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Fermentation by Various Means

First Substitute for Yeast.

Mix 2 quarts of water with wheat flour to the consistence of thick gruel; boil it gently for half an hour, and when almost cold stir into it Ib. of sugar and 4 spoonfuls of good yeast. Put the whole into a large jug or earthen vessel with a narrow top, and place it before the fire, so that it may by a moderate heat ferment. The fermentation will throw up a thin liquor, which pour off and throw away; keep the remainder for use. (in a cool place) in a bottle or jug tied over. The same quantity of this, as of common yeast, will suffice to bake or brew with. Four spoonfuls of this yeast will make a fresh quantity as before, and the stock may be always kept up by fermenting the new with the remainder of the former quantity.

Second Substitute.

Take 6 quarts of soft water and 2 handfuls of wheaten meal or barley; stir the latter in the water before the mixture is placed over the fire, where it must boil till two-thirds are evaporated. When this decoction becomes cool incorporate with it, by means of a whisk, 2 drachms of salt of tartar and 1 drachm of cream of tartar, previously mixed.

The whole should be kept in a warm place. Thus a very strong yeast for brewing, distilling and baking may be obtained. For the last-mentioned purpose, however, it ought to be diluted with pure water, and passed through a sieve before it is kneaded with the dough, in order to deprive it of its alkaline taste.

In countries where yeast is scarce, it is a common practice to twist hazel twigs so as to be full of chinks, and then steep them in ale-yeast during fermentation. The twigs are then hung up to dry, and at the next brewing they are put into the wort instead of yeast. In Italy the chips are frequently put into turbid wine for the purpose of clearing it; this is effected in about 24 hours.

Third Substitute.

Take 1 lb. of fine flour, make it the thickness of gruel with boiling water, add to it alb. of raw sugar. Mix them well together. Put 3 spoonfuls of well purified yeast into a large vessel, upon which put the above ingredients; they will soon ferment violently. Collect the yeast off the top and put it into a brown small-neck pot, and cover it up from the air; keep it in a dry and warmish place; when used in part, replace with flour made into a thin paste, and sugar in the former proportions. The above will be fit for use in five months, and no yeast is necessary except the first time.

Fourth Substitute.

Boil flour and water to the consistence of treacle, and when the mixture is cold saturate it with fixed air. Pour the mixture thus saturated into one or more large bottles or narrow-mouthed jars; cover it over loosely with paper, and upon that lay a slate or board with a weight to keep it steady.

Place the vessel in a situation where the thermometer will stand from 70° to 80°, and stir up the mixture 2 or 3 times in the course of 24 hours.

In about 2 days such a degree of fermentation will have taken place as to give the mixture the appearance of yeast. With the yeast in this state, and before it has acquired a thoroughly vinous smell, mix the quantity of flour intended for bread in the proportion of 6 lbs. of flour to a quart of the yeast, and a sufficient portion of warm water.

Knead them well together in a proper vessel, and covering it with a cloth, let the dough stand for 12 hours, or till it appears to be sufficiently fermented in the forementioned degree of warmth. It is then to be formed into loaves and baked. The yeast would be more perfect if a decoction of malt were used instead of simple water.

Fifth Substitute.

A decoction of malt alone, without any addition, will produce a yeast proper enough for the purpose of brewing. This discovery was made by Joseph Senyor, and he received for it a reward of 201. from the Society for Promoting Arts, Manufactures and Commerce. The process is as follows: Procure 3 earthen or wooden vessels of different sizes and apertures, one capable of holding 2 quarts, the other 3 or 4, and the third 5 or 6; boil of a peck of malt for about 8 or 10 minutes in 3 pints of water, and when a quart is poured off from the grains, let it stand in the first or smaller vessel in a cool place till not quite cold, but retaining that degree of heat which the brewers usually find to be proper roper when they begin to work their liquor. Then remove the vessel into some warm situation near a fire, where the thermometer stands between 70° and 80°, and there let it remain till the fermentation begins, which will be plainly perceived within 30 hours; add then 2 qts. more of a like decoction of malt, when cool as the first was, and mix the whole in the second or larger vessel, and stir it well in, which must be repeated in the usual way, as it rises in a common vat; then add a still greater quantity of the same decoction, to be worked in the largest vessel, which will produce yeast enough for a brewing of 40 gallons.

Sixth Substitute.

Boil 1 lb. of good flour, 1 lb. of brown sugar, and a little salt in 2 galls. of water for 1 hour.

When milk warm bottle it and cork it close. It will be fit for use in 24 hours. One pint of this will make 18 lbs. of bread.

Seventh Substitute.

To 1 lb. of mashed potatoes (mealy ones are best) add 2 oz. of brown sugar and 2 spoonfuls of common yeast; the potatoes first to be pulped through a colander, and mixed with warm water to a proper consistence. Thus a pound of potatoes will make a quart of good yeast. Keep it moderately warm while fermenting.

Eighth Substitute.

Infuse malt, and boil it as for beer; in the mean time soak isinglass, separated to fibres, in smallbeer. Proportion the quantity of each, 1 oz. of isinglass to 2 qts. of beer. This would suffice for a hogshead of boiling wort, and the proportion may be diminished or increased accordingly.

