"ALE AND BEER.
From the waters, natural and artificial, we proceed to malt liquors, of which there are several exhibitors; and, first, we shall notice the Pale Ale or bitter beer.
In our judgment, this is the most perfect, as well as the most wholesome description of malt beverage known in this country. Its characteristics are medium strength in alcohol, a small amount of extractive matter, and especially of sugar or glucose, and an aromatic and bitter taste due to the hops; its properties are that it is moderately stimulant, tonic, and anodyne; it contains so little sugar and extractive matter, that it may, in many cases, be taken with advantage by even the gouty and the diabetic.
The exhibitors of Pale Ale are Messrs. Bass and Co., Fowler and Co., Salt and Co., Garton and Co.; and to these we presume we must add Messrs. Allsopp and Sons.
It is quite unnecessary that we should say aught in praise of the pale ale of Messrs. Bass and Co.: its reputation has for a long series of years been established, and is testified by the fact of its enormous consumption over nearly the whole world, in the table given below some analyses of Bass's pale ale in bottle will be found; the specific gravity of these range from 1012.4 to 1017.2 per cent., and the anhydrous alcohol from 5.31 to 5.59 per cent.
The pale ale exhibited by Messrs. Fowler and Co., the brewers of the celebrated Prestonpans beer, agrees in its general characters with other pale ales of good quality, but it possesses in addition a flavour, not easy to describe in words, characteristic of all the Prestonpans beers, alleged to be due to the water used, and which by persons accustomed to it is so much liked; its specific gravity was 1008.1 per cent., and it contained 5.15 per cent, of absolute alcohol.
The pale ale of Messrs. Salt and Co. was perhaps of a rather deeper shade than some of the others, but, as shown by its specific gravity (1007.7), it was well attenuated, and was moreover very strong, containing 7.76 per cent, of alcohol.
That of Messrs. Garton and Co. was of a very pale straw colour, very clear and bright, and was particularly clean on the tongue — that is, when drunk no stickiness or clamminess was perceptible in the mouth. It was not analyzed until some time after the barrel came into our possession, and therefore no reliance can be placed upon the result of its subsequent examination. It should be understood that this is a peculiar description of ale, differing much from other pale ales, in its manufacture sugar is used, this having been converted by a process patented by Messrs. Garton into a very perfect form of glucose, termed by them "Saccharum." This saccharum is supplied to the trade by this firm in any quantity, the advantages claimed for it are — the excellence of the ale made with it, its freedom from acidity, and its comparative cheapness.
Although the names of Messrs. Allsopp and Sons do not appear in the Catalogue, and althongh they do not occupy any space in the Eastern Annex with the other British exhibitors, yet, according to the decision of the jurors, they are to be regarded as exhibitors. While, therefore, the ales and beers of all other exhibitors were contained in casks or bottles, placed for some weeks previous to examination in situations more or less exposed to the sun, and consequently very trying to the quality, those of Messrs. Allsopp and Sons were taken by the jurors from the extensive and cool cellars which they held in the Exhibition building as contractors. This was considered to give the Messrs. Allsopp an unfair advantage over other competitors, and was loudly protested against by Messrs. Salt & Co., who were supported in their protest by the Committee of Exhibitors, to whom was entrusted the allotment of space. There is no doubt a great deal of justice in this complaint, and it would have been far better if Messrs. Allsopp and Sons had exhibited on the same conditions as the other exhibitors; not however, that we believe for a moment that, had they done so it would have made any difference with respect to the medal awarded them. It is well known that their pale ale, for delicacy and quality, is second to none. Of the four samples tested by us, the specific gravity ranged from 1007 to 1009.1 and the alcohol from 6.15 to 8.46 per cent, these analyses proving that their ales were thoroughly refined and of considerable average strength.
There are two exhibitors of mild beer, as contradistinguished from strong beer. The Prestonpans beer of Fowler and Co. is a very light, nice beverage, as pale as India ale, and suitable particularly for use in summer; its specific gravity 1010 and it contained 3.80 per cent, of anhydrous alcohol. The mild beer or ale of Messrs. Allsopp and Sons had a specific gravity of 1024.7, and contained 5.02 per cent, of alcohol.
