Brookston Beer Bulletin

Jay R. Brooks on Beer

  • Home
  • About
  • Editorial
  • Birthdays
  • Art & Beer

Socialize

  • Dribbble
  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Flickr
  • GitHub
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • Pinterest
  • RSS
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Powered by Genesis

Master Brewers’ Banquet 1915

October 1, 2018 By Jay Brooks

mbaa-logo
Yesterday I shared what I thought was an interesting story and photos of the Master Brewers’ Convention, from 1915, which began on September 30. It was held in San Francisco, California. On the second day of the two-day convention, October 1, 1915, they also held a formal banquet for all of the attendees and guests. It was held at German House, in the same space where the convention took place. Notice that a lot of the men there are wearing the same distinctive hat. Was there an MBAA hat that members wore?

mbaa15-lunch-1

Filed Under: Breweries, Just For Fun, Related Pleasures Tagged With: California, History, MBAA, San Francisco, United States

Master Brewers’ Convention 1915

September 30, 2018 By Jay Brooks

mbaa-logo
This is an interesting little tidbit I found looking through an old copy of “The Western Brewer: and Journal of the Barly, Malt and Hop Trades” from October 1915. In it, there’s a report on the Master Brewers’ Convention which took place the previous month in San Francisco, California. In addition to the story, there’s a really cool panoramic photo. Here’s the story:

mbaa15-00

mbaa15-01
mbaa15-02
mbaa15-03
mbaa15-04
mbaa15-05
mbaa15-06
mbaa15-07

usba-in-sf-1915-left

This photo of all the attendees, including delegates and guests, of the Master Brewers’ Convention was taken on September 30, 1915. It was shot on the steps in front of German House, in San Francisco, where the convention took place. The photo was printed on two separate pages, with the left side above here, and the right side below.

usba-in-sf-1915

I’m not sure if this list exactly matches who’s in the photographs, but this is a list of who registered to attend the convention:

mbaa15-08
mbaa15-09
mbaa15-10
mbaa15-11
mbaa15-12

And this photograph is inside German House of the meeting of the Master Brewers. Notice how there’s a beer in front of almost every person there.

mbaa15-mtg-1

Filed Under: Breweries, Events, Just For Fun Tagged With: California, History, Photography, San Francisco, United States

GABF Medal Streaks

September 28, 2018 By Jay Brooks

gabf-2014
A few days ago, I posted the results of this year’s Great American Beer Festival, a list of the medal winners, along with some statistics and a few photographs from the ceremony. A comment thread ensued about the longest streak of winning medals, meaning how many years in a row has a brewery won at least one medal. Intrigued, I reached out to the BA’s economist Bart Watson to see if that was a data point that the Brewers Association tracked. They do not, but one of the leading candidates, Iron Hill Brewery’s Mark Edleson, pointed out that the GABF website could be filtered not only by year but also by “All Years” and then you could search for a particular brewery and see which years they won. One problem with that is, as Bart pointed out, is that brewery names have on occasion changed, as have some ownership situations, over the years, but apart from that you could look at some of the leading candidates, at least. Undaunted, I started noodling through the data, somewhat randomly, but having been around almost thirty years, I tried as many of the old breweries I could remember.

At first, I thought I’d spend maybe an hour or so on this, just for fun, but as is typical for me it got out of hand and I’ve been doing searches off and on for a few days now. Obviously, I don’t have the time to search every brewery that’s won a medal since 1983, but I did search a lot of them. If you know of one I missed or just want to look up your favorite brewery, start at the BA’s GABF Winners page. Set the drop-down menu to “All Years” and then type in the brewery name you want to check in the “Search” field. I’d suggest using the fewest number of names as possible to weed out name changes like brewery to brewing co., etc. If the name itself is unique then leave off brewing entirely, although if it’s a place name you’ll probably need to include it. If you do find one that has a streak of three or more years, please comment below and I’ll add it to this list. Thanks.

gabf-banner

Current Streak

This first list is what I’m calling the “Current Streak,” meaning a streak that’s still active. This means the brewery won a medal this year, and stretching back in previous consecutive years. For purposes of compiling this, a minimum of three years of winning medals is the minimum for no better reason then it seemed sensible. One win is great, two could be a happy coincidence, but once you hit three, it feels like a streak.

  1. 22 Years: Iron Hill 1997-2018 *
  2. 19 Years: Pizza Port 2000-2018 *
  3. 17 Years: Firestone Walker 2002-2018 *^
  4. 8 Years:
    • Beachwood BBQ & Brewery 2011-2018 *
    • Figueroa Mountain 2011-2018 *
  5. 7 Years: Real Ale Brewing 2012-2018
  6. 6 Years:
    • Cannonball Creek Brewing 2013-2018
    • Karl Strauss 2013-2018 *
  7. 5 Years:
    • Chuckanut 2014-2018
    • Fat Head’s 2014-2018 *
  8. 4 Years:
    • Alvarado Street 2015-2018
    • Austin Beer Garden 2015-2018
    • Boise Brewing 2015-2018
    • Denver Beer Co. 2015-2018
    • Grimm Brothers 2015—2018
    • TAPS Fish House and Brewery – Corona 2015-2018
  9. 3 Years:
    • Alesong 2016-2018
    • Bruery 2016-2018
    • Snake River 2016-2018
    • Summit Brewing 2016-2018
    • Sunriver 2016-2018
    • Uberbrew 2016-2018

gabf_logo_2012

* = The asterisk represents an elephant in the room, meaning these medals were won by the same company, but for multiple locations. I don’t mean to detract from the awesome achievement that their streaks represent, but it feels like it needs an asterisk since having more locations, especially under the older rules of entering, represents an advantage because they entered more beers than a single brewery would have been able to enter.

^ = This is a unique situation. Firestone Walker’s Paso Robles production brewery won medals for sixteen years in a row, from 2002 to 2017. This year Firestone Walker Barrelworks, in Buellton, won a medal. However, in the new special category, without a number, the Collaboration Competition, they won a medal for their collaboration with themselves, Firestone Walker Barrelworks of Buellton won for Pixie Dusted with Firestone Walker Brewing – Paso Robles. So does that mean Paso has won 17 Years in a row, or is it only 16? I don’t really know the answer, but it’s worth a discussion.

gabf_logo_2006

All Streaks

This second list is what I’m calling “All Streaks,” meaning every streak, whether it’s still active or not. This means the brewery won a medal at least three years in a row. As I mentioned, I undoubtedly missed some, and I apologize in advance if I miised yours. It’s a lot of data, and I’m just one guy. If you know of one I missed, please comment below. Thanks.

