Remainder of Chapter 16 of Brewed In America by Stanley Baron
Jefferson's brewing, of course, managed very successfully without the help of Coppinger's book. Miller was clearly extremely efficient in the mystery of brewing, and what was more he was able to teach one of Jefferson's servants, Peter Hemings, so that Monticello was eventually capable of producing beer on its own, without outside assistance. The first brew was started on 17 September 1813, and by January 1814, Jefferson was on the hunt for bottles. To Richard Randolph he wrote:
But unfortunately there were always minor as well as major problems and delays; Randolph replied that his
On at least one other occasion, Jefferson had to have bottles made to order. In September 1814, he wrote to Randolph:
It is always a surprise to find Jefferson spending his time on such small details, but that was the way he conducted all his affairs. Somewhat later it was a matter of finding the best kind of corks. "Not to be too late again in providing corks, as I was last year," he wrote to Miller in 1816, "and fearing I should get bad ones at Richmond, I will ask the favor of you to procure 8. gross for me of the best." Miller answered, in a mode of spelling entirely his own:
In 1817 Jefferson was back with the same request:
And at the same time, Jefferson entered in his account books, "inclosed 5 D to Capt Jos. Millar to buy corks." On that particular day, he was so anxious about the cork situation that he approached another source simultaneously:
This agent replied that he had searched Richmond "for the best Velvet Corks, & have succeeded in procuring the six Gross wished of excellent quality."
Then a week later, Captain Miller reported:
The problem of corks came up year after year, and each time it required a letter written in Jefferson's own hand. In his request to Miller in 1819, Jefferson commented:
Miller would have been a most ungrateful wretch if he had not fulfilled these small commissions for Jefferson, who had been at great pains to use his influence in settling the captain's problems ever since their first meeting. Their relationship, as far as can be judged from the letters, must have been an odd one, for Miller was always proving to be somewhat relaxed about his obligations, always complaining about the outcome of his projects -- and Jefferson was quietly patient, helpful, hopeful.
Jefferson had prevailed upon General Andrew Moore in 1813 to allow Miller to go to Norfolk for a month in order to clear up the details of his legacy. In July of the following year, Jefferson had to write again to Moore because Miller had stayed in Norfolk nine months instead of the one month requested, and in fact was still there. Jefferson wished to make it clear that he was no longer willing to take responsibility for Miller's behavior; and, in view of the approaching invasion of Norfolk, he would raise no objection to Miller's being asked to leave the city. On the same date, he wrote to Miller himself, making exactly the same statement. Jefferson was, in effect, only "covering" himself; no one actually believed that Miller was a spy. As it turned out, Moore did not eject Miller from Norfolk. Miller settled down there, unmolested by the authorities, and no doubt he was considered to be under the protection of Jefferson, no matter how often the latter might deny it.
On the first of September 1815, Miller wrote from Norfolk that he had just shipped "one Cask of X. I do not know What we Must Call it: I think Porter Brandy as it was Made from Some Porter Like wine." His letter was mainly intended to announce that he was planning to set out for Monticello, and added an "NB I hope Peter and me will Do Better this year that [sic] last We will let the Wether be Coolder."
While Miller stayed with Jefferson that fall and winter, continuing his brewing instructions with the servant Peter and supervising the brewing for that year, he had many opportunities to discuss with his host the problems which faced him in settling for good in the United States. He had still been unable to secure his half-brother's estate, and the question of his American citizenship remained unsolved. It was in this period that Jefferson drew up a petition to the General Assembly of Virginia on Miller's behalf. But he also wrote to various individuals who might be helpful in forming the General Assembly's decision. In October 1815 he sent a letter to Charles Yancey, discussing the petition of "Capt. Joseph Miller, a resident of Norfolk, but who has staid a great deal in this county, and with me particularly." In his letter to Joseph C. Cabell, Jefferson explained that Miller had set up a brewery in Norfolk
In yet another letter to Yancey, he described Miller as "an honest and useful man."
As might have been expected, Jefferson's efforts bore fruit: on 17 February 1816 he was able to write Miller that the bill had been passed awarding him his half-brother's property. But there was anything but plain sailing for Miller after that. At about the time his title to the property was settled, his partner Joseph Hays (designated in Jefferson's draft of the petition as one of the executors of Thomas Reed's will) decamped, presumably with some of Miller's money or goods. Miller was also frustrated in his plans to sell his inherited property at advantageous prices; in fact, he was not able to get rid of it at all.
It was brewing season again, just the same, and Miller wrote, "I Could Wish you to Lett Old Peeter Get Sume Grain to work soone Hops in New York is one Dollr pr lb by the Bale."
There was a little delay, because Jefferson's affairs kept him at his plantation in Bedford; he was to return there on the 19th of October to stay until the first of December, "yet I shall take measures to enable Peter to go on with his malting and brewing." Miller did not appear that year, however; he complained of "sever pain in my Ancless not Able to Walk for 8 weeks." But the brewing went on nonetheless. Jefferson's comment was, "Peter's brewing of the last season I am in hopes will prove excellent. at least the only cask of it we have tried proved so."
There is no indication that Miller ever did get to Monticello again. Except for the occasional letters concerning the supply of corks for five dollars at a time, he may have had no further contact with Jefferson. Fortunately, Peter Hemings had been well taught and was able to carry on by himself, though doubtless under Jefferson's personal supervision.
In 182O, Jefferson had a request from his good friend James Madison on the subject of private brewing, and he answered in some detail:
Jefferson's beer apparently became well known in that area. He received a flattering inquiry from James Barbour in 1821:
As usual, though he had just turned seventy-eight and was complaining to old friends like John Adams about the overwhelming extent of his correspondence, he replied to Barbour's request at some length:
Presumably, brewing went on at Monticello right up to 1826, when Jefferson died on the Fourth of July. It was only one farm activity out of hundreds, and it was strictly seasonal; but Jefferson brought to it all his characteristic enthusiasm and curiosity. He was, as his own words so clearly illustrate, a real champion of the brewing industry; being a gentleman farmer, he understood its important relationship with agriculture. It is particularly interesting that Jefferson took up brewing at a time when, as an industry, it was at its lowest ebb in the national economy. He symbolizes an influential opinion of that period, which was that the industry could bestow great advantages, both economic and social, on the country, and that it therefore deserved every form of encouragement.