hist-brewing: Porter and chocolate malt

[Jeff Renner]

Scotti PBLoomis at aol.com writes:

>I understand that porter, which uses chocolate malt,
>dates from sometime around 1750.  I thought that chocolate malt
>was not dependent on that technology.
>     Citation, please?

Briefly, porter was originally made from brown malt, which had 
diastatic power, though it was compromised by the high kilning 
(modern brown malt is not diastatic).  When patent malt was 
introduced, brewers loved it because they could use mostly pale malt, 
with its higher extract, and a bit of black malt.  However, this 
apparently changed the character of the porter (this doesn't surprise 
me).

A full discussion of the subject is in Foster's excellent book 
"Porter," pp. 10-17 and 37-38.

>     Similarly, crystal malts of all colors and varieties are dependent
>on a pressurized kiln which was developed sometime during the
>Industrial Revolution.  Anybody have the date for that?


I don't believe it requires a pressurized kiln, just that the wet 
green malt be "stewed" at mash temperatures before drying, as opposed 
to drying at lower temperatures for conventional malts.  I don't have 
a date at my fingertips.  Well, maybe I do, just not the time.  I 
have 8 feet of bookshelves of brewing books at my fingertips.

Jeff
-- 
Jeff Renner in Ann Arbor, Michigan USA, JeffRenner at mediaone.net
"One never knows, do one?"  Fats Waller, American Musician, 1904-1943