  1. 22 Years:
    • Anheuser-Busch 1988-2009
    • Coors 1988-2009
    • Iron Hill 1997-2018
  2. 19 Years: Pizza Port 2000-2018 *
  3. 17 Years: Firestone Walker 2002-2018 *^
  4. 16 Years:
    • Firestone Walker – Paso Robles 2002-2017
    • Goose Island 1997-2012
    • Sandlot Brewery at Coors Field 1999-2014
  5. 15 Years:
    • Boston Beer Co. 1985-1999
    • Rock Bottom 2000-2014 *
  6. 14 Years:
    • Miller Brewing 2003-2016
    • New Belgium 2000-2013
  7. 13 Years: Bear Republic 2004-2016
  8. 12 Years:
    • Alaskan 1987-1998
    • New Glarus 1996-2007
    • Steelhead 1991-2002 *
  9. 11 Years:
    • BJ’s Restaurant & Brewery 2002-2012 *
    • Boston Beer Co. 2004-2014
  10. 10 Years:
    • Bend Brewing 2006-2015
    • Dry Dock Brewing 2008-2017 *
    • Russian River Brewing 2001-2010
    • Stoudt’s 1988-1997
  11. 9 Years:
    • Alaskan 2000-2008
    • Capital Brewery Co. 2004-2012
    • Big Horn Brewing/CB & Pott’s 2000-2008 *
    • Pabst 1990-1998
    • RAM Restaurant & Brewery 2006-2014 *
    • Sierra Nevada 1987-1995
    • Tröegs Brewing 2006-2014
  12. 8 Years:
    • Anchor 2001-2008
    • Barley Brown’s Brew Pub 2009-2016
    • Beachwood BBQ & Brewery 2011-2018 *
    • Deschutes 2007-2014
    • Devils Backbone Brewing 2009-2016 *
    • Figueroa Mountain 2011-2018
    • Montana Brewing 2005-2012
    • Pabst 2010-2017
    • Pennsylvania Brewing 1997-2004
    • Southampton Publick House 2000-2007
    • Sun King Brewing 2010-2017
  13. 7 Years:
    • AC Golden Brewing 2009-2015
    • Anchor 1987-1993
    • Celis Brewery 1992-1998
    • Deschutes 1990-1996
    • Flossmoor Station 1997-2003
    • Flying Dog 2003-2009
    • G. Heileman Brewing 1990-1996
    • Laurelwood Brewing 2006-2012
    • Leinenkugel 2002-2008
    • Lost Abbey 2007-2013
    • Marble Brewery 2011-2017
    • Pacific Coast 1989-1995
    • Pelican Brewery 2004-2010
    • Prescott Brewing 1996-2002
    • Pyramid Breweries 2004-2010
    • Real Ale Brewing 2012-2018
    • Schooner’s Grille and Brewery/Morgan Territory 2004-2010
    • Sierra Nevada 2008-2014
    • Tommyknocker 2002-2008
  14. 6 Years:
    • Cannonball Creek Brewing 2013-2018
    • Capital Brewery Co. 1987-1992
    • Dogfish Head 2004-2009
    • Elysian Brewing 2002-2007
    • Gordon Biersch 2009-2014
    • Hart/Pyramid/Thomas Kemper 1994-1999
    • Hudepohl-Schoenling 1987-1992
    • John Harvard’s Brew House 1997-2002
    • Karl Strauss 2013-2018
    • Moose’s Tooth Brewing 2003-2008
    • Pabst 2003-2008
    • Pug Ryan’s Brewery 2003-2008
    • Rocky River Brewing 1998-2003
    • Rogue 2007-2012
    • Saint Arnold 2005-2010
    • Snake River 1999-2004
    • Snake River 2007-2012
    • Stroh Brewery 1997-2002
    • Uinta Brewing 2009-2014
  15. 5 Years:
    • 21st Amendment Brewery 2009-2013
    • Butterfield Brewing 1992-1996
    • Chuckanut 2014-2018
    • Cigar City Brewery 2009-2013
    • Clipper City Brewing 2006-2010
    • The Commons Brewery 2012-2016
    • Deschutes 2001-2005
    • Fat Head’s 2014-2018
    • Glenwood Canyon 2009-2013
    • Great Adirondack Brewing 2008-2012
    • Marin Brewing 1989-1993
    • Millstream Brewing 2003-2007
    • New Glarus 2009-2013
    • North Coast 1999-2003
    • Pelican Brewery 2012-2016
    • Piece Brewery 2005-2009
    • Redrock Brewing 2010-2014
    • Redwood Coast Brewing/Tied House 1990-1994
    • Rogue 1990-1994
    • Saxer Brewing 1994-1998
    • Seabright Brewery 1991-1995
    • Third Street AleWorks 2000-2004
    • Widmer Brothers 2006-2010
  16. 4 Years:
    • AleSmith Brewing 2011-2014
    • Alvarado Street 2015-2018 *
    • Angelic Brewing 2001-2004
    • Austin Beer Garden 2015-2018
    • Avery Brewing 2012-2015
    • Big Time 1990-1993
    • Blind Tiger 2009-2012
    • Boise Brewing 2015-2018
    • Boscos Brewing 2000-2003
    • Boulevard Brewing 2011-2013
    • Boundary Bay Brewery 2001-2004
    • Chuckanut 2009-2012
    • Coors 2014-2017
    • Denver Beer Co. 2015-2018
    • Duck-Rabbit Craft Brewery 2014-2017
    • Firehouse Grill & Brewery 2008-2011
    • Flossmoor Station 2005-2008
    • Frankenmuth Brewing 1989-1992
    • Gella’s Diner and Lb. Brewing 2007-2010
    • Great Lakes 1990-1993
    • Grimm Brothers 2015—2018
    • Heavenly Daze Brewery & Grill 1993-1996
    • Left Hand Brewing 2013-2016
    • Mad River Brewing 2010-2013
    • Midnight Sun Brewing 2005-2008
    • Miller Brewing 1992-1995
    • Miller Brewing 1997-2000
    • Minneapolis Town Hall Brewery 2011-2014
    • Minnesota Brewing 1992-1995
    • New Belgium 1995-1998
    • Nodding Heading 2002-2005
    • Odell 2005-2008
    • Oggi’s Pizza & Brewing 2003-2006
    • Pelican Brewery 1999-2002
    • Plank Road Brewery 2000-2004
    • Portland Brewing/MacTarnahan’s 2000-2003
    • Redrock Brewing 2005-2008
    • Russian River Brewing 2012-2015
    • SKA Brewing 2013-2016
    • Snake River 1994-1997
    • Squatters Pub Brewery 2001-2004
    • Steamworks Brewing 2013-2016
    • St. Ides Brewing 1999-2002
    • SweetWater Brewing 2000-2003
    • TAPS Fish House and Brewery – Brea 2010-2013
    • TAPS Fish House and Brewery – Corona 2015-2018
    • Telegraph Brewing 2011-2014
    • Third Street AleWorks 2007-2010
    • Thirsty Dog Brewing 2000-2003
    • Three Floyds Brewing 2010-2013
    • Twenty Tank Brewery 1995-1998
    • Wicked Weed Brewing 2013-2016 *
    • Widmer Brothers 2001-2004
  17. 3 Years:
    • Alaskan 2010-2012
    • Alesong 2016-2018
    • Allagash 2005-2007
    • Allagash 2009-2011
    • Allagash 2014-2016
    • Anchor 1997-1999
    • Anderson Valley 1994-1996
    • Atwater Block Brewing 1997-1999
    • Auburn Alehouse 2012-2014
    • Avery Brewing 2007-2009
    • Baltimore Brewing/DeGroen’s 1994-1996
    • Baltimore Brewing/DeGroen’s 1998-2000
    • Bitter End Bistro & Brewery 1998-2000
    • Blitz-Weinhard 1999-2001
    • Bluegrass Brewing 1996-1998
    • Blue Moon Brewing 2006-2008
    • Blue Point Brewing 2005-2007
    • Boscos Brewing 2005-2007
    • Bristol Brewing 2000-2002
    • Bristol Brewing 2005-2007
    • Bruery 2010-2012
    • Bruery 2016-2018
    • Cambridge Brewing 2006-2008
    • Captain Lawrence Brewing 2007-2009
    • Chama River Brewing 2008-2010
    • Chicago Brewing (Las Vegas) 2011-2013
    • Church Brew Works 1999-2001
    • Commonwealth Brewing 1998-2000
    • CooperSmith’s Pub 1991-1993
    • Copper Tank Brewing 1996-1998
    • Durango Brewing 2007-2009
    • Eel River Brewing 2004-2006
    • Elk Grove Brewery 1997-1999
    • Epic Brewing 2010-2012
    • Foothills Brewing 2009-2011
    • Founders Brewing 2014-2016
    • Four Peaks Brewing 2009-2011
    • Genesee/High Falls 1993-1995
    • Glenwood Canyon Brewing 2001-2003
    • Glenwood Canyon Brewing 2005-2007
    • Golden Pacific Brewing 1995-1997
    • Grand Teton Brewing 2007-2009
    • Great Basin 2013-2015
    • Great Divide 2008-2010
    • Grimm Brothers 2011-2013
    • Hollister Brewing 2008-2010
    • Hoptown Brewing 2002-2004
    • Hub City Brewery 2001-2003
    • Humboldt Brewery 1990-2000
    • Jolly Pumpkin Artisan Ales 2008-2010
    • Kona Brewing 2015-2017
    • Lakefront Brewery 2006-2008
    • Left Hand Brewing 2008-2010
    • Lone Star 1993-1995
    • Long Trail Brewing 1990-1992
    • Main Street Brewery – Corona 2004-2006
    • Mammoth Brewing 2000-2002
    • Maui Brewing 2007-2009
    • Melvin Brewing 2015-2017 *
    • Mendocino 1990-1992
    • Michigan Brewing 2002-2004
    • Mickey Finn’s Brewery 1996-1998
    • Miller Brewing 1988-1990
    • Millstream Brewing 1989-1991
    • Morgan Territory 2014-2016
    • New Holland Brewing 2000-2002
    • North Coast 1992-1994
    • Oasis Brewery 1992-1994
    • Old Dominion 2004-2006
    • Perennial Artisan Ales 2015-2017
    • P.H. Woods 2000-2002
    • Pig’s Eye Brewing 2005-2007
    • Powerhouse Brewing 1999-2001
    • Rhino Chasers 1993-1995
    • Rockies Brewing 1992-1994
    • Rogue 1996-1998
    • Russian River Brewing 1997-1999
    • Saint Arnold 1999-2001
    • Saint Arnold 2013-2015
    • Schaefer Brewing 2000-2002
    • Schlitz Brewing 1997-1999
    • SKA Brewing 2009-2011
    • SLO Brewing 2000-2002
    • Sly Fox Brewing 2013-2015
    • Snake River 2016-2018
    • Societe 2014-2016
    • Spoetzl Brewery 2004-2006
    • Starr Hill Brewing 1999-2001
    • Starr Hill Brewing 2003-2005
    • Steamworks Brewing 2005-2007
    • Stoddard’s Brewhouse & Eatery 1994-1996
    • Stone Brewing 2005-2007
    • Summit Brewing 2012-2014
    • Summit Brewing 2016-2018
    • Sunriver 2016-2018
    • Sun Valley Brewing 1989-1991
    • SweetWater Brewing 2011-2013
    • Tabernash Brewing 1997-1999
    • Telluride Brewing 2014-2016
    • Thomas Kemper 1995-1997
    • Titletown Brewing 2008-2010
    • Triumph Brewing Co. of New Hope 2004-2006
    • Triple Rock 2009-2011
    • Uberbrew 2016-2018
    • Uinta Brewing 1999-2001
    • Wild River Brewing 1995-1997
    • Willoughby Brewing 1999-2001
    • Yards Brewing 2012-2014

gabf_logo_2011

Filed Under: Beers, Breweries, Just For Fun, Related Pleasures Tagged With: Awards, Brewers Association, GABF, Statistics

Exploring Beer’s Role In “The Good Life”

September 4, 2018 By Jay Brooks

session-the
For our 139th Session, our host will be William Vanderburgh, who writes Craft Beer in San Diego. For his topic, he’s chosen Beer and the Good Life, which he sums up. “Beer ads famously sell us “the good life” — fit, scantily clad friends imbibing on boats and beaches in the summer sun. But that’s advertising, not real life (not often anyway). So how does beer fit into a well-lived life? What does beer mean to being a good person, or having a good life?”

good-life-beer

His topic is fairly broad and open-ended, so interpret it in any way that makes sense to you. Bill also has a few suggestions of ways you could approach the topic to get your thinking juices flowing.

  • What role does beer play in your life? Does it help or hurt, on balance?
  • What does enjoying beer mean to you?
  • Creating a life full of pleasure (including the enjoyment of good food and drink) is a moral responsibility one owes to oneself and there is no better way to live.
  • Good beer, good food, good books, good friends–these are the things that make a good life.
  • How much beer is good? How much beer is bad?
  • Is getting drunk/wasted an appropriate part of a life well lived? Is an occasional blow-out a good way to “release” (or however you think of it)?
  • You could do other things with your time/money: Is it wrong to spend it on beer instead of something else? How do you balance your personal desires with your other responsibilities?
  • Beer and Community: Is the point of beer to help humans connect?
  • Beer and Justice: How can we justify enjoying a pint when so many things are wrong in the world, and in the beer world itself? There are many recent hot topics that would fit well here: Beer and gender, identity, race, class, etc.
  • How does blogging about beer, or talking about beer with friends, enhance your life?
  • Socrates said, “The unexamined life is not worth living.” Is the unexamined beer not worth drinking?

