Beer Myths

Beer Myths and Legends…

Given the central place of beer and pubs in British history, it is not surprising that there are any number of myths and legends that have entered the English language. A few of these are true but many or most are not!

Wet Your Whistle!
Many years ago pub frequenters had a whistle baked into the rim, or handle, of their ceramic mugs. When they needed a refill, they used the whistle to get some service. “Wet your whistle” is the phrase inspired by this practice.
The snag with this is that if this was true, a few of these mugs would still exist just as other beer drinking vessels do. Also there would be drawings or paintings of these mugs or some reference in literature to the practice.
More importantly, do you really think any landlord would be prepared to put up with a barrage of shrill whistling all night? Or indeed other customers?

Ale-Conners…
In medieval times, officers called ale-conners were appointed to test beer for quality and that it was sold at a fair price. They wore leather breeches and tested ale by pouring some on a wooden bench and then sitting in it and seeing if their breeches stuck to the bench…
Mmmm, if someone gave you a pint and asked your opinion of it, what would you do? Sniff it and maybe taste it or put some on a chair and sit in it?
Ale-conners certainly did exist but there is no evidence that they tested beer like this!

Ropey?
As in “that’s a bit ropey” or “I feel a bit ropey this morning after that curry last night”. The phrase is said to come from beer that has been infected with a particular bacteria that makes the beer taste unpleasant and glutinous threads appear on the surface i.e. “ropey”.

This one is true!

So how do these myths get started?
There are a variety of reasons. One is that words often change their meaning over time and so the meaning of the original phrase gets lost. ‘Wet your whistle’ was first recorded in the 1386 Towneley Mysteries: “Had She oones Wett Hyr Whystyll She couth Syng full clere Hyr pater noster.” Whistle here means throat or voice and so the phrase simply means ‘take a drink’.
Another reason is that possibly something like these legends happened once and the legend spread. Possibly a potter with a sense of humour did bake a whistle in a mug once and used it to try and attract attention from the landlord who probably then took the offending item and tossed it out onto the pavement…
And imagine you are an ale-conner. Being paid to taste beer sounds like a dream job but the reason that the office came into being was that beers in Olde England were not always of the highest quality (to put it politely). So, at the end of a hard day spent tasting some less than perfect ales (and possibly affected by what you have drunk) you are handed a particularly sickly brew. You might well be tempted to get out of putting the stuff into your mouth by saying: “ I don’t even have to taste this!” and pouring some onto a bench and sitting in it for a while…

Rob @BG

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Joseph Priestley – Gas Discoverer!

Who was Joseph Priestley?

He was an 18th-century (13 March 1733 – 6 February 1804) English theologian, natural philosopher, chemist, educator, and political theorist. However, he is best known for his discovery of several gases particularly oxygen.

So what has this got to do with beer?

Everything!

Joseph Priestley was one of those individuals that you come across sometimes in history who happened to stumble across some of the most important scientific discoveries of all time. His main interest was theology and he studied to become a minister not a scientist. But in 1767 he became a pastor in Leeds and the ministry was located next door to a brewery…

What did Joseph Priestley discover?

Being a curious sort of fellow he became fascinated by the “air” that floated over the fermenting grain. It was already known that mice suspended over this “air” would die. So he started experimenting at home. He noticed that this gas drifted to the ground around the vat, implying that it was more dense (heavier) than normal air.  Apart from killing mice he found that it would extinguish lighted wood chips or candles. This gas would later be identified as carbon dioxide.  He then went on to find a way of artificially trapping carbon dioxide in water by placing a bowl of water above a vat of fermenting beer and invented the world’s first fizzy drink.
So the next time you are enjoying a pint of keg beer you can thank Joseph Priestley!
He then went on to isolate eight gases, including oxygen. In addition, he contributed to the understanding of photosynthesis and respiration.
Sadly his radical views on politics made him extremely unpopular and he and his family went to live in America in 1794. By the time he died in 1804, Priestley had been made a member of every major scientific society in the Western world.
Just to think that none of this might have happened if he had lived next to a coffee house!

Rob @ BG

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Raise a Glass to Wales!

Well, this is definitely Wales’ year! On Saturday Wales beat France to win their third Six Nations Grand Slam in eight years. David Hasselhoff, the star of ‘Baywatch’ was watching with his Welsh girlfriend and is quoted as saying:
“Hoff the charts! Congrats Wales!”
Welsh people must be so proud…

Not only that, but as I wrote a while ago the Bridge End Inn at Ruabon near Wrexham is this year’s CAMRA Pub of the Year. But whereas Welsh rugby has a long and successful history, this is the first time a Welsh pub haswon this title.