The exhibitors of strong beer are Bass and Co., Fowler and Co., and Salt and Co. Messrs. Bass and Co. exhibit their strong ale and their No. 3 Burton or Australian ale. The sample of the latter obtained by us was excellent, but from an oversight was not subjected to analysis when first procured. Messrs. Salt and Co. exhibit several qualities of their strong or Burton ale. Three of these were subjected to analysis. As shown in the table one had a specific gravity of 1010, and contained 9.3 per cent alcohol; the second, of 1021, with 9.53 per cent, of spirit; and the third, of 1034, and 9.18 per cent, of absolute alcohol. They were all, therefore, very strong ales, and their flavour and condition were also excellent. The excellence of the Burton ale is, with reason, believed to be in part due to the specific qualities of the water used, and which contains a large amount of sulphate of lime. In this respect the water used by Salt and Co. agrees with that of the wells of Messrs. Bass and Allsopp. Amongst the samples shown by Messrs. Salt and Co. was a bottle of their No. 1 or six-guinea Australian ale, which had been brewed eighteen years, and which had been in bottle fourteen years. This, Messrs. Salt allege, the jurors just broke off the neck of the bottle in place of drawing the cork gently so as not to disturb the sediment which always [illegible word] and then proceeded to pour it out. Of course ale thus treated could not be otherwise than somewhat turbid. We have examined a bottle of this ale, which is now in course of analysis, it is obviously as sound as the day it was brewed, and nearly as free from that hardness and tartness which characterises most old ales.
Messrs. Fowler and Co. also are exhibitors of Prestonpans strong ales. One of these they denominate their "Twelve Guinea Ale;" the alcohol in this amounted to 9.11 per cent and its specific gravity was no less than 1068. It possessed the flavour peculiar to, and so much admired by many in Scotch ales.
Lastly, Messrs. Richardson, Sanders, and Co. exhibit, under the name of "Pale Stout," what is stated in the Catalogue to be "a new description of beer." It is said to combine the properties of both ale and stout, without producing the heaviness or headiness of either the one or the other. It contained 6.62 per cent, of absolute alcohol.
Of the several exhibitors of ale and beer, Allsopp and Son, Bass and Co., and Garton and Co., were awarded medals the latter for "a new kind of beer from grape sugar," and Fowler & Co., and Salt and Co., honourable mention. The beers of these latter exhibitors were so excellent that it is not easy to discern upon what grounds the higher award was withheld.
ANALYSES ILLUSTRATING THE COMPOSITION OF DIFFERENT KINDS OF ALE AND Beer
specific gravity acidity in 1000 grs absolute alcohol** glucose in 1000 grs*** extract in 1000 grs Allsopp's Mild Ale or Beer (in draught) 24.7 2.4* 5.02 82.9 Allsopp's Pale Ale (in draught) 8.6 2.2 6.15 44.9 Allsopp's Pale Ale (in bottle) 9.3 2.5 6.59 47.1 Allsopp's Pale Ale (in bottle) 8.6 3.1 8.46 44.9 Allsopp's Pale Ale (in draught) 7 2.7 6.72 40.9 Bass's Pale Ale (in bottle) 14.3 2.6 5.59 60.4 Bass's Pale Ale (in bottle) 17.2 1.9 5.4 1.8 62.2 Bass's Pale Ale (in bottle) 16.9 2.2 5.46 2.3 65.6 Bass's Pale Ale (in bottle) 12.4 2.3 5.31 3.9 55 Bass's Pale Ale (in bottle) 15.6 2.2 5.35 2.1 60.1 Garton and Co.'s Pale Ale (in cask) 11.6 3 3.94 55.1 Fowler and Co.'s Prestonpans Beer 10 1.6 3.8 45 Fowler and Co.'s Pale Ale 8.1 3 5.16 41.1 Fowler and Co.'s Twelve-Guinea Ale 68 4.4 9.52 84.2 210.9 Richardson, Sanders, and Co.'s Pale Stout 15.8 4.6 6.62 3.7 66.2 Salt's Burton Ale 12 3.9 9.3 4.4 60.2 Salt's Burton Ale 21 7.3 9.56 19.4 86.6 Salt's Burton Ale 34 4.7 9.18 30.3 122.8 Salt's Pale Ale 7.7 3 7.76 2.7 48.4
* Grains of anhydrous carbonate of soda. ** Specific gravity 793.9. *** Estimated by the copper test."
"The lancet 1862, Volume 2", 1862, pages 630 - 631.
PALE ALE.
