Strange but true

Christine Green looks at the bizarre world of beer legislation

In the words of the inimitable scholar, Oscar Wilde: “Work is the curse of the drinking classes,” or perhaps it was the eminent Ben Franklin who captured the true meaning of beer when he said, “Beer is proof that God loves us.” Words indeed but how true both adages are.

A glimpse back through the chronicles of historical data and you will find a rich cornucopia of information relating to beer, exciting, fascinating and even on occasions mind boggling, but never dull.

Take for example possibly the oldest piece of legislation scribed – the Code of Hammurabi from Babylonia in around 1750BC whereby the regulation of drinking houses was enforced and for any proprietor found guilty of watering down beer the ultimate penalty was death.

However, life wasn’t so bad for monks in the Middle Ages. One of their responsibilities was to brew beer in the confines of the monastery. Each monk was then allowed a ration of five quarts of beer a day (around 10 pints).

Historians have found that the amount of beer you were entitled to was largely dependent on your social status; for the normal worker it would be two litres, civil servants were allowed three litres while high priests and administrators were permitted a staggering five litres per day.

Despite the apportioning of beer no longer being curtailed, there is still a dearth of beer legislation hidden in the dusty archives of solicitors’ offices around the world. None more unusual than those that can be found in America, and with more .....

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By Christine Green

Section : Beer Issues

Page number : 44