A quart of ale is a dish for a king. - William Shakespeare

It is a fair wind that blew men to the ale. - Oscar Wilde

They who drink beer will think beer. - Washington Irving

No, sir: There is nothing which has yet been contrived by man which so much happiness is produced as by a good tavern or inn. - Samuel Johnson

Bad men live that they may eat and drink, whereas good men eat and drink that they may live. - Socrates

He was a wise man who invented beer. - Plato

There can’t be good living where there is not good drinking. - Benjamin Franklin

Beer, if drunk in moderation, softens the temper, cheers the spirit and promotes health. - Thomas Jefferson

Let us drink for the replenishment of our strength, not for our sorrow. - Cicero

A Beer in Any Language Sounds Good

Afrikaans: Bier
Czech: Pivo
Dutch: Bier
Finnish: Olut
Filipino: Bir
French: Bière
Gaelic: Leann
German: Bier
Greek: Bere
Hawaiian: Bia
Hungarian: Sor
Indonesian: Bir
Irish: Beoir
Italian: Birra
Japanese: Biiru
Polish: Piwo
Portugese: Cerveja
Spanish: Cervesa
Swahili: Pombe
Swedish: Ol
Yiddish: Bir

Fun Facts

Contents
• The Origination of the “Growler”
• Interesting Fact about Homebrewing Beer
• Beer Witches
• Thanks to Beer
• India Pale Ale
• Brewery Fortune Funds a College for Women
• What is that White Line?
• Cool Sayings Inspired by Beer
• First Thanksgiving in Virginia?
• Most Expensive Beer in the World
• An Easy Fear to Overcome
• A Popular Saying about Drinking Beer

The Origination of the “Growler”

We have all heard of take-out Chinese food and take-out burgers, but did you know there was take-out beer? Beer enthusiasts even have a name for the special container that the beer is carried out in. Called a growler, it is usually a half-gallon glass container used to carry fresh beer, allowing beer connoisseurs to take their beer to the comfort of their own homes.

There are two stories of where the term “growler” came from. No one knows for sure which, if either, is true ... but they are both pretty interesting anyway!

One tale takes place in the late 1800s and tells of how beer, straight from the keg, was brought to one’s home in a small-sized galvanized pail. As the story goes, the beer splashed about in the pail and carbon dioxide would build up under the lid. When the lid would occasionally open, the trapped gas would leak out making a growling sound.

Another legend about the origin of the term “growler” tells that pails of beer were given to the people who worked in factories, to help fight the “growl” of hunger in their bellies.

Whichever story you might believe to be true, the growler is a great way to bring home and savor the many flavors of New York State brews. Not to mention it is a great collectable or memento from your various stops on the New York State Beer Trails!

Source used: Alstrom Brothers, The Beer Advocates. Boston’s Weekly Dig. 31 Jul 2002. 27 Mar 2007. www.weeklydig.com

An Interesting Fact about Homebrewing Beer

Homebrewing did not become legal in the U.S. until February 1, 1979. The legislation was introduced by California Senator Alan Cranston (named the Cranston Bill) in November of 1978, and was passed and signed into law by President Carter three months later. The Cranston Bill allows one person to brew up to 100 gallons of beer each year for personal use, and 200 gallons if the household has two people in it.

Up until this date homebrewing was technically considered illegal due to a small typo. The repeal of Prohibition occurred in 1933 and made legal the making of wine and/or beer. But when the Federal Register went to print the new law, the words “and/or beer” were accidentally left out. This being the case, homebrewing was, according to written law, illegal until the Cranston Bill was passed.

Just a side note- it is illegal to sell your homebrew ... so keep it for your own personal enjoyment!

Beer Witches

The brewing of beer is a highly scientific process that is still being studied and researched to this date. But back in the late Middle Ages, very little was known about brewing. Therefore, when a batch of beer went bad, explanations were attributed to the occult. Problems with brewing were often blamed on “Brew Witches” or “Beer Witches.” Women thought to be witches were, sadly, burned at the stake, because some people of that era believed that evil spells had caused a good batch of brew to be ruined! This era of burning “Beer Witches” at the stake is talked about as beer history’s dark time. This morbid practice continued almost into the 1600s, until the use of hops was invented.

Thanks to Beer

Everyone knows the name Louis Pasteur from grade school, and would answer, if asked, that he is the man who discovered the pasteurization process. And most people will even tell you more specifically that it was the pasteurization of milk he was famous for. But much of his scientific research was done on beer! One of Pasteur’s most famous works is “Etudes sur la Biere” or “Studies Concerning Beer.” So it can be said that the safety of many of our beverages, as well as the prevention of many diseases, is partly thanks to beer.