The Good Life

I confess that whenever I hear the phrase “the good life,” what I think of is the mid-1970s BBC television series starring Richard Briers, Felicity Kendal, Penelope Keith, and Paul Eddington, although if you’re American and it’s not ringing any bells, that may be because when it aired on PBS in the U.S., it was renamed “Good Neighbors.” I loved that show, and had such a crush on Felicity Kendal. I recently spent an enjoyable evening n Belgium discussing “The Good Life” with Roger Protz, who also loved the show.

To participate in the September Session, simply post a link to your session post by commenting at the original announcement, or email Bill on or before Friday, September 7.

good-life-beer-sign

Filed Under: Just For Fun, Related Pleasures, The Session Tagged With: Announcements, Philosophy

Beer In “A Dictionary of Slang and Colloquial English”

August 24, 2018 By Jay Brooks

book
Yesterday was the birthday of William Ernest Henley, who was an English poet, critic and editor of the late-Victorian era in England.

William_Ernest_Henley

In looking for a quotation in his poems yesterday, I stumbled upon another work of his, “A Dictionary of Slang and Colloquial English,” which he wrote with John Stephen Farmer, a British lexicographer, spiritualist and writer. The original dictionary ran to seven volumes and was entitled “Slang and its analogues past and present. A dictionary historical and comparative of the heterodox speech of all classes of society for more than three hundred years.” It was first published in 1890, and they continued working on it until 1904.

They appear to have referenced at least 55 earlier dictionaries, published between 1440 and 1900, in compiling their work. In 1912, a single-volume abridged version was also published, and I worked from that one, further abridging it to include only a few select beer-related entries. The abridged version is only 552 pages, and I can only imagine how long the original is. There’s a number of slang terms still in use here, and quite a few I was already familiar with, but most interesting was a large number of terms I was unaware of before this. So like “The Princess Bride,” this is the good parts version, with a selection of the entries having to do with beer, brewing or drinking. There’s a lot of gems here, and I confess I got lost in the text more than a few times. Read it from top to bottom, skip around, skim it for a few tidbits, but whatever you do, I believe you’ll find a wealth of interesting beer and language history.

Farmer-Henley-slang

A Dictionary of Slang and Colloquial English

(The Good Parts Version)