"I knew a brewer in New South Wales, who prepared 700 hogsheads of Australian ale for the London market. He was an honest old man, but he confided the management of his business to a money-making relation, who was as needy as he was greedy, and who paid little attention, at least to this particular brewing. The consequence was, that the ale was returned as unfit for use. 'Throw it away," said the old man himself; "if it won't drink in London, it can't drink here. Empty the hogsheads directly!" factotum however, thought differently, and thought very correctly, — for he was a superior judge of tastes, — that what would not drink in London, or in his own neighbourhood, would drink very well in India: accordingly, his master being quite ignorant of his intention, this damaged beer was, by a certain chemical operation, transformed into pale ale,—fine pale ale for the Indian market,—and through the aid of a puff or two in the Indian journals, went off well. I know this for fact, as I directed the despatch of the hogsheads myself."—Corr. Englishman, Aug. 25.
"The Asiatic journal and monthly miscellany, Volume 25" 1838, page 88.
"REMARKS ON REMARKABLE DINING PLACES.
By an Habitué of all of them.
No. IV.—THE CHESHIRE CHEESE, AND OTHER CHOP-HOUSES.
A critic on Dining Places soon discovers that his capability of forming a right opinion on any one of them depends much upon external—by which, after all, we mean internal — circumstances. For instance, at the Albion one can dine either with or without an appetite; at the French restaurants such a thing is a decided disadvantage, unless intended to be retained forever; but at the chop-houses, not only a gigantic appetite, but positive, or rather superlative hunger, is requisite in order to come up to the scratch in a proper manner, provided always the visitor be not a city clerk or a reporter on the Sun newspaper.
The class of chop-houses of which we are treating does not include coffee-houses where chops can be obtained, but such places as the "Cock," and, above all, the "Cheshire Cheese," which are chiefly characterized by a substitution on the floor of sawdust for carpet, and on the tables of steel forks for silver ones. Moreover, the waiters obstinately refuse to allow potatoes to be peeled previously to being served up, and altogether a regime is in force which would not be tolerated for one instant west of Temple Bar. When the writer of the present article comes forward as a candidate at the next general election, his cry will be "Reform for our chop-houses;" instead of "Repeal the Union," he will adopt for his motto, "Peel our potatoes;" and the Government, instead of being called upon to "redress our grievances," shall be invited to "dress our salads."
Of the "Cock "we shall say but little, as, although it is always crowing about its stout, which for the rest is very good, it has not yet attained a sufficient degree of civilization to admit pale ale on the premises. If the reader wishes to see a waiter horrified, let him go to the "Cock" and ask for a glass of pale ale. It would produce less effect were he to call for a bowl of prussic acid.
After a contest of some years, Mr. Dollamore, the worthy proprietor of the Cheshire Cheese, yielded to the popular clamour for bitter beer. One concession begets another, and the importation of sherry-cobblers was soon afterwards demanded and obtained. Encouraged by these successes, we have already commenced an agitation which shall not cease until the steel-forks are abolished; and we have made a solemn vow to "die on the floor of the house" unless the sawdust which covers it, to say nothing of other abuses, be speedily swept away."
"The Puppet-show, vol. 1" 1868, page 188.
The regions where hops are grown in Britain has changed little over the years. Kent has for centuries been the most important, producing more than 50% of the total crop. The neighbouring counties of Sussex and Surrey accounted for most of the rest. As this table shows:"Hops thrive best in a southern aspect, and love to couch under the wind, like a hare, on a gentle slope. They enjoy a warm sun, but up to August wet and wind do not greatly hurt them. A damp and warm August, free from wind, is the making of them, and under these influences a crop will almost double itself. Cold wet, on the contrary, quite stops the growth of the burr, and it was this, combined with frost in August, which made the crop of '60 so bad. It is calculated that about 55,000 acres are under cultivation for hops in Kent, Sussex, Surrey (with Farnham as its garden of Eden), Worcester, Essex, and Herefordshire, and those farmers who grow them generally devote to them five acres per cent . They flourish best on pasture land fresh broken up and well trenched, especially if it is a good alluvial soil, not too deep or too light. Clay requires more trenching and care; chalk does not suit them at all; and if an old hand thrusts down his walking-stick as a divining rod, the smell will guide him as to genuine hop-land. Ten shillings an acre extra is put on for tithe, and "the parsons whip us up; they be awake."