 
However, this is not to say that Wales does not have a brewing tradition. Celtic tribes fled to Wales to escape a succession of invaders from the Romans to the Anglo-Saxons taking their brewing skills with them. Records from the 7^th century on mention Welsh ale or bragawd, a heady beverage, made with spices such as cinnamon, ginger and clove as well as herbs and honey. This was often brewed by monks until Henry VIII dissolved the monasteries in 1536.

 
Britain came under the influence of the temperance movement in the 19^th century and in Wales the dominant non-conformist chapels meant that the anti-alcohol lobby was far stronger than in England. Pubs were shut on Sundays in 1881 and the leading brewing centre, Wrexham, once known for its strong ales, was largely shut down. Those brewers that survived tended to brew lower alcohol beer.

 
One curious Welsh beer fact is that Wrexham was one of the first places in the UK to produce lager when homesick German immigrant brothers started brewing in 1882 and that lager was promoted as a temperance drink! Its demise came in 2000, when the site of Wrexham Lager was sold and subsequently demolished. Investment by the Welsh Development Agency has helped establish a large number of breweries in Wales in recent years.

 
Another Welsh beer fact that may surprise you is that the small, independent Felinfoel Brewery Company of Llanelli, Wales, became the first brewery in the world to sell their beer in cans outside the U.S.A. (due to the presence of tinworks nearby) in 1935. The ‘conetops’ looked like a can of metal polish and were sealed with a crown cork, the same as a glass bottle. Other breweries quickly followed but World War 2 meant that production for the
domestic market abruptly stopped (production continued to the armed forces) except for Felinfoel. After the war flat-top cans replaced the conetops’.

From the 1980s onwards craft breweries sprang up to meet the demand for locally produced beers and there are now over 45 breweries in Wales.

Rob @ BG

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St Paddy’s Day

Who was Saint Patrick?

Well it is that time of year when those claiming to be Irish descend on their local pub and imbibe large quantities of the Black Stuff. But did you know that Ireland’s patron saint was actually Welsh?

 
I was born in the Emerald Isle and spent the first few years of my life there. So in honour of this (and the fact that my hard disk was filling up) I have been watching ‘The Story of Ireland’, presented by Fergal Keane which I recorded on my trusty PVR a while ago.

 
Very little is known for certain but some of his writings survive so he really did exist. The Irish regularly raided the Welsh coasts kidnapping people and selling them as slaves and Saint Patrick was a slave for six years before escaping. He then became a priest and returned to Ireland playing a major part in converting the Irish to Christianity. He is said to have used the shamrock as a means of explaining the Holy Trinity and to have died on March 17^th which is now Saint Patricks Day.

 
The significance of Ireland’s conversion to Christianity was that in the two centuries after Saint Patrick’s death monasteries were set up all over the country, which grew in size and importance. In the absence of a centralized authority, these became centres of population, learning, trade, and craftsmanship, including brewing of course…

 
History of Stout

 
Stout, particularly Guinness, is, of course, associated with the Irish. Stout is a variant of a beer made with dark malts called porter (so-called as this beer was popular with the street and river porters in London). Strong porter was called “Extra Porter” or “Stout Porter”, which would be shortened to just “Stout”.

So, if you claim to have any Irish blood (or just want an excuse to drink) have a stout or two this Saint Patrick’s Day. Oysters are also associated with Ireland and the burnt barley flavour and smooth texture of stout goes well with the salty slippery molluscs. The dark bitterness of stout complements the richness of a hearty Irish stew perfectly and if you are still hungry cheeses such as Irish cheddar taste wonderful washed down with stout.

 
Other Irish Beers

 
In addition to stout, why not try an Irish red beer? The reddish colour comes from the use of a small amount of roasted barley. Murphy’s Irish Red (5.0% abv) is a light bodied bitter beer with a dark red colour. If you have trouble finding this in the UK, Kilkenny Irish Beer (4.2% abv) is an Irish Cream Ale which you can buy online at www.beersofeurope.co.uk.

 
Finally, a beer called Galway Hooker (4.4% abv) caught my attention. This is an Irish Pale Ale (which is a new one on me) from a craft brewery.  It is not available in the UK yet but I think it is worth a trip to Ireland to be able to ring up my wife and say:

“I have just had a Galway Hooker…”

NB A Galway Hooker is a traditional type of sailing boat used by local fishermen!  www.galwayhooker.ie

Rob @ BG

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