pleasant
smell. As to the _age_ of hops, they retain for twenty years, probably,
their _power of preserving beer_; but not of giving it a pleasant flavour.
I have used them at _ten years old_, and should have no fear of using
them at twenty. They lose none of their _bitterness_; none of their power
of preserving beer; but they lose the other quality; and therefore, in the
making of fine ale, or beer, new hops are to be preferred. As to the
_quantity_ of hops, it is clear, from what has been said, that that must,
in some degree depend upon their _quality_; but, supposing them to be good
in quality, a pound of hops to a bushel of malt is about the quantity. A
good deal, however, depends upon the length of time that the beer is
intended to be kept, and upon the season of the year in which it is
brewed. Beer intended to be kept a long while should have the full pound,
also beer brewed in warmer weather, though for present use: half the
quantity may do under an opposite state of circumstances.

40. The _water_ should be soft by all means. That of brooks, or rivers, is
best. That of a _pond_, fed by a rivulet, or spring, will do very well.
_Rain-water_, if just fallen, may do; but stale rain-water, or stagnant
pond-water, makes the beer _flat_ and difficult to keep; and _hard water_,
from wells, is very bad; it does not get the sweetness out of the malt,
nor the bitterness out of the hops, like soft water; and the wort of it
does not ferment well, which is a certain proof of its unfitness for the
purpose.

41. There are two descriptions of persons whom I am desirous to see
brewing their own beer; namely, _tradesmen_, and _labourers_ and
_journeymen_. There must, therefore, be two _distinct scales_ treated of.
In the former editions of this work, I spoke of a _machine_ for brewing,
and stated the advantages of using it in a family of any considerable
consumption of beer; but, while, from my desire to promote _private
brewing_, I strongly recommended the _machine_, I stated that, "if any of
my readers could point out any method by which we should be more likely to
restore the practice of private brewing, and especially to the _cottage_,
I should be greatly obliged to them to communicate it to me." Such
communications have been made, and I am very happy to be able, in this new
edition of my little work, to avail myself of them. There was, in the
_Patent Machine_, always, an objection on account of the _expense_; for,
even the