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MANUFACTURING AND ADULTERATING LIQUORS.
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to 12 months, or more, according to to the nature of
the brewing, the liquor will have become fine, and
sufficiently ripe for use. All the attention required
during this interval, is to look occasionally to see
that there is no leakage, and to open the vent holes,
should any oozings appear between the staves of the
casks.
Vill.
Fining.-It
frequently
happ~ns
that malt
liquor, especially porter, with all the care bestowed
upon it in brewing, will not turn out sufficiently fine
to meet the taste and eye of the consumer, in which
case it is usually subjected to the operation of"
c'lari–
fying."
For this purpose 1 oz. of isinglass is put into
1 quart of weak vinegar, or still better, hard beer,
and when dissolved, a sufficient quantity ofgood beer
may be added to make it measure one gallon. This
mixture is called
"fonings
;"
1 to 2 pints of which is
the proper quantity for a barrel. The method of
using it, is to put the finings into a bucket, and
to
gra9ually add some of the beer, until the bucket is
three parts full, during which time it is violently
agitated with a whisk, and this is continued until a
good frothy head is raised upon it, when it is thrown
into the barrel of beer, and the whole well rummaged
up, by'means of a large stick shoved in at the bung–
hole.
In
a few days the beer will usually become
fine.
Digitized
by