  • Abraham Grains. A publican brewing his own beer.
  • Act of Parliament. Small beer, five pints of which, by an act of Parliament, a landlord was formerly obliged to give gratis to each soldier billeted upon him.
  • Ale, (1) A merry-making; and occasion for drinking. There were bride-ales, church-ales, clerk-ales, give-ales, lamb-ales, leet-ales. Midsummer-ales, Scot-ales, Whitsun-ales, and several more. (2) An ale-house. Hence alecie (or alecy), drunkenness; ale-blowm (ale-washed or alecied), drunk; ale-draper (whence ale-drapery), an inn-keeper (Grose : cf. ale-yard); ale-spinner, a brewer; ale-knight (ale-stake,
    or ale-toast), a tippler, pot-companion; ale-post, a maypole (Grose); ale-passion, a headache; ale-pock, an ulcered grog-blossom (q.v.); ale-crummed, grogshot in the face; ale-swilling, tippling, etc. (1362). (3) In pL, Messrs S. Allsopp and Sons Limited Shares.
  • Allslops. Allsopp and Sons’ ale. [At one time their brew, formerly
    of the finest quality, had greatly deteriorated.]
  • Angel’s-food. Strong ale. (1597.)
  • Apron-washings. Porter.
  • Archdeacon. (Oxford). Merton strong ale.
  • Arms-and-legs. Small beer: because there is no body in it (Grose).
  • Audit-ale (or Audit). A special brew of ale: orig. for use on audit days. Univ. (1823.)
  • Barley. In general colloquial use: thus, oil of barley (or barley – bree, -broth, -juice, -uxiter, or -wine), (1) strong ale, and (2) whisky (Grose); barley -island, an alehouse; John Barley (or Barleycorn), the personification of malt liquor: cf. proverb. Sir John Barleycorn’s the strongest knight;
    barley – cup, a tippler; barley-mood (or sick) (1) drunk; and (2) ill-humour caused by tippling; also to have (or wear) a barley-hat (-cap, or -hood) (1500.)
  • Barrel. 1. A confirmed tippler: also beer-barrel; whence barrel-house (American), a low groggery; barrel-fever, drunkenness (or disease caused by tippling): see Gallon-distemper;
    barrel-boarder, a bar loafer. 2. Money used in a political campaign (American politics); spec, that expended for
    corrupt purposes : cf. Boodle; barrel-campaign, an election in which bribery is a leading feature: a wealthy candidate for office (c. 1876) is said to have remarked. Let the boys know that there’s a bar’l o’ money ready for ’em, or words to that effect. Never (or the devil) a barrel the better herring, much like, not a pin to choose between them, six of one and half a dozen of the other. (1542.)
  • Bass. A familiar abbreviation for Bass’ ale, brewed at Burton-on-Trent.
  • Beer. To drink beer, also, to do a beer. To be in beer, drunk: see Screwed. To think no small beer of oneself, to possess a good measure of self-esteem (1840); see Small-beer.
  • Beer and Bible. An epithet applied sarcastically to a political party which first came into prominence during the last Beaconsfield Administration, and which was called into being by a measure introduced by the moderate Liberals in 1873, with a view to placing certain restrictions upon the sale of intoxicating rinks. The Licensed Victuallers, an extremely powerful association whose influence extended all over the kingdom, took alarm, and turned to the Conservatives for help in opposing the bill. In the ranks of the latter were numbered the chief brewers; the leaders of the association, moreover, had mostly strong high-church tendencies, while one of them was president of the Exeter Hall organization. The Liberals, noting these facts, nicknamed this alliance the Beer and Bible Association; the Morning Advertiser, the organ of the Licensed Victuallers, was dubbed the Beer and Bible Gazette; and lastly, electioneering tactics ascribed to them the war cry of Beer and Bible I This so-called Beer and Bible interest made rapid strides : in 1870 the Conservatives
    were at their low-water mark among the London constituencies; but, in 1880, they had carried seats in the City, Westminster, Marylebone, Tower Ham-lets, Greenwich, and Southwark. A notable exception to this strange fellowship was Mr. Bass [afterwards Lord Bass], of pale-ale fame, who held aloof from opposition to the measure
    in question. Anent the nickname Beer and Bible Gazette given to the Morning Advertiser, it may be mentioned that it had already earned for itself a somewhat similar sobriquet. For a long time this paper devoted one-half of its front page to notices of publicans and tavern-keepers; while the other half was filled up with announcements of religious books, and lists of preachers at the London churches and chapels. This gained for the paper the sobriquet of the Gin and Gospel Gazette.
  • Beer-barrel. The human body: cf. Bacon.
  • Beeriness (or Beery), pertaining to a state of (or approaching to) drunkenness, intoxicated, fuddled with beer: see Screwed (1857).
  • Beer-jerker (or -slinger). A tippler: see Lushington.
  • Beerocracy, subs, (common). The brewing and beer-selling interest: a humorous appellation in imitation of aristocracy: cf. Mobocracy, Cottonocracy, etc.
  • Belch. Beer, especially poor beer: because of its liability to cause eructation. One of Shakespeare’s characters in Twelfth Night is Sir Toby Belch, a reckless, roystering, jolly knight of the Elizabethan period.
  • Belcher. 1. A neckerchief named after Jim Belcher, a noted pugilist: the ground is blue, with white spots: also any handkerchief of a similar pattern (1812). 2. A ring: with the crown and V.R. stamped upon them. 3. A beer drinker, a hard drinker (1598).
  • Belly-vengeance. Sour beer: as apt to cause gastralgia : Fr., pisain de clieval.
  • Bemused. Fuddled, in the stupid stage of drinkenness: see Screwed: usually bemused with beer (Pope).
  • Benbouse. Good beer (1567).
  • Bend. To tipple, drink hard (Jamieson) (1758). Above one’s bend, above one’s ability (power or capacity), out of one’s reach, above one’s hook: in U.S.A. above my huckleberry (q.v.).
  • Bilgewater. Bad beer.
  • Bitter. A glass of beer. To do a bitter, to drink a glass of bitter: originally (says Hotten) an Oxford term: varied by, to do a beer.
  • Black-and-tan. Porter (or stout) and ale, mixed in equal quantities.
  • Black Jack. 1. A leathern jug for beer, usually holding two gallons (1591).
  • Blue-cap. 1, A Scotchman (1596). 2. A kind of ale (1822).
  • Brighton Tipper. A particular brew of ale.
  • Brown. 1. A halfpenny: see Rhino (1812). 2. Porter: an abbreviation of Brown Stout.
  • Bub. 1. Strong drink of any kind: usually applied to malt liquor. To take bub and grub, to eat and drink (1671).
  • Bubber. 1. A hard drinker, confirmed tippler: see Lushington: Fr., bibassier (1653). 2. A drinking bowl (1696). 3. A public-house thief (1785).
  • Bubbing. Drinking, tippling (1678).
  • Bumclink. In the Midland counties inferior beer brewed for haymakers and harvest labourers.
  • Bung-juice. Beer.
  • Bunker. Beer: see Drinks.
  • Cakes and Ale. A good time: also Cakes and cheese.
  • Call bogus. A mixture of rum and spruce beer, an American beverage (Grose).
  • Cascade. 1. Tasmania beer: because manufactured from cascade water: cf. Artesian. 2. A trundling gymnastic performance in pantomime. As verb, to vomit (1771).
  • Cauliflower. 1. A clerical wig supposed to resemble a cauliflower; modish in the time of Queen Anne. 2. The foaming head of a tankard of beer. In Fr., linge or faux-col.
  • Clink. 4. A very indifferent beer made from the gyle of malt and the sweepings of hop bins, and brewed especially for the benefit of agricultural labourers in harvest time. (1588).
  • Cocktail. 4. (American). A drink composed of spirits (gin, brandy, whisky, etc.), bitters,
    crushed ice, sugar, etc., the whole whisked briskly until foaming, and then drunk ‘hot.’ As adj., (1) under-
    bred, wanting in ‘form’ (chiefly of horses). (2) Fresh, foaming: of beer.
  • Cold-blood. A house licensed for the sale of beer, not to be drunk on the premises.
  • Cooler. 1. A woman (1742). 2. A prison: see Cage. 3. Ale or stout after spirits and water: sometimes called Putting the beggar on the gentleman; also Damper (q.v.) (1821).
  • Copus. A wine or beer cup: commonly imposed as a fine upon those who talked Latin in hall or committed other breaches of etiquette. Dr. Johnson derives it from episcopus, and if this be correct it is doubtless the same as bishop.
  • Dash. 1. A tavern waiter. 2. (common). A small quantity, a drink; a go (q.v.).
  • Dead. An abbreviation of dead certainty. As adj., stagnant, quiet (of trade), flat (as of beer or aerated waters after exposure), cold, good, thorough, complete (1602).
  • Dog’s-nose. A mixture of gin and beer: see Drinks.
  • Drinks. The subjoined hosts will be of interest. Invitations to drink — What’ll you have? Nominate your pizen! Will you irrigate? Will you tod? Wet your whistle? How’ll you have it? Let us stimulate! Let’s drive another nail! What’s your medicine? Willst du trinken? Try a little anti-abstinence? Twy (zwei) lager! Your whisky’s waiting. Will you try a smile? Will you take a nip? Let’s get there. Try a little Indian? Come and see your pa? Suck some com juice? Let’s liquor up. Let’s go and see the baby. Responses to invitations to drink. — Here’s into your face! Here’s how! Here’s at you! Don’t care if I do. Well, I will. I’m thar! Accepted, unconditionally. Well, I don’t mind. Sir, your most. Sir, your utmost. You do me proud I Yes, sir-ree! With you — yes I Anything to oblige.
  • Elbow-crooker. A hard drinker.
    English Synonyms: borachio, boozington, brewer’s horse, bubber, budger, mop, lushington, worker of the cannon, wet – quaker, soaker, lapper, pegger, angel altogether, bloat, ensign -bearer, fiddle – cup, sponge, tun, toss – pot, swill-pot, wet subject, shifter, potster, swallower, pot- walloper, wetster, dramster, drinkster, beer-barrel, gin-nums, lowerer, moist ‘un, drainist, boozer, mopper-up, piss-maker, thirstington.
  • English Burgundy. Porter: see Drinks.
  • Flip. I. Hot beer, brandy, and sugar; also, says Grose, called Sir Cloudesley after Sir Cloudesley Shovel.
  • Full. 1. Drunk: see Screwed.
  • Gatter. Beer; also liquor generally. Shant of gatter, a pot of beer: Fr., moussante: see Drinks.
  • Growler. A four-wheeled cab: cf . Sulky. English synonyms: birdcage, blucher, bounder, fever-trap, flounder-and-dab (rhyming), four-wheeler, groping hutch, mab (an old hackney), rattler, rumbler. To rush (or work) the growler, to fetch beer (workman’s).
  • Gutter-alley (or lane). 1. The throat. All goes doum gutter-lane. He spends all on his stomach. English synonyms: Beer Street, common sewer, drain, funnel. Gin Lane, gulf-gullet, gully-hole, gutter, Holloway, Peck Alley, Red Lane, the Red Sea, Spew Alley, swallow, thrapple, throttle, whistle. 2. A urinal.
  • Half-and-half. Equal quantities of ale and porter : cf. Four-half and Drinks (1824). As adj., half-drunk, half-on (q.v.): see Screwed. Half-and-half -coves (men, hoys, etc.), cheap or linsey-woolsey dandies, half-bucks (q.v.), half- tigers (q.v.).
  • Half-seas Over. Loosely applied to various degrees of inebriety: formerly, half way on one’s course, or towards attainment: see Screwed. [In its specific sense Gifford says, A corruption of the Dutch op-zee zober, over-sea beer, a strong heady beverage introduced into Holland from England. Up-zee Freese is Friezeland beer. The Grerman zavber means strong beer, and bewitchment.
  • Half-slewed. Parcel drunk: see Screwed.
  • Head. (2) to froth malt liquors: e.g. Put a head on it. Miss, addressed to the barmaid, is a request to work the engine briskly, and make the liquor take on a cauliflower (q.v.).
  • Heavy-wet. 1. Malt Hquor: specifically porter and stout: also Heavy: see Drinks (1821). 2. A heavy drinking bout.
  • Hedge-tavern (or ale-house). A jilting, sharping tavern, or blind alehouse (B. E.).
  • Hockey. Drunk, especially on stale beer: see Screwed.
  • Hot-pot. Ale and brandy made hot (Grose).
  • Hot-tiger. Hot-spiced ale and sherry.
  • Huckle-my-but. Beer, egg, and brandy made hot (Grose).
  • Huff-cap (or Huff). 1. Strong ale: from inducing people to set their caps in a bold and huffing style. (Nares) (1579.)
  • Hull-cheese. Hull-cheese is much like a loaf out of a brewers basket, it is composed of two simples, malt and water, in one compound, and is cousin germane to the mightiest ale in England’ (John Taylor).
  • Hum. 1. A kind of strong liquor: probably a mixture of beer and spirits, but also appUed to old, mellow, and very strong beer: also Hum-cap (1616).
  • Humming. Strong — applied to drink; brisk — applied to trade; hard — applied to blows. Humming
    October, the specially strong brew from the new season’s hops, stingo (q.v.) (1696).
  • Humpty-dumpty. 2. Ale boiled with brandy (1696).
  • Jerry-shop. A beer-house: also jerry.
  • John-Barleycorn. Beer: see Drinks (1791).
  • Kiddleywink. A small village shop; and, 3. specifically (in the West country), an ale-house.
  • Knock-down (or Knock-me-down). Strong ale, stingo (q.v.), also, gin (1515). As adj., rowdy (1760).
  • Lager Beer. To think no lager beer of oneself: see Small beer.
  • Lamb’s-wool. Hot ale, spiced, sweetened, and mixed with the pulp of roasted apples (1189).
  • Legs-and-arms. Bodiless beer.
  • Lift-leg. Strong ale, stingo (q.v. ).
  • Lounce. A drink: specifically a pint of beer: i.e. allowance.
  • Lull. Ale (1636).
  • Lush. 1. Drink: from Lushington, a once well-known London brewer: see Drinks. 2. A drinking bout. 3. (Eton College), a dainty. As verb, (1) to drink, and (2) to stand treat. English synonyms: to barley-bree, to beer, to bend, to blink, to boose, to bub, to budge, to cover, to crack (or crush) a bottle (a quart, or cup), to crook, to crook (lift, or tip) the elbow (or little finger), to damp, to damp one’s mug, to dip, to dip one’s beak (or nose), to disguise oneself, to do a dram (or wet), to drown the shamrock, to flicker, to flush, to fuddle, to gargle, to give a bottle a black eye, to guttle, to guzzle, to go and see a man (or — of women — one’s pa), to grog, to have, get, or take an ante-lunch, a little anti-abstinence, an appetiser, a ball, a bead, a bit of tape, a bosom friend, a bucket, a bumper, a big reposer, a chit-chat, a cheerer, a cinder, a cobbler, a corker, a cooler, some corn juice, a damp, something damp, a damper, a dannie, a drain, a dram, a doch-an-dorroch, a digester, an eye-opener, an entr’acte, a fancy smile, a flash, a flip, a forenoon, a go, a hair of the dog that bit one, a heeltap, an invigorator, a Johnny, a jorum, a leaf of the old author, a morning rouser, a modicum, a nip, or nipperkin, a night-cap, a nut, one’s medicine, a pistol shot, a pony, a pill, a quantum, a quencher, a refresher, a revelation, a rouser, a reposer, a smile, a swig, a sleeve-button, a something, a slight sensation, a shant, a shout, a sparkler, a settler, a shift, a stimulant, a sneaker, a snifter, a soother, a thimbleful, a tift, a taste, a toothful, a Timothy, a warmer, a willy-wacht, to huff, to irrigate, to knock about the bub, to lap, to lap the gutter, to liquor, to liquor up, to load in, to look thro’ a glass, to lower, to lug, to make fun, to malt, to moisten (or soak) the chaffer (clay, or lips), to mop, to mop- up, to mug, to peg, to potato, to prime oneself, to pull, to put (or drive) another nail in one’s coffin, to read the maker’s name, to revive, to rince, to rock, to save a life, to scamander, to LashborougJi.
