Ales and elegance
In the Georgian and Regency periods ale was drunk by
everyone from labourers to the gentry. One reason for this was that water purity could not be guaranteed. Another was that at this time farms and country houses were brewing their own ales of
different strengths. Small beer – a weak thirst-quenching brew - was a staple at
harvest time when each man was allowed a gallon a day. Strong ales were brewed
for the country gentleman’s table, often laid down and kept for several
years in anticipation of a coming-of-age, wedding, or the birth of an heir.
Before the C16th household beer was drunk from horn
cups. As most farms had horned cattle, the
raw material was easy to obtain and making horn cups quickly became a
recognised craft. Demand was high as they were light, strong, and
easy to carry when travelling.
While the horn cups used by servants and labourers were
simple in design, those made for the wealthy often had rims decorated with silver
By the mid C16th glasses were becoming more popular among
ale drinkers. Most were imported from Venice and made of soda glass. The milky
appearance of this glass disguised the cloudiness of home-brewed beer and ale.
By 1670 not only were brewers developing methods that
enabled them to produce clearer ales, George Ravenscroft had invented
lead-based glass. This was much clearer
and, swiftly growing in popularity, it soon replaced Venetian glassware.
C18th English ale glasses bore no resemblance to the chunky
glass tankards of today. Because ales
were much stronger the glasses were smaller. Only four or five inches high they held
approximately two and a half ounces.
They were also elegant, beautiful, and comparable in design and
decoration to wine glasses.
Ale flutes appeared in the mid 1700s. Made of high-quality
glass they had a narrow elegant bowl on a long decorative stem with a circular
foot, and only an engraving of hops or barley on the bowl distinguished them
from those used for champagne.
When a laid-down ale was served at a country-house celebration, the staff always prepared for extra work as guests who mistakenly believed ale to be less potent than wine were often discovered unconscious throughout the house and garden. Found and put to bed they returned home in the morning considerably wiser.
Labels: ale flutes., Ales, lead glass, soda glass