The History of Beer

It was the accepted practice in Babylonia 4,000 years ago that for a
month after the wedding, the bride's father would supply his son-in-
law with all the mead he could drink. Mead is a honey beer, and
because their calendar was lunar based, this period was called the
"honey month" or what we know today as the "honeymoon". I have also
heard that it was believed that if the groom drank mead for an entire
moon it would enhance the chances of his wife bearing a male heir, the
bride however had to abstain from drinking alcohol at all.

Before thermometers were invented, brewers would dip a thumb or finger
into the mix to find the right temperature for adding yeast. Too cold,
and the yeast wouldn't grow. Too hot, and the yeast would die. This
thumb in the beer is where we get the phrase "rule of thumb".

In English pubs, ale is ordered by pints and quarts. So in old
England, when customers got unruly, the bartender would yell at them
to mind their own pints and quarts and settle down. It's where we get
the phrase "mind your P's and Q's".

After consuming a bucket or two of vibrant brew they called aul, or
ale, the Vikings would head fearlessly into battle often without armor
or even shirts. In fact, the term "berserk" means "bare shirt" in
Norse, and eventually took on the meaning of their wild battles.

In 1740 Admiral Vernon of the British fleet decided to water down the
navy's rum. Needless to say, the sailors weren't too pleased and
called Admiral Vernon, Old Grog, after the stiff wool grogram coats he
wore. The term "grog" soon began to mean the watered down drink
itself. When you were drunk on this grog, you were "groggy", a word
still in use today.

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.


Submitted By: Charles M.