  • Lushington. A sot: also lushing man and lushing cove. English synoyms: admiral of the red, after-dinner man, ale-knight, ale-wisp, artilleryman, bang-pitcher, beer-barrel, belch-guts, bencher, bench-whistler, bezzle, bibber, blackpot, bloat, blomboll, boozer, boozington, borachio, bottle-sucker, brandy-face, brewer’s horse, bubber (or bubster), budge (or budger), bung-eye, burster, common sewer, coppernose, drainist, drainpipe, dramster, D-T-ist, elbow-crooker, emperor, ensign – bearer, fish, flag-of-distress, fluffer, fuddle-cap (or fuddler), full-blown angel, gargler, gin-crawler, (or slinger), ginnums, gravel-grinder, grog-blossom, guttle (or guttle-guts), guzzler (or guzzle – guts), high-goer, jolly-nose, lapper, love- pot, lowerer, lug-pot, moist-‘un, mooner, mop, (or mopper-up), nazie-cove (or mort), nipster, O – be – joyfuUer (or O – be- joyful-merchant), pegger, piss-maker, potster, pot-walloper, pub-ornament, sapper, shifter, sipster, soaker, sponge, swallower, swill-pot (or tub), swigsby, swigster, swipester, swizzle-guts, Thirstington, tipple-arse, toddy-cask, toss-pot, tote, tun, wet-quaker, wet-subject, wetster.
  • Lush-crib (or ken). A public house, tavern, hotel, club, etc. English synonyms: ale draper’s, black-house, boozer, budging-ken, church, cold-blood house, confectionery, cross-dram, devil’s-house, dive, diving-bell, drum, flash-case (drum, ken, or panny), flat-iron, flatty-ken, gargle-factory, gin-mill, grocery, groggery, grog-shop, guzzle-crib, jerry-shop, hash-shop, hedge-house, kiddly-wink, little church round the comer, lush-house (panny, or ken), lushery, mop-up, mug-house, 0-be-joyful works, panny, patter-crib, piss-factory, pot-house, pub (or public) red-lattice, roosting-ken, rum-mill, shanty, she-been, side-pocket, sluicery, suck-casa, tippling-shop, Tom-and-Jerry shop, whistling-shop, wobble-shop.
  • Lushy. Drunk: see Screwed.
  • Mad-dog. Strong ale: see Drinks (1586).
  • Made-beer (Winchester College). College swipes bottled with rice, a few raisins, sugar, and nutmeg to make it up (Mansfield).
  • Malt. To drink beer (1828). To have the malt above the wheat (water, or meal), to be drunk: see Screwed (1767).
  • Malt-worm (bug, or horse). A tippler, Lushington (q.v.) (1551).
  • Merry-go-down. Strong ale, stingo (q.v.): see Drinks (1530).
  • Mother-in-law. A mixture of old and bitter ales. Mother-in-law’s bit, a small piece, mothers-in-law being supposed not apt to overload the stomachs of their husband’s children (Orose).
  • Mughouse. An alehouse: see Lush-crib (1710).
  • Mumper’s-hall. A hedge tavern, beggar’s alehouse (Orose).
  • Nale. An alehouse.
  • Nap. 4. Ale, strong beer: an abbreviation of nappy (q.v.).
  • Nappy. Strong ale: also napping-gear. As adj. (1) strong or heady; (2) drunk (1593).
  • Never-fear. Beer.
  • Nickum. A sharper; also a rooking ale-house or innkeeper, vintner, or any retailer (JS. E.).
  • Nippitate. Strong drink, especially ale : also Nippitato and Nippitatum (1575).
  • Norfolk-nog. A kind of strong ale (1726).
  • Oats-and-barley. Charley.
  • October. 1. The best ale : spec, ale or cider brewed in October. 2. Blood. Odd. Strange, peculiar, difficult (1602.)
  • Oil. Used in humorous or sarcastic combination : e.g. oil of barley, beer.
  • P and Q. To the P. and Q, to be of the first quahty, good measure (1612). To mind one’s P’s and Q’s, to be careful and circumspect in behaviour, exact. [Of uncertain origin; amongst suggested derivations are (1) the difficulty experienced by children in distinguishing between p and q; and (2) the old custom of alehouse tally, marking p for pint, and q for quart, care being necessary to avoid over- or under-charge. Probably both in combination with the phrase, to be p and q (q.v.), have helped to popularise the expression] (1779)
  • Perkin. 1. Weak cider or perry (Orose). 2. Beer. [From Barclay, Perkin & Co.]
  • Pharaoh. 1. A corruption of faro (1732). 2. A strong ale or beer: also Old Pharaoh (1685).
  • Pong. Beer: also Pongdow or Pongllorum. As verb, (1) to drink; (2) to vamp a part, or (circus), to perform; (3) to talk, gas (q.v.).
  • Pot. 1. A quart: the quantity contained in a pot: whence as verb, to drink: also (American) to potate; potting, boozing (q.v.); potations (recognised), a drinking bout; pot-Twuse (or shop), a beer-shop, a Lush-crib (q.v.); pot-house (or coffee-house) politician, an ignorant, irresponsible spouter of politics; pot-companion, (1) a cup-comrade, and (2) an habitual drunkard : as also, potfury (also, drunkenness), -knight, -head, -leach, -man, -polisher, -sucker, loaUoper, potator, potster, toss-pot, and rob-pot; pot-punishment, compulsory tippling; pot-quarrel, a drunken squabble; pot-sick (or -shot), drunk; pot-sure (-hardy, or -valiant), emboldened by liquor: cf. Dutch courage; pot-bllied, fat, bloated in stomach, as from guzzling: also pot-belly (or guts),’ a big-bellied one; pot-revel, a drunken frolic; potmania (or potomania), dipsomania; Sir (or Madam) Pint-pot, a host or hostess; pot-boy (or man), a barscullion: whence pot-boydom.
  • Proof. The best ale at Magdalen, Oxford.
  • Purge. Beer, swipes (q.v.).
  • Purko. Beer. [Barclay, Perkins, and Co.]
  • Purl. 1. Beer infused with wormwood. 2. Beer warmed nearly to boiling point, and flavoured with gin, sugar, and ginger. Purl-man, a boating vendor of purl to Thames watermen (1680).
  • Red-lattice (or Lettice). An ale-house sign. Hence red-lattice phrases, pothouse talk; also green lattice; red-grate, tavern or brothel, or both combined (1596).
  • Reeb. Beer: top of reeb, a pot of beer.
  • Rob-pot. A drunkard, malt-worm (q.v.) (1622).
  • Rot-gut. Poor drink: generic: spec, bad beer or alcohol: also rotto (1597).
  • Screwed (or Screwy). Drunk, tight (q.v.). Synonyms: [Further lists will be found under Drinks, Drunk, D.T.’s, Gallon-distemper. Lush, Lush-crib, and Lushington.] To be afflicted, afloat, alecied, all at sea, all mops-and-brooms, in one’s armour, in one’s altitudes, at rest, Bacchi plenum, battered, be-argered, beery, bemused, a bit on, blind, bloated, blowed, blued, boozed, bosky, a brewer, bright in the eye, bubbed, budgy, huffy, bung – eyed, candy, canon (or cannon), chirping – merry, chucked, clear, cfinched, concerned, corked, corkscrewed, corky, corned, crooked, in one’s cups, cup-shot, cut, dagged, damaged, dead – oh! disguised, disorderly, doing the Lord (or Emperor), done over, down (with barrel-fever: see Gallon-distemper), dull in the eye, full of Dutch- courage, electrified, elephant’s – trunk (rhyming), elevated, exalted, far gone, feeling funny (or right royal), fettled (or in good fettle), fighting-tight (or drunk), flawed, floored, fluffed, flummoxed, flushed, flustered, flustrated, flying-high, fly-blown, fogged (or foggy), fou (Scots), on fourth, foxed, fresh, fuddled, full, full-flavoured, full to the bung, fuzzy, gay, gilded, glorious, grape-shot, gravelled, greetin’- fou’, groggy, hanced, half-seas-over, happy, hard-up, hazy, heady, hearty, helpless, hiccius-doccius, hickey, high, hockey, hoodman, in a difficulty (see Gallon – distemper), incog, inspired, jagged, jolly, jug-bitten, kennurd (back slang, drunk), all keyhole, kisk, knocked – up, leary, hon drunk, in Liquor-pond Street-loaded, looking lively, lumpy, lushy, making indentures with one’s legs, malted, martin drunk, mashed, mellow, miraculous, mixed, moony, mopped, moppy, mortal, muckibus, muddled, mugged, muggy, muzzy, nappy, nase (or nazy), noddy – headed, noggy, obfuscated, oddish, off (off at the nail, or one’s nut), on (also on the bend, beer, batter, fuddle, muddle, sentry, skyte spree, etc.: see Flare-up and Floored), out (also out of funds, register, altitudes, etc.), overcome, overseen, overshot, over – sparred, overtaken, over the bay, palatic, paralysed, peckish, a peg too low, pepst, pickled, piper – drunk (or merry), ploughed, poddy, podgy, potted-off, pot-shot, pot-sick, pot-valiant, primed, pruned, pushed, queered, quick – tempered, raddled, rammaged, ramping-mad, rather touched, rattled, rellng (or tumbling), ripe, roaring, rocky, salubrious, scammered, scooped, sewn up, shaky, three (or four) sheets in the wind, shot, shot in the neck, slewed, smeekit, smelling of the cork, snapped, snuffy, snug, so, soaked, sow-drunk, spiffed, spoony – drimk, spreeish, sprung, squiffed (or squiffy), stale-drunk, starchy, swattled, swiggled, swilled, swinnied, swine-drunk, swiped (or swipey), swivelly, swizzled, taking it easy, tangle-footed, tap-shackled, taverned (also hit on the head by a tavern bitch, or to have swallowed a tavern token), teeth under, thirsty, tight, tipsy, top-heavy, topsy-boosy, tosticated, under the influence, up a tree, up in one’s hat, waving a flag of defiance, wet, wet – handed, what- nosed, whipcat (Florio), whittled, winey, yappish (yaupy or yappy). Also, to have a guest in the attic, the back teeth well afloat, a piece of bread and cheese in the head, drunk more than one has bled, the sun in one’s eyes, a touch of boskiness, a cup too much, a brick in the hat, a drop in the eye, got the flavour, a full cargo aboard, a jag on, a cut leg, the malt above the wheat, one’s nuff, one’s soul in soak, yellow fever. Also, to have been barring too much, bitted by a bam mouse, driving the brewer’s horse, biting one’s name in, dipping rather deep, making M’s and T’s, paid, painting the town red, shaking a cloth in the wind. Also, to wear a barley cap, to cop the brewer, to let the finger ride the thumb, to lap the gutter, to need a reef taken in, to see the devil, to take a shard (or shourd), to shoe the goose, to see one apiece.
  • Shandy-gaff. Beer and ginger-beer (1853).
  • Shant. A quart; a pot : e.g. shant of gatter, a pot of beer.
  • Shanty. 1. A rough and tumble hut. 2. A public-house. 3. A brothel. 4. A quart. 5. Beer money; also as verb, (1) to dwell in a hut, (2) to take shelter. 6. See Chantey.
  • Shearer’s Joy (Australian). Colonial beer.
  • She-oak. Colonial brewed ale.
  • Short-pot. ‘False, cheating Potts used at Ale-houses, and Brandy-shops’ (B. E.).
  • Single-broth (or tiff). Small beer: see Screwed (1635).
  • Sir Walter Scott. A pot of beer.
  • Six-and-tips. Whisky and small beer (1785).
  • Skin-disease. Fourpenny ale.
  • Small beer. 1. Weak beer. 2. trifles; to chronicle small beer, (1) to engage in trivial occupations, and (2) to retail petty scandal; to think small beer of anything, to have a poor opinion of it. Also small things. As adj., petty (1604).
  • Sour-ale. To mend like sour-ale in summer, to get worse.
  • Stingo. Strong liquor: spec, humming ale (q.v.).
  • Stitch-back. Very strong ale, stingo (q.v.).
  • Stout. 1. Very strong malt-drink (B. E.). 2. In pl., Guinness’s shares. Stout across the narrow, full bellied, corpulent.
  • Stride-wide. Ale. [Halliwell: mentioned in Harrison’s England, 202.]
  • Swankey. Any weak tipple: spec, small beer: also (fishermen’s) a mixture of water, molasses, and vinegar.
  • Swell-nose. Strong ale, stingo (q.v.) (1515).
  • Swinny. Drunk: see Screwed: also swinnied.
  • Swipe. 1. A blow delivered with the full length of the arm; as verb, to drive (q.v.), to bang: hence swiper, a hard hitter, a slogger (q.v.), a knocker-out (q.v.): at Harrow, to birch (1200). 2. In pi., thin, washy beer, small beer: also (schools) any poor tipple: as verb, to drink; hence Swish.
  • Swizzle (or Swizzy). 1. Generic for drink; also, 2. various compounded drinks — rum and water, ale and beer mixed, and (West Indies) what is known in America as a cocktail. As verb, to tope, to swill (q.v.);
    and stoizded, drink; also see Screwed (1850).
  • Taplash. 1. Bad, thick beer: cask-dregs or tap-droppings. Hence, as adj., poor, washy, trivial (1630), Hence, 2. a publican: in contempt.
  • Tenant at will. One whose wife usually fetches him from the ale-house (Grose).
  • Three-threads (or thirds). Half common ale, and the rest stout or double beer (B. E.); three-thirds, and denoted a draught, once popular, made up of a third each of ale, beer, and ‘two-penny,’ in contradistinction to ‘half-and-half’; this beverage was superseded in 1722 by the very similar porter or ‘entire’ (Chambers).
  • Tiddlywink. An unlicensed house: a pawnbroker’s (also leaving-shop, q.v.), a beershop, a brothel, etc. As verb, to spend more than prudence or custom will sanction.
  • Tiff. 1. Small beer, swipes (q.v.). Hence, a moderate draught: a tiff of punch, a small bowl of punch; as verb, to drink: tiffing, eating and drinking out of meal time (Grose).
  • Tipper. 1. A special brew of ale: named after Mr. Thomas Tipper: also Brighton Tipper (1843). 2. See Tip.
  • Tomato Can Vag. Draining the dregs of an empty beer-barrel into a tomato can.
  • Top-o-reeb. A pot of beer. Top-joint, a pint of beer.
  • Toss. As verb, to drink at a draught, to gulp: e.g. to toss a can of beer: also to toss off: cf. Toast; hence toss-pot – a drunkard: see Lushington; tossed (or tosticated), drunk: see Screwed (1660).
  • Trickett. A long drink of beer. [New South Wales, after Trickett, the champion sculler.]
  • Twopenny. 1. Beer; sold at 2d. a quart: cf. Fourpenny, etc. (1771).
  • Upsee-Dutch (Upsee-English, Upsee-Freese). Conjecturally a kind of heady beer qualified by the name of the brew. Hence upsee-freesy, etc., drunk: see Screwed; to drink upsee-Dutch (English, etc.), to drink deeply, or in true toper fashion according to the custom of the country named. Also Upsees (1600).
  • Water-bewitched. Weak lap (q.v.) of any kind: spec, (modem) tea very much watered down, but orig. (1672) very thin beer: also water-damaged: cf. Husband’s-tea.
  • Whistle-belly-vengeance. Bad beer, swipes (q.v.); hence indifferent lap (q.v.) of any kind: cf. Whip-belly-vengeance.
  • Whistle-cup. A drinking cup with a whistle attached: the last toper capable of using the whistle received the cup as a prize. Also a tankard fitted with a whistle, so arranged as to sound when the vessel was emptied, thus warning the drawer that more liquor was required.
  • Whistle-drunk. Very drunk indeed (1749).
  • Whistle-jacket. Small beer.

