large veffels, much labour, and great expence, are required to conduct and manage fuch a bufinefs in the large way. The remedy in this, as in many other cafes, may be much more eafily ftart- cd, than effectually applied; however the foundation for it feems to confift in the practically reducing the perplexed bufmafsof the malt diftilit-.r, to the fimple bufinefs of the fine ftiller, or, in other words, in the reducing malt to treacle.

It is very certain, that the thing here propofed, may be ef- fected to perfection by the common procefies of infuiion and evaporation : but the people concerned in this branch of trade are the only proper perfons to try it in the large way, and cal- culate that advantage and expence, and by that means regularly find whether or not it will be worthwhile to introduce it as a common method of bufinefs.

The experiment may be tried in this manner : When a par- cel of wort is brewed in the common manner, and is become fine by ftanding, let it be decanted clear off, and immediately boiled away in a common copper, till it begins to infpiffate, and acquires a dufky brown colour : at this time it mult be taken out of the copper, and poured into a balneum marias, where the remainder of the evaporation may be made without any danger of burning, and the whole may be reduced to the con- fiitence of treacle ; in which form it will keep a long time, and be always ready for ufe, when occafion requires it. The con- tinuing the evaporation to the end, in the copper over a naked fire, would not only be liable to give it an empyreumatic tafte, from the burning, which would remain fo ftrongly in the fpirit, as to fpoil it ; but the violence of the heat acting immediately upon it, would diflipate much of its active part, and there •would be a much fmaller quantity of fpirit procured from it ; but if the operation be dexteroufiy and carefully performed, as here directed, the extract, or faccharine matter, though of as full a body, will be abundantly paler than treacle, a little more glutinous, very fwect, and pleafant to the talte^ and will have a fine agreeable bitternefs, as the flavour goes off, though no hops are ufed in the preparation. In this manner it may be kept, or tranfported toother countries, and will always be reducible to the State of wort again, only by mixing common water with it ; and this wort will ferment as freely and as fully as that made in the common way, and will yield its fpirit in the manner of treacle. Shaw's EfTay on Diftilling.

Glauber and Bccher were both convinced of the utility of this fcheme, and both laboured hard at the bringing it to bear : Glauber feems to have fuccecded tolerably in it ; but Bccher, who had it in his thoughts to extend the practice to the wines as well as the malt liquors, after a whole year fpent in the at- tempt, declares, that he can fcarce believe what Glauber fays of it, and fu candidly owns himfelf not poffeffed of the fecret of doing it, that he offers a handfome reward to any body that will inform him of it. What thefe chemiits feem not to have hit on, the way or the belt way of doing, feems however, from experiments in fmall quantities, perfectly practicable j and if it may be brought to bear in the large way, plentiful years, con- venient fituations, and other helps may be pitched upon, for Set- ting up a new trade of treacle, making at leaft enough for the diftillcrs ufe, if it Shall not be found practicable to convert this new fort of treacle into potable liquors, or into fugars.

It is poffible, that on this plan fomething may be fet on foot at home of the nature of the fugar-worts in our American plantations, which may turn to as good account, and yet be managed with much lefs labour and expence than we find it pofiible to do that. When malting in particular cafes could not bepractifed, fubftitutes of various kinds might be invented to fup- ply its place on this plan : thus, fuch grain or pulfe as cannot be made into malt in the common way, may be boiled in water, inftead of being brewed, and an extract made of their clear de- coctions, evaporated into a treacle in the fame way as the other. The Indians in this manner diflblve their rice into a thin pap, or jelly, by boiling it in water; and afterwards they ferment this into a potable liquor, or a fort of wine, which they pre- serve under-ground for many years fuccefuvely. And it may be tried whether this method of malting the Indian corn or maize, or that by putting it in the ground till it Sprouts, will be the moft ferviceable in the article of di- ftillery. Moft of the Englilh grains may be eafily malted

Suppl. Vol. II.

in the common way, and their extract thus made into a fort of treacle, with little trouble, and to very great advantage. It remains to try whether the buck-wheat may be malted in the common way, and put to this ufe ? and whether, by feme variation introduced in the way of making, the naufeous flavour of our rye may not be taken off? All the other vegetable fubftances intended for brewing, fhould as much as pofiible have their fermentable parts reduced to the ftateof a treacle, fugar, or infpiffatcd juice, not only for the fake of preferving them perfect, but for the greater eafe and convenience of working them. Thus the juices of tbe'birch, the Sycamore, and many other trees, which bleed freely on being tapped in Spring, are readily boiled up to this fort of conhftence 3 and in the fame manner, wherever it is worth while, the juices of canes, fruits, and Sweet roots may be thickened and preferved.

