"
Barley was not an important crop at Aldington, the land was too stiff,
but I had some fields which contained limestone, where good crops
could be grown. Even there it was inclined to coarseness, but in dry
seasons sometimes proved a very nice bright and thin-skinned sample.
Before the repeal of the malt tax, which was accompanied by
legislation that permitted the brewers to use sugar, raw grain and
almost anything, including, as people said, "old boots and shoes"
instead of barley malt, good prices, up to 42s. a quarter and over,
could be made; but under the new conditions, the maltsters complained
that my barley was too good for them, and they could buy foreign stuff
at about 22s. or 24s., which, with the help of sugar, produced a class
of beer quite good enough for the Black Country and Pottery consumers.
I heard an amusing story about barley in Lincolnshire, some years
before the repeal of the malt tax, which, I think, is worth recording.
A farmer, after a very hot summer and dry harvest, had a good piece of
barley which he offered by sample in Lincoln market. He could not make
his price, the buyers complaining that it was too hard and flinty. He
went home in disgust, but, after much pondering, thought he could see
his way to meet the difficulty. He had the sacks of barley "shut" on
his barn floor, in a heap, and several buckets of water poured over
it.
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