Weird ways of exporting beer

Thanks to Brandon for setting me this little tidbit. About weird ways of exporting beer.

"Among the most curious developments of modern brewing are the frozen beer of Tasmania and the compressed beer of Switzerland, both made for export. The British colonies are fast learning to brew for themselves instead of depending on the mother country, and Tasmania, which has the best reputation for its beer, ships it to India and Australia in frozen blocks, so that in Calcutta they suck their beer instead of sipping it. The Swiss process consists in evaporating beer during the stage of fermentation or after the completion of that process, until the residuum is as thick as condensed milk, occupying from an eighth to a twelfth of its original bulk. The alcohol which distills over with the water is separated from the latter, and is afterward mixed with the syrupy extract of beer. The condensed beer, which is shipped in tins, is said to stand exposure to the air in almost any climate. When it is to be used, the proportionate amount of water is added, and fermentation is again started by adding some lees or ordinary beer, and it is claimed that the result is a good table-beer."
"Harper's New Monthly Magazine, Volume 71", 1885, page 680.

Did they really ship beer ice lollies to India? I guess in 1885 refrigerated ships were around. I guess beer ice cubes might be nice to add to your beer. At least they wouldn't water it down like the boring not beer type.

I was wondering why they would start fermenting the Swiss condensed beer again. But, of course, it would be flat after going through the condensing process. I'm prtty sure that that process would bugger up the flavour of the beer even more that the most crude pasteurisation.