The Almost Continual Rains May Be Reckoned Another Evil Attending This Bay;
Though Perhaps This May Only Happen At This Season Of The Year.
Nevertheless, The Situation Of The Country, The Vast Height, And Nearness
Of The Mountains, Seem To Subject It To Much Rain At All Times.
Our people,
who were daily exposed to the rain, felt no ill effects from it; on the
contrary, such
As were sick and ailing when we came in, recovered daily,
and the whole crew soon became strong and vigorous, which can only be
attributed to the healthiness of the place, and the fresh provisions it
afforded. The beer certainly contributed not a little. As I have already
observed, we at first made it of a decoction of the spruce leaves; but
finding that this alone made the beer too astringent, we afterwards mixed
with it an equal quantity of the tea plant (a name it obtained in my former
voyage, from our using it as tea then as we also did now,) which partly
destroyed the astringency of the other, and made the beer exceedingly
palatable, and esteemed by every one on board. We brewed it in the same
manner as spruce-beer, and the process is as follows: First, make a strong
decoction of the small branches of the spruce and tea plants, by boiling
them three or four hours, or until the bark will strip with ease from off
the branches; then take them out of the copper, and put in the proper
quantity of molasses, ten gallons of which is sufficient to make a ton, or
two hundred and forty gallons of beer; let this mixture just boil, then pot
it into the casks, and to it add an equal quantity of cold water, more or
less, according to the strength of the decoction, or your taste: When the
whole is milk-warm, put in a little grounds of beer, or yeast, if you have
it, or any thing else that will cause fermentation, and in a few days the
beer will be fit to drink. After the casks have been brewed in two or three
times the beer will generally ferment itself, especially if the weather is
warm. As I had inspissated juice of wort on board, and could not apply it
to a better purpose, we used it together with molasses or sugar, to make
these two articles go farther. For of the former I had but one cask, and of
the latter little to spare for this brewing. Had I known how well this beer
would have succeeded, and the great use it was of to the people, I should
have come better provided. Indeed I was partly discouraged by an experiment
made during my former voyage, which did not succeed then, owing, as I now
believe, to some mismanagement.
Any one, who is in the least acquainted with spruce pines, will find the
tree which I have distinguished by that name. There are three sorts of it;
that which has the smallest leaves and deepest colour, is the sort we
brewed with; but doubtless all three might safely serve that purpose.
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