Boiling
As soon as the water is taken from the copper for the table-beer, damp the fire with ashes or cinders, and put in the wort. For every bushel of malt used, allow 1 pound hops, previously soaked in water taken from the first mash at 160° of heat; add half of them at first, and the other half after the wort has boiled half an hour. 2 pounds of hops by this method are considered to be equal to 3 pounds used in the ordinary way. The water in which they are steeped is strained off and put into the tun instead of the copper, which preserves the flavor of the hops. Let the wort boil as briskly as possible, for the quicker it is boiled the sooner it will break. Try it occasionally in a glass, and see if it has separated into large flakes; if it has not, boil it a little longer; when nearly ready, it will appear to be broken into fine particles. The extremes of under and over-boiling must be avoided, for when over-boiled it is with difficulty fined again in the casks.