  • Synonyms for beer (including stout). Act of Parliament; artesian, barley, belch, belly-vengeance, bevy or bevvy, brownstone, bum-clink, bung- juice, bunker, cold-blood, down (see Up); English burgundy (porter), gatter, half-and-half, heavy-wet, John Barleycorn, knock-down or knock-me-down, oil of barley, perkin, ponge, pongelow, or ponjeUo, rosin, rot-gut, sherbet, stingo, swankey, swipes, swizzle, up (bottled ale or stout)

Beer-word-mugs

Filed Under: Just For Fun, Related Pleasures Tagged With: England, History, Language, Literature, Words

NFL Football: Pick The Winners At Brookston Fantasy Games 2018

August 20, 2018 By Jay Brooks

football
This is the twelfth year for the Brookston Fantasy Football Games. We’ve had a lot of fun over the last eleven, so if you love football and beer, consider joining us this year, whether you’ve played in past seasons or are a newcomer. The NFL season begins on Thursday, September 6, so you’ve got nearly threee weeks to sign up.

I’ve again set up two free Yahoo fantasy football games, one a simple pick ’em game and the other a survival pool. Up to 50 people can play each game (that’s Yahoo’s limit, not mine), so if you’re a regular Bulletin reader feel free to sign up for one or even both. It’s free to play, all you need is a Yahoo ID, which is also free. Below is a description of each game and the details on how to join each league and play.


nfl-teams

Pro Football Pick’em

In this Pick’em game, just pick the winner for every game each week, with no spread, and let’s see who gets the most correct throughout the season. All that’s at stake is bragging rights, but it’s still great fun.

Also, like the last few years, we’ll be able to keep picking all through the playoffs, so the game will continue through to the Super Bowl, which is pretty cool.

In order to join the group, just go to Pro Football Pick’em, click the “Sign Up” button (or “Create or Join Group” if you are a returning user). From there, follow the path to join an existing private group and when prompted, enter the following information…

Group ID#: 15019 (Brookston Football Picks)
Password: brookston


packers-retro

Survival Football

If picking all sixteen football games every week seems like too much, then Survival Football is for you. In Survival Football, you only have to pick one game each week. The only catch is you can’t pick the same team to win more than once all season. And you better be sure about each game you pick because if you’re wrong, you’re out for the season. Actually three years ago they added a new feature and I changed the game so to be kicked out you have to be wrong twice. In that way more people stand a better chance of lasting longer into the season. So get one wrong, and you’re still okay, get a second wrong, now you’re gone for the season. Last man standing wins.

Again, like the last few years, we can keep picking all through the playoffs, assuming our luck holds. So the game could even continue through to the Super Bowl.

This year it’s even easier to join, with a new streamlined sign-up process. Just click on this direct link and follow the instructions from there.

With 50 players allowed in each game, there’s plenty of room, so don’t be shy. Sign up for one or both games. In past seasons, I’ve posted the standings on the home page, and hopefully I’ll do that again this season. Why not join us? Go head to head again me and my team, the Brookston Brew Jays.

Print

Filed Under: Just For Fun, Related Pleasures Tagged With: Announcements, Fantasy, Football, Games, Sports

Charles Bukowski’s “Beer”

August 16, 2018 By Jay Brooks

bukowski
Today is the birthday of American poet, novelist, and short story writer Charles Bukowski (August 16, 1920-March 9, 1994). Bukowski was a hard-living individual, as well as a hard drinker. Wikipedia gives a summary of his life, albeit a very brief one.

His writing was influenced by the social, cultural, and economic ambience of his home city of Los Angeles. His work addresses the ordinary lives of poor Americans, the act of writing, alcohol, relationships with women, and the drudgery of work. Bukowski wrote thousands of poems, hundreds of short stories and six novels, eventually publishing over 60 books. The FBI kept a file on him as a result of his column, Notes of a Dirty Old Man, in the LA underground newspaper Open City.

In 1986 Time called Bukowski a “laureate of American lowlife.” Regarding Bukowski’s enduring popular appeal, Adam Kirsch of The New Yorker wrote, “the secret of Bukowski’s appeal. . . [is that] he combines the confessional poet’s promise of intimacy with the larger-than-life aplomb of a pulp-fiction hero.”

If you haven’t read his work, you’re definitely missing out. I think my favorite quote by him is from an interview he did in Life magazine, in December of 1988. “We are here to drink beer. We are here to kill war. We are here to laugh at the odds and live our lives so well that Death will tremble to take us.” A collection of his poems, entitled “Love Is a Dog From Hell,” was published in 1977, and includes the poem “Beer.” A few months ago, an Italian animation studio, NERDO, created a short animated film of that poem, and it’s pretty awesome.

Filed Under: Birthdays, Just For Fun, Related Pleasures Tagged With: Animation, Poetry, Video

Why Aren’t There Beer-Barrel Trees?

August 6, 2018 By Jay Brooks

wood-barrel
Today is the birthday of Piers Anthony Dillingham Jacob (born 6 August 1934 in Oxford, England). He “is an English-American author in the science fiction and fantasy genres, publishing under the name Piers Anthony. He is most famous for his long-running novel series set in the fictional realm of Xanth. Although I’m an avid reader and love the SciFi/Fantasy genre, I have not read any of his books. But using Google Books today to search through some of his work, I kept coming across something interesting, that I thought should really exist, but sadly does not: “beer-barrel trees.”

