Greetings fellow BeerMasons and friends,

What do a 1950s ‘hostess with the mostest’, two quacks from the late 1800s and BeerMasons have in common? More than you might think…

It’s no secret that BeerMasons love everything there is about beer. While initially it may be all about the flavour, we then like to delve into a brewery’s history and beer styles and the people behind its creation.
 
We are always searching for the fragments of history that justify beer as a multifaceted hobby!
 
If you haven’t already, make sure you take a look at The BeerMasons’ History of Beer.  On a recent fact-finding mission to the dark shelves of the General Society of Mechanics and Tradesmen Library (the second-oldest continuously running library in New York) we discovered this little gem:  Cup and Platter; Notes on Food & Its Effects*. This book was authored by two doctors in 1876 and has a full chapter dedicated to our favourite topic; beer.
 
Too old to photocopy for future reference and too rare to read unless under the watchful eye of the helpful library staff, Cup and Platter was an insightful step back in time. We even felt bad opening the book up, as its spine creaked with lack of use.
 
It would seem that the medical establishment of London in 1876 perceived the medicinal qualities of beer as important for all ages. At the same time, the authors admonished those adults who led a sedentary life for their overindulgence. Ponder if you will, the reaction of the good doctors to our ‘sedentary’ life in 2010.
 
While our belief in beer as having curative properties has long since faded, the arguments for quality craft beer produced by reputable establishments, consumed in moderation as currently championed by The BeerMasons and the authors of Cup and Platter remain.
 
We’ve long argued the quality-versus-quantity angle and worked to debunk the beer-makes-you-fat myth. Not much has changed since 1876, it would seem (other than dosing children lacking appetite with a hearty draught!)
 
From Cup and Platter…
"We are not alluding to table or small beer, which washy and unpalatable decoctions were scarcely more than the rinsings of the mash-tub or the results of injudicious home-brews... The other, almost valued by its age like port wine, was not despised, if in addition to the strongest possible alcoholicity it contained compound ethers and acids sufficient to render it highly intoxicating; so that beer-drinkers of the so-called fine old ales had generally sufficient respect for their potency to drink them out of small glasses and usually in moderate quantities. These beers were sipped rather than drunk and deep draughts of thirst assuaging potations must have been supplied from the small beers rather than from those which appeared to excite their greatest admiration.
 
"Although beer may be regarded as being our national beverage, several points must be taken into consideration in forming an opinion as to the quantity which may be beneficially consumed by people during different periods of life. The most prominent of these, undoubtedly, are constitutional temperament and general habits, especially, with regard to the amount of exercise taken…”
 
Our next surprising little discovery in this library was a Beer and Good Food** cookbook by Myra Waldo – a globetrotting food writer for Pan American Airways in the 1950s. It’s a cracking read with some interesting recipes, some of which are hysterical by today’s standards and others that make you want to get to a kitchen quickly!
 
Myra caught our eye and admiration with her introduction entitled Beer in Your Life – "More and more physicians are prescribing beer for low-calorie dieters because of its satisfying psychological effect. Beer is ideal instead of a cocktail before diner for those who are watching their weight, because it is so filling. And there is nothing to equal beer immediately before bedtime instead of a high-calorie snack, so often the downfall of an otherwise conscientious dieter. Beer at bedtime produces a more restful night of sleep because of its soporific action in relaxing the nervous system.” – You’ve convinced us Myra!

Until next time, here’s to better beer.

The BeerMasons

  
* Cup and Platter; Notes on Food and its Effects. G. Overend Drewery, M.D., and H.C. Bartlett, PH.D., F.C.S. Henry S. King & Co, London. 1876
**Beer and Good Food. M.Waldo. Doubleday & Company Inc. New York. 1958

"A fine beer may be judged with only one sip, but it is best to be thoroughly sure."
 
www.beermasons.com

WORLD OF BEER NEWS

We read this great article on beer in Vietnam this morning and wanted to share it with our fellow BMs. Get on the contact us forms and let us know if you're interested in beer from Vietnam. We certainly are!
READ: An Unlikely Beer Trail




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BMs BEER HUNTING ADVENTURES
Liked reading about the BeerMasons beer hunting adventures? Want to read about our recent forays?
 

Report 1: Welcome to Colorado - where the beer and the air makes you feel like a fish
Report 2: The black bears and black beers of Colorado
Report 3: Rather large beers in a winter wonderland

Report 4: Collaboration not litigation ale

QUOTE OF THE WEEK!

"Whoever serves beer or wine watered down; he himself deserves in them to drown" - Anon.

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