[jh27n0b]

Dave, is there any truth to these old sayings?

In English pubs, ale is ordered by pints and quarts... So in old England, when customers got unruly, the bartender would yell at them "Mind your pints and quarts, and settle down."



It's where we get the phrase "mind your P's and Q's"


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Many years ago in England , pub frequenters had a whistle baked into the rim, or handle, of their ceramic cups. When they needed a refill, they used

the whistle to get some service. "Wet your whistle" is the phrase inspired by this practice

[dave-r]

No idea. Never heard that one before. But we have our own phrases and customs up here in the North of the country.

I assume a quart would be a jug of ale?

[Eddie]

Dave: what is the difference between beer and ale? Do you dudes drink that stuff warm?

[dave-r]

Ah now. Beer is something i do know a little about.

I think the word "Beer" is the general term for all types.

You can then sub divide that into lagers, dark beers, wheat beers, stouts, milds, pale ales, bitters, golden ale, etc etc

But in general we normally divide Beer into two main classes; Ale and Lager.

Most beers until relatively recent times were what are now called Ales. Lagers were discovered by accident in the 16th century after Beer was stored in cool caverns for long periods.

Most "Beer" that you drink in the USA is in fact Lager.

You can also sub divide Ale into Keg Ale and Cask Ale.

Cask ale or "cask-conditioned beer" is the term for unfiltered and unpasteurised beer which is conditioned and served from a cask, usually without additional nitrogen or carbon dioxide pressure. Cask ale may also be referred to as real ale, a term coined by the Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA), often now extended to cover bottle-conditioned beer as well.

Keg Ales are pasteurised (which makes them last longer) and are stored in CO2 pressurised Kegs.

When I started drinking beer in the 70s it was very hard to find "real ale" anywhere. Almost all beer was keg and quite frankly it tasted crap. We just didn't realise it was crap. But CAMRA slowly put pressure on the big breweries to let some of their pubs sell low volume ales made in small independent breweries. As these caught on the big players bought up these small fish and started making the stuff themselves.

These days all the beer is of quite good quality. Real cask ales are easy to find in almost every pub now. Some pubs even make their own beer on the premises like in the olden days.

To answer your last question Eddie. All beer is cooled. Or at least it should be. But different types of beer like to be cooled to different temps. Lager that you guys drink over there likes to be VERY cold. Ale however starts to loose its taste if it gets too cold so although not "warm" it is not served as cold as lager.

Also. In the days before refrigeration the casks were only cooled by having wet sacks placed on top of them. This was still going on in some places during WW2 and is probably where the myth in the USA comes from as GIs would have gone home with these tales.

[fal308]

What of the hot poker into the beer (ale). I thought that was an English tradition?

[dave-r]

Only in strange places and before refrigeration was commonplace.

My Grandad used to do that. He was from the midlands. The iron workers there used to go it. I am not sure if it was to heat the beer though. I think it was to add to the taste? He used to say something about tasting the iron.

In the far past before medical science it was often served as a hot drink because drank that way people noticed they tended not to get ill. In effect they were pasteurising it and alcohol is an anti-bacterial of course.

Before people knew about diseases and the need for clean drinking water even room temp beer was safer to drink than water.
Hence it became said that drinking beer or spirits somehow protected you from illness. Hence drinking to "Your good health Sir!"

You would not be served a warm pint these days though. At beer festivals you sometimes get beer direct from a cask on a shelf. But even then some attempt is made to keep the beer below room temperature.

[Eddie]

I just had to save this for my brother who drinks beer/ale/lager and I am thinking of buying him a kit to make his own,(he needs a hobby, stress is literally killing him and affecting his health, so I think he should deal with it by consuming mass quantities, no joke), I'll use this to get the kit that he needs. He loves English/german/ even Mexican brews, Thanks a lot Dave, very interesting, wish I could drink a little but no alcohol can be taken with the meds that I have to take everyday for my bone fusions,(2), osteoarthritis, ect.

[fal308]

Thanks for the lesson Dave. My grandfather used to tell of his parents doing that in Germany.

[mopar steve]

Some of the small breweries are always worth a visit if ever you're over here. We have a local brewery called 'The Hogs Back Brewery', this place sells some great ales, one of them around Christmas time, is called Santas Wobbler, and is 11.5%!!!!!!!!

[ianandjess]

here in aus the only beer you could get for years was lager but in the last 10 to 15 years people have been more willing to try something new ( not that its new they just wouldnt drink any thing else) now many international beers are available , my dad makes homebrew & hes got real good at it he mainly makes ales as hes an old pom & he make a dark ale specially for me when i visit he keeps it on hand for me its superb
cheers ian