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 the 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.