A L E 



ALE 



Ale, a populai' fermented diir.k, made fi'om malt nnd 

 hops; and chiefly dillinguifhed frcn beer, another potable 

 liquor made fru-.n the fame iiiffivdieiits, by the quantity ot 

 hops cfcd therein ; wliieh is greater in beer, and therefore 

 renders the liquor more bitter, and fitter for keeping. For 

 the method of brewing ale, fee Bri;v/ing. The brewers 

 alfo dilHnguilh pale, or fine ale, brown ale, &c. Their fe- 

 vernl properties, efFeds,, &c. fee under MAi.T-L:/juor. 



Tile art of making an ir.uifion of corn, and particularly 

 of barley, fir.vilar to onr ale, feenis to have been luiown and 

 practiiod in. very aneicnt times among thafe people who 

 lived in climaces tliat did not afford grapes. It feemstohave 

 paffed from Egypt into thofe vvellern nations, wiiich were 

 fef.lcd by the colonies that mii'rated from the call. The 

 zythum and curmi, mentioned by Tacitus, as the beverage 

 of the ancient Germans, arc fuppofed by Matthlolns to ci;r- 

 tcfpond to our ale and beer.. Diodorus Siculus fays (lib. iv. 

 a. 26. torn. i. p. jTQ.Vthat the Gauls, who lived in a country 

 that produced neither grapes nor olive.^, made a llrong liquor 

 of barley, which tliey called Zvthus. The natives of Spain, 

 the inhabitants of France, and the aborigines of Britain, ufed 

 this liquor, under the different appellations of crtliaand ceria 

 in the firil country, of cerevifia in the fecond, and of curmi in 

 the laft ; all which names literally denote X\\eJlrong liuiler. 



After the introdurtion of agriculture into this iflaiid, ale 

 or beer v/as fubllitiited for mead, and became the m.)ll ge- 

 neral drink of all the Britiflr nations which praftifed that 

 art, as it had been of all the Celtic people on the continent. 

 " AUthe feveral nations, (fays Pliny, H. N. xiv. 29. torn, 

 i. p. yio.) who inhabit the weft of Europe, have a liquor 

 with which they intoxicate themfelves, made with corn and 

 water, frugi .naJidci. The manner of making this liquor is 

 fomewhat different in Gaul, Spain and other countries, and 

 it is called by many various names ; but its nature and pro- 

 perties are every where the fame. The people of Spain, in 

 particular, brew tliis liquor fo well, that it will keep good 

 for a long time. So exquilite is the ingenuity of mankind 

 in gratifying their vitious appetites, that they have thus in- 

 vented a method to make water itfelf intoxicate." The 

 manner in which tlie ancient Britons and ether Celtic na- 

 tions, made their ale is thus defcribed by llldoru?, (Orig. 

 lib. :cx. c. 2.) and Orolius, (lib. iv. p. 259.), cited by Henry 

 (fiill. of England, vol. ii. p. 364, 8vo.) : " the grain is 

 iieeped in water, and made to germinate, by which its fpirlts 

 are excited and fet at liberty ; it is then dried and grinded ; 

 after which it is infufed in a certain quantity of water ; 

 which, being fermented, becomes a pleafant, warming, 

 ftrengthening, and intoxicating liquor," This ale was moil 

 commoidy made of barley, but fometimes of wheat, oats, 

 and millet. Geopon. lib. vii. c. 34. p. 203. This liquor is 

 of Inch antiquity in England, that we find mention of it in 

 the laws of Ina, king of Weffex. Ale was the favourite 

 liquor of the Anglo-Saxons and Danes, as it had been of 

 their ancellors, the Germans. Tacitus, de Mor. Genn. c. 

 23. Before their converiion to Cluiftianity, they believed 

 tliat drinking large and frequent di"aughts of ale was one of 

 the chief felicities whicli thofe heroes enjoyed who were ad- 

 mitted into the hall of Odin. Amougll the liquors provided 

 for a royal banquet, in the reign of Edward the Confeffor, 

 ale is particularly fpeciiied. In Scotland and Wales they 

 had two kinds of ale, called common ale and fpiced ale ; 

 and their value was thus afcertained by law : " ii a fanner 

 hath no mead, tie Ihall pay two callcs of fpieedale,or four cafks 

 of common ale, for one cafit of mead." By this law, a caflc 

 of fpiced ale, nine palms long, and 1 8 palms in diameter, 

 was valued at a fum of money equal in elfecl to 7/. los. of 

 our prefent money ; and a ca(l< of common ale, of the fame 

 dimenfions, at a fum equal to 3/. 15J. Hence it appears, 



that common ale was at this period an article of luxury 

 among the Wellli, and that it could only be obtained by the 

 great and opulent. V^'ine at this time lecniB to have been 

 unknown even to the kings of Walts, as it is not mentioned 

 in their laws ; thougli Giraldus Cambrenfis, wiio flourillied 

 a century after the conquell, informs us, tliat there was a 

 vineyard in his time at Maenarpcr, ne^r Pembroke, in South- 

 Wales. Henry's Hirt. vol. iv. p. 393. By a ilatute of 3J 

 Henry III. in 1272, mentioned by lAunie (Hill. Engl. vol. 