Apparently, a lot of his books take place in “the fictional realm of Xanth,” which is shaped suspiciously like Florida.

xanth-poster

There’s a long-running novel series set in Xanth, which is his most popular work. There are currently 41 novels in the series, beginning with A Spell for Chameleon, which was first published in 1977. The most recent Xanth book is 2017’s Ghost Writer in the Sky, and there are at least four more in various stages of development.

xanth-collage

One thing I learned is that the realm of Xanth has a very interesting feature:

Plants may bear fruit of all descriptions (pie trees and shoe trees are common) or they may be carnivorous (such as the tangle trees), making travel in Xanth risky.

I remember in the Wizard of Oz books, there were trees that grew entire box lunches and dinner. They were called Lunch-Pail Trees and Dinner-Pail Trees. You’d pluck them like fruit, described as “square paper boxes, which grew in clusters on all the limbs, and upon the biggest and ripest boxes the word ‘Lunch’ could be read in neat raised letters.” In the Dinner-Pail Trees, which were heavier, Dorothy found “a small tank full of lemonade, slices of turkey, slices of cold tongue, lobster salad, bread and butter, a small custard pie, an orange, some strawberries, and cracked nuts and raisins.” That appeared in the third book, “Ozma of Oz,” from 1907.

But in the Xanth series, Anthony takes the concept to new heights, with the various trees providing all manner of things. In “Geis of the Gargoyle,” the 18th book from 1984, for example, there’s a bread tree that grows loaves of bread and growing next to it, a butternut tree. Squeeze the butter onto the bread, and you have bread and butter.

But my favorite, of course, is the beer-barrel tree, which from what I can piece together is a tree with a tank of beer beneath the bark. You can tap the tree, and drink the beer from it. The beerbarrel tree is first mentioned in the first book, A Spell for Chameleon, on page 15, early in the story.

“Bink glanced across at the unique tree she indicated. There were many kinds of trees in Xanth, a number of them vital to the economy. Beerbarrel trees were tapped for drink, and oilbarrel trees for fuel, and Bink’s own footwear came from a mature shoe tree east of the village. But Justin Tree was something special, a species never sprouted from seed.”

And then it comes up again in Chapter 16:

“‘I think we’d better hide,’ Trent said.

Good idea. They went around a beer barrel tree and watched silently.

The thumping became very loud. The whole tree shook. TRAMP, TRAMP, TRAMP! Small branches fell off the tree, and a leak sprang in the trunk. A thin jet of beer splashed under Bink’s nose. He fell back; even in the human state, he had never liked that drink. He peered around the trunk, but nothing was there.”

xanth-art-00

In the fourth book, “Centaur Aisle,” they’re mentioned again and also mentioned are winekeg trees.

“Dor soon found himself thirsty, for the pudding was highly spiced, so he drank—and found the beverage a cross between sweet beer and sharp wine from indifferent beerbarrel and winekeg trees.”

And in the fifth book, “Ogre, Ogre,” it’s revealed there are even trees whose fruit will make you think you’re smart.

“You were smart enough to fool everyone into thinking you were ogrishly stupid! Smash, Chem told me about the Eye Queue vine. Its effect wears off in hours. Sometimes its effect is only in self-perception. It makes creatures think they’re smart when they aren’t, and they make colossal fools of themselves without knowing it. Like people getting drunk on the spillage from a beerbarrel tree, thinking they’re being great company when actually they are disgusting clowns. My father used to tell me about that; he said he’d made a clown of himself more than once. Only it’s worse with the vine.”

And this perhaps may be the first mention of chocolate and beer-pairing on Xanth, from the sixth book, Night Mare.”

“The Spy I balls showed the Nextwavers making camp and foraging for food and drink. They were catching on to the bounties of Xanth and now, instead of burning out the “region, they were hammering out chocolate chips from an outcropping of chocolithic rock and tapping beer-barrel trees for flagons of foaming natural brew, to which they seemed to be quite partial.”

Xanth Dragon on a Pedestal

By the seventh book, “Dragon on a Pedestal,” there’s a longer passage about the beerbarrel tree.

“Irene looked around. “There’s a beer-barrel tree behind us.” She dismounted, picked her way through the treacherous stones of the riverbed, keeping a nervous eye out for snakes, and went to the huge, swollen barrel of the tree. Now she realized why the streambed was dry—the magic snake had caused all creatures here to drink until the water was gone. Too bad that had not been obvious before!

She used her knife to punch a hole in the bark. Yellow beer spouted out. This might not be the best liquid for the golem to drink, but there was plenty of it, enough to quench the thirst of a hundred golems.

Grundy hurried up and put his little mouth to the stream of beer. He gulped the stuff down insatiably.

Irene watched with growing amazement as the golem swallowed more than his own mass in beer and kept on drinking.

The stream seemed to be flowing into a bottomless hole. His body swelled up like a watermelon, but still he drank.”

I especially like this passage, from the eighth book, “Crewel Lye,” from 1984.

“It was dusk, and I had scrounged up some sugar sand and tapped a beer-barrel tree for beer, the true barbarian beverage. My head was spinning pleasantly, detaching my mind from my tired feet.”

xanth-art-2

By book ten, “Vale of the Vole,” creatures were using dead beerbarrel trees for hideouts.

“His hideout was in the hollow trunk of a dead beerbarrel tree. He had been lucky: he had been in the vicinity in the month of AwGhost, when barrel trees gave up the ghost if they were going to, and had seen the spirit departing. “Aw, Ghost!” he had exclaimed in the classic ogre manner, and that had enchanted the tree so that he could take over the husk without creating a local commotion. He had cut a door in the fat trunk that sealed tightly so that it didn’t show from outside, and made vents so that the steamy beer smell could dissipate; his mother, Tandy, would never understand if he came home reeking of beer!”

In book twelve, “Man From Mundania,” we learn that the beer from beerbarrel trees in different regions taste different.

“One day Girard spied a new human settlement, deep in the forest. He knew he should stay clear but it happened to be one of his favorite forests, so he remained to see what was going on. It turned out that the beerbarrel trees of this region were especially potent, and the man who was tapping them was hauling the beer to a distant village.

He kept the secret of the trees’ location so that only he could tap them. Realizing that, Girard was satisfied, because it meant that no more humans would be coming here, and it would still be safe for giants as long as they watched out for this one homestead.”

Apparently, using old beerbarrel trees for homes had become commonplace by book 17, “Harpy Thyme,” from 1993.

“They walked on, refreshed, waving goodbye to the nice man. They found a convenient path around a small hill. There was a tree house: someone had cut a door and windows into an old beerbarrel tree and made it into a house. There was no longer any smell of beer, so the tree must have drained some time before. It was surrounded by fancy iris flowers. Nearby were assorted fruit trees, and one spreading nut, bolt, and washer tree.”

This is from 1994’s “Geis of the Gargoyle.”

“They finished with some fluid from a leaning beer barrel tree; someone had kindly provided it with a spigot, and there were some mugwumps nearby with pretty mugs. The stuff was dusky colored and it foamed, but it tasted good and Gary drank several mugsful. After that he felt better than ever, if somewhat unsteady.”

xanth-art-1

After some absence from several books, in the 23rd book, “Xone of Contention,” published in 1999, beerbarrel trees reappear and are explained again.

“What are those?” she asked, pointing to several grossly fat-trunked growths.

“Beerbarrel trees. Their trunks contain beer They are rather popular in some circles “

“You mean people get drunk in Xanth?” she asked, surprised.

“Some do. I confess I do not understand what they see in such activity.”

A few years later, in 2005’s “Pet Peeve,” which is book 29, we discover there are also ale trees, which are cousins to the beerbarrel tree.

“The zombie brought another bottle. “This will do,” Breanna said. “This is ale, from a local ale-ing tree. They are cousins of the beerbarrel trees.” She popped it open and poured foaming glasses. “This is honey brown ale, because we have bees nearby. We avoid the ones growing near wild oats.”

“Oh? Why?” Hannah asked.

“Because men who drink wild oat ale become unduly attractive to nymphs, and attracted to nymphs,” Breanna said tightly. “And women don’t like it. The ale, I mean. It tastes cheap.”

Goody sipped his ale. It was heady stuff.”

Xanth Golem in the Gears

Apparently the beer from beerbarrel trees have medicinal uses, too, which we learn in book 30, “Stork Naked.”

“But the man was not annoyed. “I came to see the Good Magician to learn how to nullify my blue nose. But the Gorgon knew the answer and gave it to me free: I have only to drink the liquid of the beer barrel tree. So now I don’t have to serve a year for my answer.”

Here’s another nice passage about Xanth beer from book 31, “Air Apparent.”

“He walked to an old beerbarrel tree. Someone had installed a spigot in its trunk, with a mug. That was thoughtful. He took the mug, turned the spigot, and got himself a foaming mug of beer. Then he sat down and leaned his back against the tree as he drank it. The beer quickly went to his head, making him reminisce.”

In this book, we also learn that every beerbarrel tree also has a beer cellar.

“I can see that. Did you happen to see any—any bodies here?”

“No, but we know where they are. In the beer cellar.”

“Do you mean wine cellar?” Wira asked.

“This was a beerbarrel tree, not a winebarrel tree. It has a beer cellar.”

The woman and centaur exchanged a look of burgeoning hope. “A cellar!” Debra said.

They inspected the ground, and discovered a square panel embedded in the center. It had a heavy ring set in its metal. They hauled on the ring together, and slowly the panel came up. There was a dark hole below, with steps leading down.

“Time for some help,” Wira said. “Ilene! Nimbus! We need the illusion of light here.”

In less than a moment the two were there. “I can’t make illusions,” Ilene said. “They have to exist first.”

“Isn’t my glow an illusion?” Nimbus asked, gazing eagerly into the hole.

“Maybe it is,” Ilene agreed. She focused, and the boy’s faint glow became bright.

