Small beer

Small beer
	A modernBelgiantafelbier
Type	Lager or ale
Country of origin	Europe and North America
Alcohol by volume	Between 0.5% to 2.8%

Small beer(also known assmall aleortable beer) is alageroralethat contains a lower amount ofalcohol by volumethan most others, usually between 0.5% and 2.8%.^[1]^[2]Sometimes unfiltered and porridge-like, it was a favoured drink in MedievalEuropeand colonialNorth Americacompared with more expensive beer containing higher levels ofalcohol.^[3]Small beer was also produced in households for consumption by children and by servants.

History

At mealtimes in theMiddle Ages,persons of all ages drank small beer, particularly while eating a meal at the table. It is hard to establish the associated alcoholic content, since systematic records of brewing practice do not exist much before theGeorgian era.

It was common for workers who engaged in laborious tasks to drink more than tenimperial pints(5.7 litres) of small beer a day to quench their thirst. Small beer was also consumed for its nutrition content. It might contain traces of wheat or bread suspended within it.

In 17th century England, it was anexciseclass which was determined by its wholesale price. Between the years 1782 and 1802, table beer was said to define that which cost between six and elevenshillingsper barrel and the tax on this class was around three shillings. Cheaper beer was consideredsmall beerwhile the more expensive brands were classed as strong (big) beer. The differences between small beer and table beer were removed in 1802 because there was much fraudulent mixing of the types.

Small beer was socially acceptable in 18th-century England because of its lower alcohol content, allowing people to drink several glasses without becomingdrunk.William Hogarth's portraitBeer Street(1751) shows a group of happy workers going about their business after drinking table beer.^[2]It became increasingly popular during the 19th century, displacingmalt liquoras the drink of choice for families and servants.^[4]

In hisA Plan for the Conduct of Female Education, in Boarding Schoolspublished 1797, writerErasmus Darwinagreed that "For the drink of the more robust children water is preferable, and for the weaker ones, small beer...".^[5]Ruthin School'scharter, signed byElizabeth I,stipulates that small beer should be provided to all scholars, and larger educational establishments likeEton,Winchester,andOxford Universityeven ran their own breweries.^[6]

To a large extent, the role of small beer as an everyday drink was gradually overtaken in the British Isles by tea, as that became cheaper from the later 18th century.^{[citation needed]}

Contemporary usage

Small beer and small ale can also refer to beers made from the second runnings from the stronger beer (e.g.,Scotch ale). Such beers can be as strong as amild ale,but it depends on the strength of the original mash. This was an economic measure in household brewing in England until the 18th century, and still produced by somehomebrewers.^[7]it is now only produced commercially in small quantities in Britain, and is not widely available in pubs or shops.

InBelgium,small or table beer is known asbière de tableortafelbierand their many varieties are still brewed. Breweries that perpetuated in this type included De Es ofSchalkhovenand Gigi ofGérouvillein theProvince of Luxembourg.^[8]In the US, a Vienna lager was a popular table beer beforeprohibition.^[9]Small beers are also produced in Germany and Switzerland albeit using local brewing methods.

In Sweden beer with an alcohol content of 2.25 per cent by volume, or less, sold aslättöl( "light beer" ), is legally classified as a soft drink (lättdryck), exempt from alcohol tax and age restrictions, made by virtually all breweries, sold in all grocery stores and commonly served in company lunch canteens.^[10]

In art and history

Literature

Metaphorically,small beermeans a trifle, or a thing of little importance.

"Small ale" appears in the works ofShakespeare,^[a]William Thackeray'sVanity Fair,and inEllis Peters'Brother Cadfaelseries, and "small beer" appears in Thackeray'sBarry Lyndon.
Graham Greeneused the phrase "small beer" in the metaphorical sense inThe Honorary Consul.
When David Balfour first meets his uncle Ebenezer inRobert Louis Stevenson's novelKidnapped,Ebenezer has laid a table with his own supper, "with a bowl of porridge, a horn spoon, and a cup of small beer". The small beer, horn spoon, and the porridge, indicates Ebenezer Balfour's miserliness, since he could afford much better food and drink, but it may also be meant to convey the "trifle" meaning as an indication of Ebenezer's weak, petty character.
In the song "There Lived a King" in the Gilbert and Sullivan comic operaThe Gondoliers,small beer is used as a metaphor for something that is common or is of little value.^[11]
Cold small beer appears inAlcoholics Anonymous: The Story of How Many Thousands of Men and Women Have Recovered from Alcoholismin Chapter 1. The narrator of "Bill's Story" recalls seeing the tombstone of the Thomas Thetcher, the Hampshire Grenadier, and taking it as a warning against drinking strong liquor to excess.^[12]
Adam Smith uses small beer in a few examples inAn Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations.These include a comparison of the value of small beer and the value of bread,^[13]and a longer description of why cheap alcohol does not result in greater drunkenness.^[14]

History

Thomas Thetcher's tombstone atWinchester Cathedralfeatures a poem that blames his death on drinking cold small beer.
Benjamin Franklinattested in his autobiography that it was sometimes had with breakfast.George Washingtonhad a recipe for it involvingbranandmolasses.^[15]
William Cobbettin his work "A History of the Protestant Reformation" refers to a 12th-century Catholic place of hospitality which fed 100 men a day – "Each had a loaf of bread, three quarts of small beer, and 'two messes,' for his dinner; and they were allowed to carry home that which they did not consume upon the spot." (Pg. 90, TAN Books, 1988)

Notes

^For example, in Henry IV part 2, scenes i-ii, Prince Hal makes fun of Falstaff, who braggingly quaffs pints of small beer and is never really drunk.