Many people also learned about Anton van Leeuwenhoek, a Dutch scientist sometimes called the “Father of the Microscope.” Leeuwenhoek is best known for his work on advancing the microscope and for being the first person to see and detail a one-celled organism. It was during these early observations in the 1670s that yeast was first seen ... and guess when he saw it? You got it – looking at beer! So yet again ... we thank beer for important scientific findings that still have an impact on today’s society.

India Pale Ale

India Pale Ale, also known as IPA, is a unique type of beer known in part for its very bitter taste and high alcohol content. This popular style of beer, also has an interesting legend to go along with it.

In late 18th and early 19th centuries, the British were developing colonies in India. British soldiers and civilians created a great demand for ale. Actually ale was more of a basic necessity than a want at this time, due to the lack of water sanitation methods in India. Shipping ale to India, in the beginning, seemed like an easy enough task; just throw the kegs on a ship and sail them to the people. But with three to six months of tossing about the high seas, combined with the fluctuating temperatures of the environment below the equator, conditions made this task more difficult than was previously thought.

But the new colonies of India were about to be saved ... by one George Hodgson, a brewer at the Bow Brewery in East London. Since refrigeration and pasteurization technologies had not been invented at this time, brewers’ only way to preserve beer was with alcohol and/or hops. Hodgson was famous in England, during the mid-1750s, for his pale ale. So he decided to take the pale ale that the colonists in India longed for and add more hops as well as a mixture to increase the alcohol content. Hodgson’s creation was a success. The final product was a sparkling, harshly bitter ale with very high alcohol content. The new ale, appropriately named Hodgson’s India Ale, was able to sustain the long journey. This versatile style of beer was later produced by other brewers and carried the more generic name, India Pale Ale.

An added side note - Imperial Pale Ale was created using the same methods (increased hops and alcohol content) for exporting, to Russia from England. This name is often used synonymously with India Pale Ale.

Brewery Fortune Funds College for Women

Matthew Vassar emigrated with his parents, from England to New York State in 1796. At the age of 14, Matthew was supposed to begin an apprenticeship with a tanner, but instead ran away to a town near Newburgh, NY. He soon began a career as a brewer, and this is where he made his fortune.

Later in his life, Matthew was inspired by his niece, to start a women’s college. In 1861, he generously offered the College Board a small tin box, containing half of his life’s fortune ($408,000) and the deed to 200 acres of land in Poughkeepsie, NY. Since then, Vassar College has grown to become one of the foremost colleges in the nation.

A verse from a once popular Vassar song:
And so you see, to old V.C.
Our love shall never fail.
Full well we know that all we owe
To Matthew Vassar's ale.

What is that White Line?

Have you ever noticed that once in a while, the rim of a beer glass has a white line around it? That line actually has a name, the Plimsoll Line. It was named after Samuel Plimsoll, the man who was known for creating a method to mark the depth of ship hulls. It is actually law in England that the bartender must fill your beer/ale up to that line with the head of the beer rising above it. So the next time you get a glass with the white line, tell them to “Fill ’er up to the Plimsoll!”

Cool Sayings Inspired by Beer

Ever wonder where the term “whet your whistle” came from? Many years ago, in England, whistles were crafted onto the ceramic beer mugs, to be used to alert when bartender that you wanted another beer!

Ale/ Beer came in two main sizes in English pubs, pints and quarts. So if a customer at the bar was getting a bit out of hand, the bartender might have warned them to mind their pints and quarts. This gave rise to the frequent saying “mind your P’s and Q’s.”

Brewers, way back before thermometers were invented, used their thumbs to check for the right temperature to add yeast to the brew; because the yeast would die if it was too hot. It is said that from this practice came the adage “the rule of thumb.”

First Thanksgiving in Virginia?

As we all know, that very first Thanksgiving took place at Plymouth Rock. But the pilgrims were actually planning to make their landing in Virginia. So what took them off course to their final destination? A storm? An accident? Nope! They ran out of beer! It is actually written in one of the pilgrim’s diaries that their food supply was decreasing “especially our beere.”

Most Expensive Beer in the World

The most costly beer in the world, at about $52 a bottle and is called “Tutankhamen.” This limited edition beer and is even numbered. The beer is brewed with a recipe that was discovered by archaeologists in Queen Nefertiti’s Temple!

An Easy Fear to Overcome?

Cenosillicaphobia is listed as the “fear of an empty glass.”