“Still, I had better go first,” Wira said. “I don’t need light, and I don’t want to put the children at risk.”

She closed her eyes and started down the steps.

“This is fun,” Nimbus said.

“It seems safe,” Wira called from below.

Nimbus and Ilene went down, his glow illuminating everything. That helped, because Debra was far too large to join them. “What’s down there?” she called.”

“Ninety-nine bottles of beer,” Ilene called back.

“And some orange cones,” the boy added. “Dodging around.”

This hardly made sense. “Cones?”

“There are words printed on them,” Ilene said. “Nundrum.”

Debra groaned. “Cone-nundrum. A pun.”

“I found the bodies,” Wira called. “They’re alive!”

Debra was so relieved she sank to her knees. “Thank you, fate,” she breathed.”

Xanth Demons Dont Dream

In “Two to the Fifth,” from 2008, which is the 32nd book, we find out a little more about ale trees.

“This was a beer-barrel tree, with a huge cylindrical trunk filled or partly filled with beer. Or was it? He tapped again, analyzing the sound. No, not beer, but ale; this was an ale tree. Its beverage would be a bit stronger.”

In 2010, it’s revealed in book 34, “Knot Gneiss,” that beerbarrel trees have some odd personality quirks.

“There was an old dead beerbarrel tree in the direction Wenda was pointing. From it leaked a few muffled laughs.

“It got infected with bad humor and died,” Wenda said. “Beerbarrels can’t stand bad taste.”

During a tour of the plant life in Xanth, in book 36, “Luck of the Draw,” we get a sense of how puns work in the realm.

“They encountered a copse of huge-trunked trees with patterns of tightly fitting boards. “Those look like beer barrels,” Bryce said.

“They are. Except these ones are alebarrel trees. Tap them and you get ale. But they’re standard; no pun there.”

“Still, Rachel is pointing.”

They followed the direction of the dog’s point. It looked like a small mint plant growing next to one of the trees. “I don’t recognize this,” Mindy said.

“A mint,” he said. “Next to an ale tree. An Ale Mint. Ailment?”

The plant dissolved. He had gotten it.”

xanth

But in the end, the real question is just why aren’t there any Beer-Barrel Trees in the real world?

Filed Under: Beers, Just For Fun, Related Pleasures Tagged With: Fantasy, Humor, Literature

Session #138: How Much Wood …

August 3, 2018 By Jay Brooks

log
For our 138th Session, our host is Jack Perdue, who writes Deep Beer. For his topic, he’s chosen The Good in Wood, by which he means beer being stored in wood or otherwise flavored with it.
wood
Here’s his full description of the topic:

Wood has been used for millennia to store, transport and flavor beer, wine and spirits. Today, the relationship between wood and beer has regained its popularity with brewers and drinkers as observed in the prevalence of bourbon-barrel-aged beer and sours. This topic is deep and wide and meandering, romantic and historic, personal and professional.

I will suggest a few themes to stir your imagination on “The Good in Wood” but of course you can choose your own path.

  • Historic uses of wood through a beer lens
  • Physical characteristics of wood and that relationship with beer
  • Professional and personal experiences such as wood-themed beer festivals or tours
  • A favorite wood-influenced beer style or experience, e.g. your first bourbon barrel-aged beer, a special Flanders red moment or why you don’t like a lambic
  • Other, let your imagination run as crazy as a wild ale

session_logo_all_text_200

So this month I’m going to use The Session to be the old man telling the kids to get off of his lawn as he shouts into the wind. Let me start by stating this. I love barrel-aged beers. I’ll repeat that, because it may come up later. I love the complexity that’s added by a beer spending time in a wooden barrel. Over ten years ago, in 2006, I took issue with an article in a Wisconsin newspaper in which the writer — who called himself the Beer Man — declared that bourbon barrel stouts were “just a fad.” I said he was wrong twelve years ago, and I say without fear of retribution that he’s even more wrong today. If anything, they’re more popular than ever, and not just stouts, but wood-aged and barrel-aged beers of all sorts of types. They’re so popular now that many brewers have told me it’s getting harder (and more expensive) to just find barrels to use for aging their beer. And many of these beers are amazing.

But here’s my caveat, and the one that appears to make me the odd man out, the old curmudgeon. As barrel-aged beers have become more and more extreme, almost like an arms race of bourbony proportions, many of these beers have lost their beerishness. I have had many debates and/or arguments on judging panels, panel discussions and at casual tastings, which clearly show me to be the outlier, over how much wood is too much wood. I’ve found that many people seem to think there is no threshold too far, that the more a bourbon-barrel beer tastes like bourbon the better, even when it no longer resembles a beer. And I just can’t abide that.

woodchucks-chucking-wood
How much wood…

To me, it’s a bourbon-barrel “BEER.” If it no longer tastes of beer at all, it’s not really a beer anymore, but a malt-based bourbon.* Why not just drink a glass of bourbon? This type of extreme beer just overwhelms your tastebuds with only one sensation: whatever the original barrel once contained. But to my way of thinking, it should taste like the base beer style, and accentuated with the added flavor of the barrel, which should add complexity and layers of unique and/or new sensations. Instead, many just dull your senses by hitting you over the head with unbridled bourbon, or whiskey, or whatever. What’s the point? It seems to me that it’s become extremeness for the sake of extremeness, like a snake eating its own tail.

Ouroboros

I completely understand that this is simply a matter of personal preference and shifting tastes or styles. At least it is on some level. But the style guidelines for both the World Beer Cup and GABF make clear that I’m not alone in my curmudgeonly ways. To wit, the 2017 guidelines for GABF for both the “Wood- and Barrel-Aged Beer” and the “Wood- and Barrel-Aged Strong Stout” state the following:

Used sherry, rum, bourbon, scotch, port, wine and other barrels are often used, imparting complexity and uniqueness to beer. Ultimately a balance of flavor, aroma and mouthfeel are sought with the marriage of new beer with wood and/or barrel flavors.

And even though I’ve read this passage aloud to make my case, some people still prefer the bourbon bombs with no beerishness whatsoever. I get that people like what they like, but this one just confounds me, because they seem to have lost sight of what these beers were intended to be or should aspire to be.

The 2015 BJCP guidelines for “Wood-Aged Beer” also makes the same point:

Flavor: Varies with base style. Wood usually contributes a woody or oaky flavor, which can occasionally take on a raw “green” flavor if new wood is used. Other flavors that may optionally be present include vanilla (from vanillin in the wood); caramel, butterscotch, toasted bread or almonds (from toasted wood); and coffee, chocolate, cocoa (from charred wood). The wood and/or other cask-derived flavors should be balanced, supportive and noticeable, but should not overpower the base beer style

In the end, it comes down to what a brewery can sell. If consumers want bourbon-barrel aged beers that taste more like bourbon and almost nothing like beer, that’s what breweries will keep making. If they sell out of every vintage, who am I to say they’re wrong? But I still find it a crying shame that it’s become harder to find the truly exquisite barrel-aged beer that really does deliver a complex melange of unique flavors, that “marriage of new beer with wood and/or barrel flavors” that doesn’t “overpower the base beer.” Those beers are sublime; a thing of beauty. Give me one of those beers any day.

beer-barrel

*: For purposes of this discussion, I’m ignoring Utopias, the Brew Dog/Schorschbräu world’s strongest beer fracas, and all other beers made to prove a point about beer strength, pushing boundaries, etc. Is that fair of me? Maybe not, but I’m going to do it anyway.

Filed Under: Beers, Just For Fun, Related Pleasures, The Session Tagged With: adjuncts, Barrels, Beer Styles, Bourbon, Cask, Wood

Over A Barrel: The Next Sessions Looks At The Good In Wood

July 24, 2018 By Jay Brooks

session-the
For our 138th Session, our host will be Jack Perdue, who writes Deep Beer. For his topic, he’s chosen The Good in Wood, by which he means beer being stored in wood or otherwise flavored with it.
wood
Here’s his full explanation of the month’s topic:

Wood has been used for millennia to store, transport and flavor beer, wine and spirits. Today, the relationship between wood and beer has regained its popularity with brewers and drinkers as observed in the prevalence of bourbon-barrel-aged beer and sours. This topic is deep and wide and meandering, romantic and historic, personal and professional.

I will suggest a few themes to stir your imagination on “The Good in Wood” but of course you can choose your own path.

  • Historic uses of wood through a beer lens
  • Physical characteristics of wood and that relationship with beer
  • Professional and personal experiences such as wood-themed beer festivals or tours
  • A favorite wood-influenced beer style or experience, e.g. your first bourbon barrel-aged beer, a special Flanders red moment or why you don’t like a lambic
  • Other, let your imagination run as crazy as a wild ale

beer-barrel

To participate in the August Session, simply post a link to your session post by commenting at the original announcement on or before Friday, August 3.

Filed Under: Beers, Just For Fun, News, The Session Tagged With: Announcements, Barrels, Beer Styles, Cask

« Previous Page
Next Page »

Find Something

Northern California Breweries

Please consider purchasing my latest book, California Breweries North, available from Amazon, or ask for it at your local bookstore.

Recent Comments

  • Bob Paolino on Beer Birthday: Grant Johnston
  • Gambrinus on Historic Beer Birthday: A.J. Houghton
  • Ernie Dewing on Historic Beer Birthday: Charles William Bergner 
  • Steve 'Pudgy' De Rose on Historic Beer Birthday: Jacob Schmidt
  • Jay Brooks on Beer Birthday: Bill Owens

Recent Posts

  • Beer In Ads #5389: Point & Brunswick Bock Beer November 10, 2026
  • Historic Beer Birthday: Edward Cecil Guinness November 10, 2026
  • Historic Beer Birthday: Jacob Betz November 10, 2026
  • Beer In Ads #5388: Bock Beer Vats In The Brewers Hall November 9, 2026
  • Historic Beer Birthday: Peter Barbey November 9, 2026

BBB Archives

Feedback

Head Quarter
This site is hosted and maintained by H25Q.dev. Any questions or comments for the webmaster can be directed here.