 ii. p. 224.), a brewer was allov/ed to fell two gallon.s of ala 

 for a penny in cities, and three or four gallons for the fume 

 price in the country. But the fir.'l alii/.e of ale was fixed 

 by the famous Stat. J I Heni^ U. 



The following method for prcferving ale from turninjj four 

 in long voyages, was fir.l publjllied by Di-.Stubb,i( Phil.Tnnf. 

 N' 27.), and exiierienee has evinced its utility. To eveiy 

 runlet of five gallons, after being placed iri a caflc on (hip- 

 board not to be illrred any nun-e, put in two new-laid eggs 

 whole, and let them lie in it. In a fortnight or a httle more, 

 the egg-lhells will be entirely ditlijlved, and the eggs become 

 like wind-eggs enclofed only in a thin fl:in ; after this the 

 wliite is preyed on, but the yolks are not touched or cor- 

 rupted i and by thefe means the ale has been fo well pre- 

 ferved, that it was found better iu Jamaica than at Deal. 



The duties on ale and beer make aconfiderable braneli of 

 the revenue in England. Tl-.ey were firll impofed in 1643, 

 when the excife was firll eilabhfhed, again by Car. II. and 

 have been continued by feveral fubfequent afts of parliament. 

 By 2 7Geo. III. c. 13, for every barrel of beer or ale, above 

 fix fhilling.-; a barrel, (exclufive ot the duty licreby impofed, 

 and not being two-penny ale, nor table beer) the brewer fhall 

 p;'.y eight Ihillings ; and for every bai rel of fix IhlUings, or 

 under, (exclufivr of the duty) one ihilling and fourp^nce ; 

 and for every barrel of beer or ale above fix lllillings the 

 barrel (excluiive of the duty), and not exceeding 13s. 

 (33 Geo. III. c. 23. f. I.) commonly called t.iblc beer, 

 brewed by common brewers, according to 22 Geo. III. 

 the brewer Ih:.!! pay tlirce fhillings ; and for every barrel ot" 

 two-penny ale tliree fliiliings and fourpence. 



The faccharine matter entrafted from the farinaceous 

 feeds, of which ales are made, and fubjefted to a fermenta- 

 tion an.alogous to that of wine, impaits to our ales a quan- 

 tity of alcohol ; and they have, th'rrcloie, in ,gelieral, the 

 cordial, exhilarating, intoxicating, and lejative qualitie&-of 

 wine. But their tflcft, in thele refpeds, depends partly 

 upon the quantity and condition of the laccharine matter 

 that is employed, and partly upon the management of the 

 fermentation to which they arc fubjeded. Bailey is cliiefly 

 employed for ihe purpofe of making aks, though it might 

 be prepared from any of the ctrealia ; and this itlcdioa is 

 very properly made, bccaufe its germination is moft ealily 

 conduded, and under its gcnnination it gives out its fugar 

 moll readily, and in grtatcll quantity. Ales, made in the 

 ordinary manner, will be itrongcr or weaker accordiiig to 

 the quantity of the faccharine matter that is ufed ; r.nd this 

 will be greater or lefs according to the quantity of well- 

 ripened farina in the barley tiiat is employed, according to 

 the mode in vrhich it is malted, according to the proper and 

 complete extradion of the faccharine mutter by water, and 

 according to the dilTipation in a greater or lefs degree, of a 

 onantity of the fuperfluous water. The otlier qualities of 

 ides, befides their flrcngthor weaknefs, will depend upon the 

 condud of the fermentation. As the infuiion of malt or 

 wort, is not fo vvell difpofed to fermentation as the juices 

 of fruits, it will require the addition of a ferment ; and a^. 

 tervrarus tlic condud of the fennentation will be very much 

 the fame with that of wines ; at firft ver/ adive, and thea 

 flowly protradcd for a long time : but liuwever ale is ma- 

 2 naged, 



