Wheeling Sunday register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1882-1934, 1890-08-17
BREWING BEER.
SOMETHING ABOUT A BIG WHEELING IN
DUSTRY.
A Trip Through Brewery a Refreshing Summer
Rscreaton-The Ingredients and Various
Processes Described.


very little is heard, except, possibly, IN
way the reverse of complimentary, ana
that is the brewing interest From Origl-
nal small projections, il has grown with the
growth of the city, until now IL represents
an annual output of nearly two hundred
thousand barrels. or a million and nall
kegs. and within the next two years there
is every reason TO believe the output will
be doubled At present not less than two
hundred men find employment IN the local
breweries, and the business is one OF the
most important in our midst.
There is no DENYING that glass Of nice,
cold beer, on a warm day, when the ther-
mometer climbs up among the nlnetles, Is
decidedly pleasant drink, and Will DO Inuch
toward making man forget the niue
streams of perspiratlOn when run uOWh
his back and gather in little pools at his
feet. But it is safe TO say that not one man
in a hundred. rs he sits slipping the amber
fluid. could tell how the beer was made.
That is. he could not 60 into any OF the de-
tails. MANY persons have a vague idea
that IL takes about a day, or possibly two
DAYS TO make beer. But this IS as errone-
Gus as the idea that there is any sugar in
the sugar of lead of commerce.
A trip through a brewery is something
to be remembered, and anyone who has
| been shown through one by a man who IN
derstands the business in all its branches
will have something to remember as long as
| he lives. The writer made such trip a
| few DAYS ago, and even now the sweet
smell of the malt, and the sharp OdOr OF the
| carbolic acid that evapOrated from the
| fermenting liquid is distinctly recalled. At
the brewery visited, the big malt house,
where the barley from which the malt IS
made is stored, stands at distance from
| the brewery proper, and looks something
| like u big elevator; and, IN TACT, IL IS
great deal like one in many respects. Here
the barley comes in from the cars, and IS
emptied into the great bins, each capable
| of holding thousands Of bushels. W men
all is ready to begin making malt, the bar,
lev goes To a cleaning machine, where all
the dust and straw are removed. Alter
being thoroughly cleaned the barley Is run
into elevators. which hOsts IL high up into
= tower on TOP of the building where IT
runs bv gravity into the upper story OF
another building. when il is 10 go through
the fermenting processes. Here the bar
| lev is allowed 10 soak Tor TWO
or three days, and IS then
carried into low-ceiled rooms with heavy
| cer4ent floors. where il Is spread out and
allowed 10 sprout until the little shoots are
about an eighth Of an inch long. The bar
lev is turned every few hours and sprinkled,
| i'm order that the grain AT the bottom may
not get too warm and grow too fast. This
sprouting process takes from four TO five
DAYS, according TO the weather, as the bar
| lev does not grow as well in damp weather
as in warm. After the barley has sprOuted
sufficiently it is taken 10 the drying kilns,
which are, in reality, big rooms over a fur
mace, with perforated sheet iron floors,
heated TO q temperature OF l4O degrees.
| ~ "a fI.a
heat is turned on, and the barley Is roasted
for from thirty-siX 10 forty hours, TO pre-
vent il from growing any more and 10 re
move the water Afterit has been removed
from the kilns it is taken TO another clean
ing machine, where all the sprouts, and any
dust which may have gathered, are removed.
This leaves the barley kernel in its origi-
nal shape. perfectly clean, as, were any
dirt allowed TO remain, il would give TO the
beer a bad taste Now the barley, clean
and roasted 10 a delicate brown, goes TO the
crushing machine, where 1t is crushed up
until 10 resembles coarse Indian meal.
il is now ready TO 20 TO the brewery.
At the brewery proper the malt is dump
ed into a biz iron kettle, called the "mash
tub" This is a tank about II feet in diam
eter and : feet high. with "a capacity of 800
or more barrels In this tub the malt IS
mixed with hot water, and right in this tub
is the disastatic power-the turning of the
starch in the malt into sugar and alOumen.
When the mash tub has been filled churn-
like machine in the bottom is set IN motion,
and for four hours the malt is mixed Win
the not water. The sugar is being drawn
from the mails all the time, and when the
duid-sweet wort il is called-ls drawn OF
through pipes into the kettle. il is sweet 70
the taste and pleasant 10 the smell. When
the beer kettle large iron tank IN the
brewery. is full the steam is started,
and the sweet wort Is boiled Tor Tour
hours. with hops. rice. and other ingredl-
ents. according 10 the methods used by va
rious firms, or as eight or heavy beer
is wanted. When the fluid comes from the
beer kettle it is nearly colorless ana mas
slightly bitter taste. caused by the hOpS.
From this kettle the fluid IS conveyed TO
the surface cooler, where it is cooled. The
surface cooler is coil Of long copper pipes,
with a heavy stream of ice water coming IN
at the bottom and going out at the top The
| fluid hot. and in some cases boiling, talls
from the pipe leading from the beer-kettle
on TO the top of this coil of pipes and trick
| les down in great sheets 10 the bottom,
where there is a receiving tank. The lower
| il goes on the pipes the cooler II becomes,
| and when il reaches the receiving tank al
the bottom it is ice cold. Underground
| pipes connect tulS IcNtlN MS tam N4-A VIZ
| fermenting rooms.
The termenting rooms, or vaults, Tor II
is difficult TO tell which is the proper appel
lation, are kept at temperature of % or 30
degrees all the year around. The apart
ments are cooled with miles Of pipe, con-
nected with an ice machine, these pipes be-
ing constantly coated with hoar-frost 10
depth Of half an inch or so. Here are
great tubs, with q capacity Of 30 or 90
| barrels each. tier upon tier, and from the
receiving tank the beer Is run into these
tubs. As soon as tank IS full, yeast IS
put in and mixed up with the beer, which
| is allowed TO remain until fermentation
takes place, the tanks being carefully in
spected from day to day As the days go
bv the Yeast converts the sugar into alcohol
and albumen, and a heavy white froth
forms on the beer. Leaning over tank one
will notice a strong smell Of carbonic acid.
and should man remain directly
over the tank for any length OF time he
would fall victim to the strong and subtle
gas. (which cuts the nOstrils like knife.
Here the beer is tested every day. and
when having fermented enough, 1t IS
drawn off into the storage watts in great
vaults. where the temperature IS - or y
degrees. When the beer leaves the fer
menting room it is composed Of about 81.
per cent. water. ID lIA AtAls tAlNbAN4f p
cent. extract sugar and albumen), and 4
per cent carbonic acid. The tanks in which
the beer is kept in the fermenting room, as
well as the tanks in the other room. are
kept most scrupulously clean, as all the
brewing would be spoiled. or at least badly
damaged. were any stale beer or yeast al
lowed TO remain in the tanks, and new beer
put in on top OF IT,
In these storage tanks which In the ag-
pregate nav hold 10000 barrels or more,
the beer is allowed 10 remain from two 10
three months, ageing and becoming clearer
and clearer until it is esteemed tit for use,
it being carefully tested from day to day
by experienced men Each vat is provided
with a small stopcock, and here is where
the beer is tested \ small glassful is
drawn and held up to the light. If the
beer has not the proper foam, or is the
| least bit cloudy or murky, as is seldom the
case no further attention is paid 10 il for