How long can brines be kept for?

[quietwatersfarm]

We ought to start a 'cook the book' type thread

[Billy Rhomboid]

Hello again, sorry for neglecting the questions.
This was made up to cure six large hams and the container is a big blue barrel - not sure of the overall capacity but it is just a tad smaller than a standard water butt. It is great for large(-ish) scale curing but can be a bit of an adventure retrieving the last pieces from the bottom. I have on one occasion almost tipped myself headfirst into the thing, which, comic aspect aside, could be quite dangerous. Drowning myself in my own brining barrel would be ironic but not my preferred way to go.
I have used this cure before, scaled down by 50% and it was very successful. From my experience of using various of Maynard's cures they have always been very good when done in the bulk quantities he offers, or scaled down by half or a third, but when I have tried scaling them right down to 'individual' amounts, the results have been less satisfactory.