When once the fermentable parts of vegetables are thus con- centrated, and brought together into a fmall compafs, the bu- finefs of brewing, whether, for the diftillers ufe, or for the making potable liquors, will be very eafy and Short, the whole being no more than mixing or diffolving the inSpiflated juice in a Sufficient quantity of warm water ; and this Solution, either alone, or with fome trifling additions, will be perfectly fitted for fermentation. Sbaw's EfTay on Diftillery. fflajh being of a mucilaginous, or Somewhat glutinous nature, requires a particular management to prevent its Scorching, and make it work kindly in the Still : If it Should happen to be burnt in the operation, the fpirit will have a moft difagreeable flavour, and fuch as can never be got off again, without very great labour, and a particular treatment, not known to every body. To prevent this ill effect, there muft be three things obferved; the liquor, or IVajh^ muft be made dilute, the fire muft be well regulated, and the whole kept in a conftant agitation. The manner of making the Wajh dilute, has been long known among the more judicious diftillers in this branch, and they have always found their fpirit the purer for it. The fire is eafily kept regular, by a conftant attendance, and avoid- ing hafty Stirring it, or throwing on new fuel; and the ftirring the liquor in the Still is to be effected by means of a paddle, or bar kept in the liquor, till it juft begins to boil, which .is the time for luting on the head; and after which there is no great danger, but from the improper management of the fire: this is the common way, but it is hard to hit the exact time, when to lute down the head ; and the doing it either too Soon, or too late, is attended with great inconvenience, (o that many have found out the other methods, of either putting Some moveable folid bodies into the ftill with the IVafl^ or placing Some proper matter at the bottom and Sides of the Still, which are the places where the fire acts ftrongeft. The uSe of the paddle would be better than either of thefe ways, could it be continued while the ftill is working ; and this it may be by the following method : Let a fhort tube of iron or copper be Soldered in the center of the Still-head, and let a crofs-bar be placed below in the fame head, with a hole in the middle, correfponding to that at the top ; through both thefe let an iron pipe be carried deep down into the ftill, and let an iron rod be patted through this with wooden fweeps at its end ; this rod may be continually worked by a winch at the Still- head, and the fweeps will continually keep the bottom and fides Scraped clean, the interftices of the tubes being all the time well crammed with tow, to prevent any evapora- tion of the Spirit at them. Shaw's EfTay onChemiftry. The Same effect, may, in a great meafure, be produced a lefs laborious way, that is, by placing a parcel of cylindrical Sticks length wife, So as to cover the whole bottom of the ftill, orelfe by throwing in a parcel of loofe faggot Sticks at a venture ; for thus the action of the fire below moving the liquor, at the fame time gives motion to the fticks, and makes them act continually like a parcel of Stirrers upon the bottom and fides of the Still, which might, if neceffary, be furnifhed with but- tons, or loops, to prevent them from ftarting. Home alfo uSe a parcel of fine hay laid upon the loofe fticks, and fecured down by two crofs poles, laid from fide to fide, and in the Same manner fattened down with loops. Care is to be taken in this cafe not to prefs the hay againft the fides of the ftill ; for that would Scorch almoftas Soon as the JVtijh itfelf ; but the fticks never will : thefe are Simple but effectual contrivances, and, in point of elegance, they may be improved at pleafure. There is another inconvenience attending the diftilling of malt Spirit, which is, when all the bottoms, or grofs mealy feculence is put into the ftill along with the Hquor, the thin- ner part of the IVaJb going off in form of fpirit, the mealy mafs grows by degrees more and more Stiff, fo as to Scorch toward the latter part of the operation. The method to remedy this, is to have a pipe with a ftop-cock, leading from the upper part of the worm-tub into the ftill ; fo that, upon a half, or quarter turn, it may continually fupply a little ftream of hot water, in the fame proportion as the fpirit runs off, by which means the fear of Scorching is taken away, and the operation at the Same time not at all retarded. In Holland, the malt diftillcrs work all their JVajh thick, with the whole body of the meal among it j yet they are fo careful in the keeping their Stills clean, and {q regular and nice in the management of their fires, that, tho' they ufe no artifice at all on this head, only to charge the ftill 5 R while