Hops and their mode of culture formed the subject of the leading case, Waddington v. Bristowe, on interests in land for nearly a quarter of a century, when one of the acutest Judges in the golden age of the King's Bench astonished Westminster Hall by holding that it was not decided on that ground at all. It was, however, duly explained to the Court that there was nothing left in the land but the root of the plant, from which the bine was to flower and produce the hops. Such roots will reproduce themselves for fully thirty years, and as they die they are replaced by the cuttings, which have been laid and bedded in sets, and are then planted at the rate of three or four to "a hill." The old hop growers go wandering among the "hills," and turn them up occasionally, to see whether the plants have "thimmed or nidgetted," with as much devotion as a deceased duke of many broad acres and London ground leases might be seen applying his nose to a faulty metropolitan stench trap. If it has been fine dry weather, and the air has got well down to the roots, they nidgett to perfection, as the fibres run right across the alleys, and enjoy the good farming. A hundred acres of hop-land require fully twenty-five men to strike and pole, and trim the roots. Each hill has one plant, and about twelve hundred plants go to an acre. The poles, which very careful growers always tar at the bottom every year after they have been used, are taken from the piles and fixed late in May, when the plants have been duly dressed and cut. The Goldings and the Manningtons have the rankest bines, and therefore require the strongest poles, and cutting down poles in the woods by a regular rotation forms an important item in Kentish farming agreements. July is the great fly month, and many an anxious inspection and searching of heart falls to the lot of the hop sage as the fly produces the nit, and the nit ascends to the louse stage. Much of the success of the hop grower depends on his occult science in this combat with the old Egyptian pest.
It is a very great point in hop farming to keep the land clean and nicely ridged up a few weeks before picking, so as to let off the rain. The average of crops is 17 cwt. per acre, but in the most favoured Kentish spots it will reach 30 cwt. during very good seasons. The largest Sussex crops are to be found round Uckfield, but 25 cwt. is about their limit, and the growers sometimes suffer from a total blight. They are, as they themselves allow, generally in extremes. Mr. John Kenward, who is quite the father of hop bettors and Sussex hop growers, had sixty tons one year from sixty acres. They were grown in Little Bowstead, a mile from Uckfield, on stiff land which required at least fifty loads of good rotten dung to the acre. A great crop often weighs badly, as the hops come too large, and lack the rich dust and seed quality of the smaller sort. Sixty bushels to a hundredweight is considered a good weigh, but in some years seventy will not pull down the scale, and it will take eighty if the hops are very bad. It is the green hop which sells, and therefore there must be an early pick to ensure colour, even at the risk of bleeding the bine. Where it is impossible to have them green, the next step is to prevent their being brown, and to turn them yellow by a brimstone application. The common measure is by the pocket of 1.5 cwt., and the bags, whose texture is such that "as coarse as hop bagging " has become a county phrase, generally hold 3 cwt. The Kentish brand is the Flying Horse, and not a few dealers in other counties have got "into trouble" for adopting it, and had to take their choice between a £20 fine, or "three months." Sussex has no brand. Hop bines always come in useful for litter in the straw-yards, or thatching, or as shelter to lambing folds. When dried up, it might be taken, by its smell and texture, for a tea plant, and sheep eat it with a keen relish when chopped up small.
There is "only a ditch" between Sussex and Kent, and some hop yards are half and half in each county ; but still the best Kentish hops always command a larger price in the Borough. Branckley and Wormenden, near Lamberhurst, are the best Sussex parishes; but the growers confine themselves to the Grape, Jones, and Colgate sorts. and never essay the Golding, which thrives best on a chalk and lime subsoil, and not on a clay or sand one. Maidstone and the adjacent parishes of Hadlow, Farleigh, Wateringbury, and Yalding, many of them on the ragstone, are the Kentish head-centre of hop plantations; and fruit and filberts also abound. Ellice is an historical name round Farleigh, and a grower alluded to the family, in dark speech, as having "four hundred acres, and perhaps a good many more." The Canterbury growth, like that of Mid and East Kent, is the mother of pale ale ; but the quantity and quality of the hop falls off as you get nearer Deal and on to the chalk. The Golding hops, which are always very free from mould, require a beautiful light loam; and their magnificent rich colour, coupled with their superior flavour and quality, make them an essential to Bass & Allsopp. They will fetch eight guineas per cwt., when the best Jones's can only reach £5 10s. The pale ale brewers use some of the richest of the latter sort; but still they work almost entirely on Goldings and Bavanes. Jones's, which are always the first ready for picking, grow best in the Weald of Kent and Sussex. They are not prolific, but the best sorts have quality enough even for the Burton business. Grapes press them hard in point of early picking, and are the largest sort of all; while Colgates are the latest and the smallest, and are sometimes sold at from 6d. to 8d. per bushel. In point of production they are almost unlimited on good land, and if they are late picked and well-conditioned, Barclay & Perkins rejoice in them. In fact, as a general thing, brown hops and black malt are the wedded pair in porter."
