Cleansing

It is a practice with many people to keep their beer in the tun from

four to six days; by that time the yeast will fall to the bottom of the

tun, and the beer will be in a flat, dead state; it will always be

heady beer, being kept so long before it is cleansed; it will not be

inclined to work in the casks, nor will it drink with a pleasant,

lively taste. There is no coming at any exact time, with respect to

hours, when your beer will be ready to cleanse, therefore this must be

done by attention, in frequently examining when your beer is at its

full head of working, or what is commonly said, rather inclined to go

back; when it is in that state it should be cleansed immediately. This,

I say, should be attended to, notwithstanding it should happen at

twelve o'clock at night; for this is the evil, by neglecting the proper

time to cleanse your beer it will not be able to fine itself in the

casks, and then some device must be used to fine it, which is too often

injurious to the beer.