After soaking 5 minutes, set the beer and isinglass on the fire, stirring till it nearly boils; then turn it into a dish that will allow beating it up with a syllabub whisk to the consistence of yeast, and when almost cold put it to the wort.

Ninth Substitute.

Make a wort of the consistence of water-gruel, with either rye or malt, ground very fine; put 5 galls. of it into a vessel capable of holding a few gallons more; dissolve 1 lb. of leaven in a small portion of the wort, and add it to the remainder, with 24 lbs. of fine ground malt; mix the whole by agitation for some minutes, and in half an hour add 2 large spoonfuls of good yeast; incorporate it thoroughly with the mass, cover it close, and let it remain undisturbed for 48 hours in a moderate temperature. At the end of that period it will be found to be wholly converted into good yeast. It is requisite that the rye and malt should be fine, and the leaven completely dissolved before being put to the remaining wort, which, previous to the yeast being added, should be at about 100°.

To Preserve Yeast.

Common ale yeast may be kept fresh and fit for use several months by the following method: Put a quantity of it into a close canvas bag, and gently squeeze out the moisture in a screw-press till the remaining matter be as firm and stiff as clay. In this state it may be close-packed up in a tight eask, for securing it from the air, and will keep fresh, sound, and fit for use for a long time.

Another Method.

Stir a quantity of yeast and work it well with a whisk, till it seems liquid and thin; then get a large wooden dish or tub, clean and dry, and with a soft brush lay a thin layer of yeast thereon, turning the mouth downwards, to prevent its getting dusty, but so that the air may come to it to dry it. When that coat or crust is sufficiently dried, lay on another, which serve in the same manner and continue putting on others as they dry, till 2 or 3 inches thick, which will be useful on many occasions; but be sure the yeast in the vessel be dry before more be laid on. When wanted for use, cut a piece out, lay it in warm water, stir it together, and it will be fit for use. If for brewing, take a handful of birch tied together, dip it into the yeast, and hang it to dry, taking care to keep it free from dust. When the bear is fit to set to work, throw in one of these and it will work as well as fresh yeast. Whip it about in the wort and then let it lie. When the beer works well take out the broom, dry it again, and it will do for the next brewing.

To make Purl Bitters.

Take of Roman wormwood 2 doz. lbs., gentian root 6 lbs., calamus aromaticus (or the sweet-flag root) 2 pounds, snake-root 1 lb., horse-radish 1 bunch, orange-peel dried and juniper-berries, each 2 lbs., seeds or kernels of Seville oranges cleaned and dried 2 lbs. Cut these and bruise them, and put them into a clean butt, and start some mild brown or pale beer upon them, so as to fill up the let stand till the next season. If a pound or two vessel, about the beginning of November, which be better. of galanga root is added to it the composition will Cautions in the Use of Foreign Ingredients.

In general, the beer should be racked off first, because the sediments and lees will not accord with the foreign substances. Salt and alum in too large quantities induce staleness. The powder of soft stone, unburnt, should be avoided; too many whites of eggs are apt to make the beer ropy. The introduction of cocculus indicus confers a pernicious strength or headiness, which gratifies drunkards, but destroys the nervous system, and produces palsies and premature old age. It has been well remarked, that the brewer that uses this slow but certain poison, as a substitute for a due quantity of malt, ought to be boiled in his own copper. Bitters are in like manner pernicious in many states of the stomach. When oyster-shells are used the bung should be left out to avoid bursting.

Use of Sugar in Brewing.

Families brewing their own malt liquor may use 32 lbs. of brown sugar with 2 bushels of malt, which will produce 50 galls. of ale, as good in every respect as if made from 6 bushels of malt.

The sugar is mixed with the wort as it runs from the mash-tub.

To Close Casks without Bungs.

Some persons cover the bung-hole simply with brown paper, fastened at the sides, and covered with clay; others have found a single piece of bladder, well fixed at the edges, a complete and efficacious substitute for a bung. These methods at least prevent the bursting of the cask from changes of air.

To Bottle Porter, Ale, etc.

In the first place the bottles should be clean, sweet and dry, the corks sound and good, and the porter or ale fine. When the bottles are filled, if for home consumption, they should not be corked till the day following, and if for exportation to a hot climate, they must stand 3 days or more; if the liquor is new, it should be well corked and wired, but for a private family they may do without wiring, only they should be well packed in saw-dust, and stand upright. But if some ripe are wanted, keep a few packed on their sides, so that the liquor may touch the corks, and this will soon ripen, and make it fit for drinking.

To Remove Tartness.

Put a teaspoonful of carbonate of soda into a quart of tart beer, and it will be pleasant and wholesome.

To Bottle Malt Liquor.

It should be ripe, and not too young. Cork loose at first, and afterwards firm. For a day or two, keep the bottles in cold water, or in a cold place; or throw some cold water over them. Steep the corks in scalding water, to make them more elastic. Lay the bottles on their sides. When it is desired that the liquor should ripen soon, keep the bottles in a warmer place. October beer should not be bottled till midsummer; nor March beer