Pounds of Hops to the Hogshead of Ale, and a quarter of Malt and three
Pounds of Hops to five Barrels of small Beer. Others there are, that will
brew their Ale or strong Beer in _October_, and their small Beer a Month
before it is wanted. Others will brew their Ale and small Beer in _April,
May_ and _June_; but this according to humour, and therefore I have hinted
of the several Seasons for Brewing these Liquors: However in my Opinion,
whether it be strong or small Drinks, they should be clear, smooth and not
too small, if they are design'd for Profit and Health; for if they are
otherwise, it will be a sad Evil to Harvest Men, because then they stand
most in need of the greatest Balsamicks: To this end some of the softning
Ingredients mentioned in the foregoing Receipts should be made use of to
feed it accordingly, if these Drinks are brewed forward. And that this
particular important Article in the Brewing Oeconomy may be better
understood, I shall here recite Dr. _Quincy_'s Opinion of Malt Liquors,
viz. The Age of Malt Drinks makes them more or less wholsome, and seems to
do somewhat the same as Hops; for those Liquors which are longest kept,
are certainly the least viscid; Age by degrees breaking the viscid Parts,
and rendering them smaller, makes them finer for Secretion; but this is
always to be determined by their Strength, because in Proportion to that
will they sooner or later come to their full Perfection and likewise their
Decay, until the finer Spirits quite make their Escape, and the remainder
becomes vapid and sour. By what therefore has been already said, it will
appear that the older Drinks are the more healthful, so they be kept up to
this Standard, but not beyond it. Some therefore are of Opinion, that
strong Beer brewed in _October_ should be Tapp'd at _Midsummer_, and that
brewed in _March_ at _Christmas_, as being most agreeable to the Seasons
of the Year that follow such Brewings: For then they will both have part
of a Summer and Winter to ripen and digest their several Bodies; and 'tis
my humble Opinion, that where the Strength of the Beer, the Quantity of
Hops, the boiling Fermentation and the Cask are all rightly managed, there