812

MANUFACTURES.

'Manufac-

tures.

Mashing-

tun.

PI, lxxxvi.Fig. 5, 6.

Fig. 7, 8.

is a cylinder laid with its axis horizontally havingflues for the flames passing round it after the mannerof a screw, the steam of the copper being condensed ina vessel for the purpose, and the product returned tothe copper. Mr. W. Ker had also a Patent taken out in1788 for a similar manner of condensing the volatilepart of the malt and hops.

(1128.) Mashing-tun .—The next important machinein the process of brewing we have to describe is themashing-tun. This is commonly a large wooden vessel,formed of vertical staves bound by iron hoops ; but it haslately been made of cast iron in our larger brewing esta-blishments. It has a false bottom, to which allusion hasalready been made, pierced with a great number of smallholes to admit the liquor to pass from the bottom, whereit is admitted up through the malt. It has been alreadystated that the water is brought by pipes from thecopper, and delivered at the lower part of the mash-tununder the false bottom, whence it forces its way upthrough the malt; and when it appears above it themalt (technically the goods) is stirred up to exposeevery part to the action of the liquor. This was formerlyperformed bv manual labour; the men first using longrakes to level the heap of malt, and afterwards rowingthe mass with large oars. But the present extent of theLondon breweries would render this mode too slow andexpensive. Mashing machines are now, therefore, ge-nerally adopted. Various contrivances have been hadrecourse to and adopted at different breweries, but thefollowing for a cast-iron mash-tun, by Mr. Cooper, isperhaps the most effectual.

This machine is represented in fig. 5, 6, plate lxxxvi ,the former being a plan and the latter a section of the.mash-tun and mashing machine; but, to save room,only one half is represented. The reader will, however,readily imagine another half to each figure.

A A, fig 6, is the level of the stage floor in whichthe mash-tun is placed; B B is the tun, formed ofa number of cast-iron plates screwed together, thedisposition of which at the bottom is shown in theplan, fig. 5. The vessel is supported upon eight cast-iron columns D D, which are united at their upperends by the cast-iron frame E, which confines them ina vertical position, and connects them with a centralcolumn, fig. 6. This is cast hollow to form the continua-tion of a pipe G, which brings the liquor into the tun fromthe copper as already described. There are branchesto this pipe for distributing the water under the falsebottom, which arrangement has also been referred to.In the centre of the tun is set up a vertical axis K, whichis turned round by wheelwork communicating withits upper end, as in fig 7. Upon this axis are twobevelled wheels a b, giving motion to the mashingengine. These wheels turn two horizontal axes, L, M,extending from the centre to the circumference of thetun. The former has four wheels upon it, over whichfour endless chains pass, as also over another hori-zontal axis N, near the bottom of the tun. Upon thisendless chain cross pieces of iron, d, are fixed, havingteeth in them, as shown in the upper and lower piece,fig- 6, and also in profile in fig. 7. These, as the chainsrevolve by the action of the wheel b, raise up the maltfrom the bottom to the top of the tun. That this maybe performed in all parts of the tun, the frame containingthe axes L, M, N has a progressive motion round thetun. 1 his is thus effected : on the curb or upper edgeof the tun is iange < c teeth o, o, fig. 5; these are

engaged by an endless screw, which is mounted in aframe P, fig. 8, and which receives its motion by means ^of wheelwork connected with the axle above described,and the frame is thus made to have a slow progressivemotion of rotation round the tun.

R is the under back, which is placed between the ironcolumns upon brickwork supported on bearing piles.

This is also formed of cast-iron plates in the same manneras the mash-tun above described. The use of this vesselis to receive the liquor from the mash-tun after theoperation of mashing is completed, and from which it isdrawn off again by pumps arid conveyed to the copperto be boiled with the hops, after which it is trans-ferred to a broad, shallow vessel to be cooled ; it is thenfermented, and ultimately cleansed and placed in theproper store vats till called for.

We have confined our description of the mash-tunstrictly to one in cast iron; but many different formshave been given to this important brewing vessel : ofthese, one was erected at Goodwynne’s, the figure ofwhich was that of a half cylinder placed horizontally,and on the central line or axis an iron shaft was fittedand turned round by wheelwork from the steam-engine.

It had several iron arms fixed perpendicularly upon itat different parts of its length, which, as the shaft re-volved, swept the whole contents of the tun ; and, havingteeth in them, they performed very effectually themashing process. These arms were not all fixed on thesame side of the axis, but were arranged at equal angle®round it, so as to dip into the malt in succession; andthis had a tendency to accumulate the malt towards oneend, but the motion could be reversed which carried dback again.

Another mashing apparatus was constructed by M r :Silvester for Messrs. Clowes. This consists of a verticalspindle in the centre of the mash-tun ; and upon this aniron arm, of a length sufficient to extend across thediameter of the tun, slides up and down through thedepth of the grist. The arm is provided with teetprojecting from one side of it like a rake; and theseteeth are so contrived that when the arm descends theyhang down vertically, and their points penetrate the goo s

without disturbing them ; but when the arm reaches e

bottom of the tun, the teeth are turned by the machineso as to be horizontal, and are then drawn up. durin„which action they raise a portion of the grist frombottom to the top. The next time the arm descenit is turned round with its spindle a few degrees, so aio take a fresh portion of the tun; and in this m j inne . | .its action continues till, in about thirty or forty strokes,completes its revolution round the tun. This construe ladmits of the mash-tun being covered close over by ladoors, a circumstance of great importance for retainm,,the heat. f

Various other machines for facilitating the P r ? c ^ S ^ urmashing have been projected and patented, whiclimits will not admit of describing; nor is suescription actually necessary, our object havingsimply to give a general idea of the principles on ^this important national beverage is obtained mlarger establishments. , een Reverm 01

(1129.) Theextent of the brewing trade will ® a(J( jby the following statement of the quantity ma ^

the revenue derived from the duty on beer from ^

to 1830. The duty has been since repealed, an ,course, the quantity brewed largely increased.