[ Brewing in Kent ] Manuscript volume of early Victorian English [Kentish?] master brewer's dated records & calculations, with brewery unknown but employees named and occasional memoranda.

8vo, 249 pp. In original black leather blind-tooled binding, marbled endpapers. The text clear and complete, apart from a few leaves at the front and end which have faded through damp damage, and one leaf becoming detached and worn at extremities. The damp has also detached the book from the binding, the glue of which has dissolved. The only clue of the location of the brewery is the reference to 'Ramsgate', below. The volume consists almost exclusively of pages of closely-written dated calculations, with pages giving number of barrels of 'Stocks pumped up' and 'left for next brew[in]g'. Other repeated phrases include 'dipped No. 1 Copper'. The top of the pages usually carry a name or two names, presumably of those employed in certain tasks that day. The number of names indicates a substantial concern: D. Amos, James Amos, Austen, Baker, Bays, Bean, Blackman, Buss, Corne, Court, Daniels, Dunkin, Hart, Holton, Long, Mills, Murton, Newport, Pierce, Pile, Read, Sadleton, Sankey, Sharpe, Sheather, Smith, Stocks, Strout, Tappenden, Wise. Occasional memoranda, written crosswise, flesh out the volume. These include: 'Change of Yeast Got 12 Gs. from Towson 's Ramsgate which weighed 101 lbs. We were obliged to use the large tan for Hops back as the new back was not finished | cannot well make out the difference between B worts & Hop worts unless it is that the rolls were set too close | 12/11 Changed new Hop back with cold Legr. & find it holds a full 120 B[arre]ls', 'Both Coppers and engine flues cleaned' and 'Very short down supposed to be Chas's manner of damping up as there is almost a difference of 10 B[arre]ls between his & Geo's '.