[Sca-cooks] Beer from unsafe water?

[Cindy M. Renfrow]

Herre is the recipe from Harrison.  The word 'kettle' is not used.

BEER - 1577
	"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,3 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 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 set the second to
coole by the first) she letteth it runne and then seetheth it againe with a
pound and a half of new hops or peradventure two pounds as she seeth cause
by the goodness or baseness of the hops; and when it hath sodden in summer
two hours, and in winter an houre and a halfe, she striketh it also and
reserveth it unto mixture with the rest when time doth serve therefore.
Finallie when she setteth hir drinke together, she addeth to hir
brackwoort1 or charwoort halfe an ounce of arras2 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 am I 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, 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, notwithstanding the loss in seething.  The continuance of the
drinke is always 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.
(From The Description of England, by William Harrison, 1577.  This recipe
is cited in many sources, but the spelling and punctuation vary.

Regards,

Cindy