The Curiosities of Ale & Beer. John Bickerdyke
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The requisites of a brewhouse of the fourteenth or fifteenth century are described in a Latin-English Vocabulary of the period:—
Brasiatrix, a brewster (a female brewer).
Cima, a kymnelle (a mash tub). Fornax, a furnasse.
Alveum, a trogh. Brasium, malte. Barzissa, wortte.
Dragium, draf (grains). Calderium, a caldron.
Taratantarum, a temse (sieve). Cuvella, a kunlion (small tub).
Ydromellum, growte. Mola, a quern (handmill).
Pruera, ling (a broom made of ling).
That graphic old writer, Harrison, in his Preface to Hollinshed’s Chronicles, 1587, gives a capital description of home-brewing as it was carried on at the end of the sixteenth century; and “once in a moneth practised by my wife,” as he informs us.
It may be remarked incidentally, that brewing seems to have usually fallen to the share of the housewife, whose duties in this respect are indicated in the old Durham rhyme:—
I’ll no more be a nun, nun, nun, I’ll be no more a nun! But I’ll be a wife, And lead a merry life, And brew good ale by the tun, tun, tun.
To return to old Harrison and his home-brew. “Nevertheless,” he says, “sith I have taken occasion to speake of bruing, I will exemplifie in such a proportion as I am best skilled in, bicause it is the usuall rate for mine owne familie, and once in a moneth practised by my wife and hir maid servants, who proceed withall after this maner, as she hath oft informed me. Having therefore groond eight bushels of good malt upon our querne, where the toll is saved, she addeth unto it half a bushel of wheat meale, and so much of otes small groond, and so tempereth or mixeth them with the malt, that you cannot easily discerne the one from the other, otherwise these later would clunter, fall into lumps, and thereby become unprofitable. The first liquor which is full {55} eightie gallons according to the proportion of our furnace, she maketh boiling hot, and then powreth it softlie into the malt, where it resteth (but without stirring) untill hir second liquor be almost ready to boile. This doone she letteth hir mash run till the malt be left without liquor, or at the leastwise the greater part of the moisture, which she perceiveth by the staie and softe issue thereof, and by this time hir second liquor in the furnace is ready to seeth, which is put also to the malt as the first woort also againe into the furnace, whereunto she addeth two pounds of the best English hops, and so letteth them seeth together by the space of two hours in summer, or an houre and a halfe in winter, whereby it getteth an excellent colour and continuance without impeachment, or anie superfluous tartnesse. But before she putteth her first woort into the furnace, or mingleth it with the hops, she taketh out a vessel full, of eight or nine gallons, which she shutteth up close, and suffereth no aire to come into it till it become yellow, and this she reserveth by it selfe unto further use, as shall appeare hereafter, calling it Brackwoort or Charwoort, and as she saith it addeth also to the colour of the drinke, whereby it yeeldeth not unto amber or fine gold in hew unto the eie. By this time also hir second woort is let runne, and the first being taken out of the furnace and placed to coole, she returneth the middle woort into the furnace, where it is striken over, or from whence it is taken againe.
“When she hath mashed also the last liquor (and let the second to coole by the first) she letteth it runne and then seetheth it againe with a pound and an half of new hops or peradventure two pounds as she seeth cause by the goodness or basenesse of the hops; and when it hath sodden in summer two hours, and in winter an houre and an halfe, she striketh it also and reserveth it unto mixture with the rest when time dooth serve therefore. Finallie when she setteth hir drinke together, she addeth to hir brackwoort or charwoort halfe an ounce of arras and halfe a quarterne of an ounce of baiberries finelie powdered, and then putteth the same into hir woort with an handful of wheate floure, she proceedeth in such usuall order as common bruing requireth. Some in steed of arras and baies add so much long peper onely, but in hir opinion and my lyking it is not so good as the first, and hereof we make three hoggesheads of good beere, such (I meane) as is meet for poore men as I am to live withall whose small maintenance (for what great thing is fortie pounds a yeare computatis computandis able to performe) may indure no deeper cut, the charges whereof groweth in this manner. I value my malt at ten shillings, my wood at foure shillings which I buie, {56} my hops at twenty pence, the spice at two pence, servants wages two shillings sixpence, both meat and drinke, and the wearing of my vessell at twentie pence, so that for my twenty shillings I have ten score gallons of beer or more, nothwithstanding the loss in seething. … The continuance of the drinke is alwaye determined after the quantitie of the hops, so that being well hopped it lasteth longer. For it feedeth upon the hop and holdeth out so long as the force of the same endureth which being extinguished the drinke must be spent or else it dieth and becometh of no value.”
A brewhouse was in the sixteenth century an essential for a gentleman’s house. Boorde, in his directions for building a country house, mentions this:—“And also” he says, “the backe-house and brew-house shall be a dystance from the place and from other buyldyng.”
Strutt gives an inventory of the contents of a private brewhouse of the sixteenth century. “Im primis a meshe fatt—Item, a great ledde (leaden vessel)—Item, a brasse panne set in the walle (the copper for boiling the wort)—Item, 6 wort leeds, callyd coolars—Item, a greate c’linge fatt with 2 other fattes, and other tubs and kimnelles.”
The poetic soul of Thomas Tusser, which has condescended to celebrate in quaint and homely verse most subjects of domestic interest or savouring of country life, has left us a short effusion on home-brew, which, though not perhaps so complete as a novice in the art of brewing might desire for his instruction, yet contains some pithy and, doubtless, useful rules. The verses are to be found in the Pointes of Good Huswiferie, and run thus:—
Brew somewhat for thine, Else bring up no swine. Where brewing is needful, be brewer thyself, what filleth the roofe will helpe furnish the shelfe;32 In buying of drinke by the firkin or pot the tallie ariseth, but hog amendes not.33 Well brewed, worth cost, Ill used, halfe lost. One bushell well brewed, outlasteth some twaine, and saveth both mault, and expenses in vaine, Too new is no profite, too stale is as bad, drinke deade, or else sower, makes laborer sad. Remember, good Gill, Take paine with thy swill. Seeth grains in more water, while graines be yet hot, and stirre them in copper as poredge in pot, Such heating with straw, to make offall good store,34 both pleseth and easeth, what would you have more?
32 i.e., we presume, brewing which fills the roof with steam is good economy.
33 The score at the ale-house mounts up, but your pig is none the better for it. The allusion is to feeding pigs on the spent grains.
34 The grains are to be used again to make “offall,” or small beer.
Pain was not always taken by Gill with her swill, as may be seen by the sad account of the Distracted Maid, an Ancient Garland, in which the evil results of a pre-occupied mind are shown. One verse of this effusion will doubtless be deemed sufficient:—
To tell you as I am true, When ever I bake or brew, The thoughts of Will come uppermost still, I hardly know what to do; Instead of malt I put in salt, And boils my copper dry; The perjured Act, and wicket Fact, My brains are rack’d and I am crack’d, There’s no body knows but I, There’s no body knows but I.
It is interesting to compare the cost of brewing in the sixteenth century with that at the present day. Harrison’s brewing, as he has shown