"The Gentleman's magazine, 1868, Volume 1", 1868, pages 534 - 536.
Hop duty, acres of hops by district 1848 | ||||||
acres | duty | cwt hops | % of crop | |||
£ | s | d | ||||
26,063.00 | 212,269 | 1 | 11.75 | 216,325 | 54.71% | |
11,592.25 | 117,471 | 10 | 10.5 | 119,716 | 30.28% | |
7,915.50 | 30,292 | 17 | 6 | 30,872 | 7.81% | |
Farnham | 2,898.00 | 23,556 | 13 | 1 | 24,007 | 6.07% |
342.00 | 1,973 | 14 | 3.5 | 2,011 | 0.51% | |
North Clays | 361.75 | 2,152 | 18 | 6 | 2,194 | 0.55% |
rest of | 60.50 | 290 | 7 | 5 | 296 | 0.07% |
Total | 49,233.00 | 388,007 | 3 | 7.75 | 395,421 | 100.00% |
Source: "An Historical Account of the Malt Trade and Laws" by William Ford, Notes: Weight of hops calculated for duty paid, based on a rate of 19s 7.5d per cwt. | ||||||
"With regard to new hop-grounds, planters in the Mid and East Kent, and the Farnham districts, are now, as a rule, planting only the very best sorts, such as Goldings and Golding Grapes, Whitebine Grapes, or noted varieties of these kinds. In the Weald of Kent, in Sussex, Worcester, and Hereford, Grapes, Jones', and Mathons, are usually planted. Colegates are not now esteemed; for though they are heavy croppers, and not so liable to blight or mould as the more choice sorts, they are coarse, and have a rank smell resembling somewhat that of new inferior Americans. In some parts of Kent and Sussex, Colegates produce as much as from 20 to 30 cwt. per acre in a kindly year; but in spite of this they are not planted to any great extent"
"The Journal of the Royal Agricultural Society of England", 1870, page 340.
Hop MarketsBorough, of course, is the area of London just south of the river where all the hop trading took place.
Borough, Monday, Nov 23
Prices remain stationery at our last quotations. There has been some demand for Sussex, while other kinds are neglected.
Farnhams 105s. to 136s. Country 100s. to 120s. Mid Kent 90s. to 110s. Wealds 80s. to 90s. Essex 90s. to 126s. Sussex 76s. to 86s. Worcester, low 63s. to 70s. Worcester, general class 75s. to 88s. Worcester, very choice 90s. to 92s.
"British farmer's magazine" 1847, page 708.
"Mr. Allsopp, though a man of high courage, and with a spirit as stanch as ever warmed the breast of a true English gentleman, felt, nevertheless, somewhat daunted by the sudden obstacles that had risen in his path. While in this frame of mind he went to London early in the year 1822, intent, as we have before mentioned, on the advancement of his trade in the metropolitan districts, and with the object of introducing the new ale which he was then contemplating, first in the northern districts, and afterwards generally throughout England.
It happened at this time, that dining with an East Indian Director, Mr. Marjoribanks, in the course of conversation he happened to make some remark on the late occurrences in Russia, the neglect of his remonstrances by the government, and the gloomy prospects of his house from the loss of their European trade.
"But why not, Allsopp," observed Mr. Marjoribanks, " leave the cold climates, and try the warmer regions of the earth? Why do you not make an attempt on the Indian market?"
"I never heard of it."
"There are 5,000 hogsheads of English beer sent to Madras and Bengal every year; and, what is more to your purpose, it is a trade that can never be lost; for the climate is too hot for brewing, unless at a distance so great that the carriage must eat up all the profits; and no tariff can ever affect you. We are all now dependent upon Hodgson, who has given offence to most of our merchants in India. But your Burton ale, so strong and sweet, will not suit our market."
