Malt Liquors
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the mash
Fill your copper with water and bring it to a boil.
Add malt in moderate quantities every 8 to 10 minutes until fully consumed.
Let the remaining water boil hot for the second mash.
Drain and steep
Drain the remaining water into the tub as before.
If making small beer, boil a proper quantity off and add it to the tub.
For one hogshead, let the mash run off for 2 hours; for two hogsheads, 2.5 hours; for more, 3 hours.
Steep strong beer for 3 hours, ale for 1 hour, and small beer for 30 minutes.
Stir the mash thoroughly from the bottom, especially around the muck basket.
Transcribed from a scanned cookbook and modernised for today's kitchens. Where the book gave no heat or time, or said "a moderate oven", the temperatures and times here may be modern equivalents rather than the book's own figures.
Explore the science
What each ingredient does
- Malt
- Provides the fermentable sugars that yeast later turns into alcohol, and sets the beer's body and flavour.
The step that matters
Stir the mash thoroughly from the bottom, especially around the muck basket. Malt left unstirred can settle and clump, so some sugars stay unextracted and the liquor comes out weak and uneven. Thorough stirring, especially near the muck basket where grains collect, keeps the mash evenly mixed so sugars dissolve consistently.
“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.
You might also like
Vegetable Soup350 recipes
Raspberry Vinegar214 recipes
Brown Coffee with Egg175 recipes
Blackberry Cordial129 recipesThe free Flavor Lab newsletter: one surprising pairing a week and the molecular reason it works, in 60 seconds. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.
Prefer an account? Create a free account to save pairings and unlock the full chemistry.