If water happen to be of a hard nature, it may be softened by exposing it to the air and sun, and putting into it some pieces of soft chalk to infuse ; or, when the water is set on to boil, in order to be poured on the malt, put into it a quantity of bran, which will help a little to soften it.

One thing more is to be mentioned, respecting the preservation of strong beer, and that is, when once the vessel is broached, regard ought to be had to the time in which it will be expended; for, if there happen to be a quick draught for it, then it will last good to the very bottom ; but, if there be likely to be but a slow draught, then do not draw off quit0; half before you bottle it, otherwise your beer will grow flat, dead, or sour. This is observed very much among the curious.

We shall now mention two or three particulars relative to malt, which may help those who are unacquainted with brewing. In the first place, the general distinction between one malt and another is, only that the one is high and the other low dried. That which we call high dried will, when brewed, produce a liquor of a deep brown colour; and the other which is the low dried, will produce a liquor of a pale colour. The first is dried in such a manner as may be said rather to be scorched than dried, and is for less wholesome than the pale malt. It has also been experienced that brown malt, although it be well brewed, will sooner turn sharp than the pale malt, if that be fairly brewed.

A gentleman of good experience in the brewery says, that the brown malt makes the best drink when it is brewed with a coarse river water, such as that of the Thames about London: and that likewise being brewed with such water, it makes very good ale ; but that it will not keep above six months without turning stale, and a little sharp, even though he allows fourteen bushels to the hogshead. He adds, that he has tried the high-dried malt to brew beer with for keeping, and hopped it accordingly and vet he could never brew it so as to drink soft and mellow, like that brewed with pale malt. There is an acid quality in the high-dried malt, which occasions that distemper commonly called the heart-burn in those that drink of the ale or beer made of it.

What we have here said of malt is meant that made of barley ; for wheat-malt, pea-malt, or those mixed with barley-malt, though they produce a high-coloured liquor, will keep many years, and drink soft and smooth, yet they have the mum flavour.

Some people, who brew with high-dried barley-malt, put a bag, containing about three pints of wheat, into every hogshead of liquor, and that has fined it, and made it drink mellow. Others have put about three pints of wheat-malt into a hogshead, which has produced the same effect. But all malt-liquors, however well they may be brewed, may be spoiled by bad cellaring, and be now and then subject to ferment in the cask, and consequently turn thick and sour. The best way to help this, and bring the liquor to itself, is to open the bung of the cask for two or three days, and, if that does not stop the fermentation, then put in two or three pounds of oyster-shells, washed,burned, and then beaten to fine powder. Stir it a little, and it will presently settle .the liquor, make it fine, and take off the sharp taste. As soon as that is done, draw it off into another vessel, and put a small bag of wheat or wheat-malt into it, as before directed, or in proportion to the size of the vessel. Sometimes such fermentations will happen in liquor by change of weather, if it be in a bad cellar, and will, in a few months, fall fine of itself, and grow mellow.

High-dried malt should not be used in brewing, till it has been ground ten days, or a fortnight, as it then yields much stronger drink than the same quantity of malt just ground; but if you design to keep malt ground some time before you use it, you must take care to keep it very dry, and the air at that time must also be dry. As for pale malt, which has not partaken so much of the fire it must not remain ground above a week before you use it. The best mode of using malt, is to take equal portions of brown, amber, and pale.

As for hops, the newest are much the best, though they will remain very good two years: but after that they begin to decay and loose their flavour, unless great quantities are kept together, in which case they will keep much longer good than in small quantities. These, for their better preservation, should be kept in a very dry place; though the dealers in them rather choose such places as are moderately between moist and dry, that they may not lose any of their weight. Notice must here be taken of a method which has been used to stale and decayed hops, to make them recover their bitterness; and this is, to unbag them, and sprinkle them with aloes and water, which, when it has proved a bad hop year, has spoiled great quantities of malt liquor about London : for even where the water, the malt, the brewer, and the cellars, are each good, a bad hop will spoil all. Hence it is evident, that every one of these particulars should be well chosen before the brewing is set about, or else you must expect but a bad account of your labour. So likewise the yeast or barm which you work your liquor with, must be well considered, or a good brewing may be spoiled by that alone.

Remember always to be provided with every material before you begin your brewing, as the wort will not wait for any thing.

It is a practice in some places remote from town, to dip whisks into yeast, then beat it well, and so hang up the whisks with the yeast in them to dry : and if there be no brewing till two months afterwards, the beating and stirring one of these new whisks in new wort will raise a working or a fermentation in it. It is a rule, that all liquor should be worked well in the tun, or keel, before it be put into the vessel, otherwise it will not easily grow fine. Some follow the rule of beating-down the yeast pretty often while it is in the tun, and keep it there working for two or three days, observing to put it into the vessel just when the yeast begins to fall. This liquor is commonly very fine, whereas that which is put into the vessel quickly after it is brewed, will not be fine in many months.