The Brewmans' Beer Trivia Page
BEER TRIVIA
- It was the accepted practice in Babylon 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".
- 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".
- Beer was the reason the Pilgrims landed at Plymouth Rock.
It's clear from the Mayflower's log that the crew didn't want
to waste beer looking for a better site. The log goes on to
state that the passengers "were hasted ashore and made to
drink water that the seamen might have more beer".
- 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.
- A full seven percent of the entire Irish barley crop goes to
the production of Guinness beer.
If you have any trivia you want to share e-mail me.