More on malt 1815-1850

I really am beginning to get swamped by material on the early 19th century. Just found some more fascinating stuff about malt.

The British state depended heavily on the tax on malt. It was responsible for around 10% of all tax income. No wonder it was so closely regulated.


Malt
Malting was a highly regulated activity. The reason was simple: a duty on malt was the principal method of taxing beer. Even more so when the excise duty on beer was abolished in 1830. Government legislation dictated how maltsters had to operate. The penalties for failing to adhere to the regulations were severe: fines of £100, £200 or even £600 and confiscation of the malt. Most of the offences were concerned with artificially reducing the volume of grain at the points when it was measured by excise officers, duty being set per quarter, a measurement of volume. (Source: "An Historical Account of the Malt Trade and Laws" by William Ford, London, 1849, page 10-14.)

The malt tax was not collected as efficiently in all parts of the UK. Less than 50% of the duty was collected in Wales and Ireland. (Source: "An Historical Account of the Malt Trade and Laws" by William Ford, London, 1849, page 40.) In Ireland, great quantities of unmalted grain: "many Irish Brewers are at present using raw barley, mixed with Malt, and this, not in a small way, but to the extent of one-half; some even more: and from their mode of preparing barley, they obtain an extract within 7s. per quarter of that manufactured from entire Malt." (Source: "An Historical Account of the Malt Trade and Laws" by William Ford, London, 1849, page 40.)

A significant proportion of total tax income, around 10%, was derived from the tax on malt.


The roasting of malt was regulated by its own Act of Parliament. Roasting had to take place at least a mile from the malt-house. This led to the trade of Malt Roaster nad to a concentration of the trade in the hands of a few specialists, mostly located in London. (Source: "An Historical Account of the Malt Trade and Laws" by William Ford, London, 1849, page 69.) Properly malted barley gave more colour than unmalted barley, but not as much as partially malted barley. That, along with the duty saved by steeping for as short a period as possible (the volume of the malt was measured for excise purposes at the end of steeping) meant barley for making black malt was rarely properly malted. (Source: "An Historical Account of the Malt Trade and Laws" by William Ford, London, 1849, page 69.)

"The word malt is greatly libelled in these Roasting house; it being little better than roasted barley. The corn is only steeped for forty hours, being the shortest time the law allows, consequently pays at least 2s. 6d. per quarter less than the produce of malt, and is usually thrown upon the kiln from three to four days after being emptied from the cistern." (Source: "An Historical Account of the Malt Trade and Laws" by William Ford, London, 1849, pages 68-69.)