I drank only water; the other workmen, near 50 in number, were great guzzlers of beer. We had an alehouse boy who attended always in the house to supply the workmen. My companion at the press, drank every day a pint before breakfast, a pint at breakfast with his bread and cheese; a pint in the afternoon about six o'clock, and another when he'd done his day's work...but it was necessary, he suppos'd, to drink strong beer that he might be strong to labor. Those who continu'd sotting with beer all day, were often, by not paying out of credit at the alehouse, and us'd to make interest with me to get beer, their light, as they phras'd it, being out."
I was one of 42 beer writers who contributed to this big 960-page book telling the stories of 1,001 world-famous beers. The book will be published March 23, but it's also available now for pre-order at Amazon.com.