References

^"Foods of England".Retrieved23 February2017.
^^a ^b"Ex-Sipsmith Gin Duo Launch" First "Brewery Dedicated to" Small Beer "".The Drinks Business.27 November 2017.Retrieved25 March2018.
^"Could you drink beer instead of water and still survive?".20 March 2013.
^Peter Mathias (1959).The Brewing Industry in England 1700–1830.Cambridge University Press. p. xxv.
^Darwin, Erasmus (1797).Page 110.ISBN 9781535808552.
^Rogers, James E. Thorold (2011).A History of Agriculture and Prices in England: From the Year After the Oxford Parliament (1259) to the Commencement of the Continental War (1793).Vol. 5. 1583–1702. Cambridge University Press. pp. 704–708.ISBN 9781108036559.
^Smith, Brad."Parti-Gyle Brewing – Two Beers from One Mash Revisited".Beersmith.Retrieved27 July2023.
^Tim Webb (2011), "Table beer",The Oxford Companion to Beer,Oxford University Press, p. 783,ISBN 978-0-199-91210-0
^Alicia Underlee Nelson (2017).North Dakota Beer: A Heady History.Arcadia Publishing. p. 38.ISBN 978-1-625-85919-8.
^Swedish law (Alkohollagen 2010:1622)."Beverages that are alcohol free or have an alcohol content of at most 2.25 per cent by volume are soft drinks".Retrieved 10 January 2020.
^W.S. Gilbert (1889),The Gondoliers(PDF),p. 30, archived fromthe original(PDF)on 4 Mar 2016.
^Wilson, William G. (1939).Alcoholics Anonymous: The Story of How Many Thousands of Men and Women Have Recovered from Alcoholism(4th ed.). New York City: Alcoholics Anonymous World Services Inc. p. 1.ISBN 978-1893007178.
^Smith, Adam(1776).An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations.London: W. Strahan and T. Cadell. p. 13.
^Smith, Adam(1776).An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations.London: W. Strahan and T. Cadell. p. 376.
^George Washington (1757),"To make Small Beer",George Washington Papers.New York Public Library Archive.

[11] For example, in Henry IV part 2, scenes i-ii, Prince Hal makes fun of Falstaff, who braggingly quaffs pints of small beer and is never really drunk.

[1] "Foods of England".Retrieved23 February2017.

[tdb-2] "Ex-Sipsmith Gin Duo Launch" First "Brewery Dedicated to" Small Beer "".The Drinks Business.27 November 2017.Retrieved25 March2018.

[3] "Could you drink beer instead of water and still survive?".20 March 2013.

[4] Peter Mathias (1959).The Brewing Industry in England 1700–1830.Cambridge University Press. p. xxv.

[5] Darwin, Erasmus (1797).Page 110.ISBN 9781535808552.

[6] Rogers, James E. Thorold (2011).A History of Agriculture and Prices in England: From the Year After the Oxford Parliament (1259) to the Commencement of the Continental War (1793).Vol. 5. 1583–1702. Cambridge University Press. pp. 704–708.ISBN 9781108036559.

[7] Smith, Brad."Parti-Gyle Brewing – Two Beers from One Mash Revisited".Beersmith.Retrieved27 July2023.

[Oxford-8] Tim Webb (2011), "Table beer",The Oxford Companion to Beer,Oxford University Press, p. 783,ISBN 978-0-199-91210-0

[Nelson-9] Alicia Underlee Nelson (2017).North Dakota Beer: A Heady History.Arcadia Publishing. p. 38.ISBN 978-1-625-85919-8.

[10] Swedish law (Alkohollagen 2010:1622)."Beverages that are alcohol free or have an alcohol content of at most 2.25 per cent by volume are soft drinks".Retrieved 10 January 2020.

[12] W.S. Gilbert (1889),The Gondoliers(PDF),p. 30, archived fromthe original(PDF)on 4 Mar 2016.

[13] Wilson, William G. (1939).Alcoholics Anonymous: The Story of How Many Thousands of Men and Women Have Recovered from Alcoholism(4th ed.). New York City: Alcoholics Anonymous World Services Inc. p. 1.ISBN 978-1893007178.

[14] Smith, Adam(1776).An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations.London: W. Strahan and T. Cadell. p. 13.

[15] Smith, Adam(1776).An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations.London: W. Strahan and T. Cadell. p. 376.

[16] George Washington (1757),"To make Small Beer",George Washington Papers.New York Public Library Archive.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]

[8]

[9]

[10]

[a]

[11]

[12]

[13]

[14]

[15]

History

Contemporary usage

In art and history

Literature

History

See also

Notes

References