Here Mr. Marjoribanks rang the bell, and directed his butler to bring in a bottle of Hodgson's ale, that had been to India and back. The butler poured out a glass for Mr. Allsopp, who held it up to the light, and then, tasting it, exclaimed, "Is this the Indian Beer? I can brew it."
"If you can, it will be a fortune to you," was Mr. Marjoribank's reply.
On Mr. Allsopp's return to Burton-on-Trent, sitting one morning in his counting-house, one of the men came to tell him, "There's a hamper for you, sir, just come down by the mail from London." On opening this it was found to contain a dozen of ale; and with some joke about " coals to Newcastle" —" a present of ale to Samuel Allsopp at Burton!"—he took up a bottle on which was written "Hodgson's Indian beer." Little did Mr. Allsopp imagine that he had at that moment in his hand the key to a colossal business, and the foundation of the future great prosperity of Burton-uponTrent.
Mr. Marjoribanks' recommendation, and the evident importance which that gentleman attached to it, by forwarding this sample, forcibly impressed the mind of the great brewer; so, setting aside the sample of malt which he was then carefully examining, he directed " Job Goodhead" to be summoned.
Now this Job Goodhead was the maltster of the house; and though apprenticed to Mr. Benjamin Wilson, in 1803, is still alive, as if to laugh to scorn what some have endeavoured to make out—the fatal consequences of drinking much Burton ale. Job Goodhead, too, is as hearty a fellow as any in Messrs. Allsopp's employ, where he still fills his old post; and as he delights to tell the story:—
"Job," said Mr. Allsopp, holding oat to him a glass of the Indian beer, "can you dry your malt that colour?"
"Yes, sir," answered Job, at the same time tasting the beer, and sputtering it out fast, for Job was of the old school, and preferred his ale strong and sweet. "But, sir,"—
"Never mind the taste, Job. Can you dry your malt to this colour ?—are you sure?"
"Quite sure, sir."
"Then do so." The great brewer and his hereditary maltster set to work at once; and the first specimen of the great pale ale and bitter beer trade of Burton, now extending to so many thousand hogsheads, was brewed in a teapot. "
"Burton and its bitter beer" by John Stevenson Bushnan, 1853, pages 100 - 102.
Largest | |||
1822 | 1823 | 1824 | |
Barclay Perkins (Thrale) | 310,300 | 351,474 | 356,192 |
Whitbread | 191,000 | 213,841 | 206,082 |
Truman, Hanbury | 207,900 | 219,127 | 215,317 |
John Calvert | 93,300 | 107,838 | 108,669 |
Meux, Reid (Reid and Co) | 171,000 | 190,078 | 190,615 |
Hammond-Gyfford-Shum-Coombe -Delafield | 126,300 | 140,200 | 131,925 |
Parsons-Goodwyn-Hoare | 64,300 | 72,076 | 70,059 |
Sources: “The Brewing Industry in Whitbread brewing log, document LMA/4453/D/09/016 Whitbread brewing log, document LMA/4453/D/09/017 | |||
"A Kentish Hopyard.
It is well enough to "watch your Allsopp growing" in the tender sunshine of a July morning; but you can never realise the fatness of Kent, till you "gaze on your bags in bloom," and pay your footing to the ruthless hoppers for wandering up their alleys of bine and flower.
"Young and lusty barley
Comes o'er the fields to woo "
in downright earnest, when October has set in. Hoppers have then been at work for more than a month; and the majority begin to weary of rural life, and to sigh for the New Cut or St. Giles'. An owner must be a syren or a boundless paymaster if he can get his hops finished after that date. The Union Jack waves above the vast house-cowls, and a tattered handkerchief on a stick does duty where the orthodox "red, white, and blue " is not forthcoming. Waggons are drawn up in the orchard, and basket after basket of ruddy apples is piled on to them. The thoroughbred scion of an Oaks winner — of which Kent once had three, Mierne, Mendicant, and Queen Bertha, within six miles — almost breaks away from his leader, as a party of hoppers who are evidently not averse to "Eoffs Sparkling Ales," stagger along with the hop bin, borne like a sedan chair between them Byron's query—
"Where are your Pyrrhic dances gone ? "
is soon answered by a peep at the wild revelry, which makes night hideous at the hop supper finish.
Some of them sleep in barns or cattle sheds, which are "feltered up" annually with boards and brushwood to keep out the wind; but a few hop-garden owners furnish a regular set of marquees for their illustrious visitors, who are more necessary than welcome. The gipsy portion are the best workers, but very difficult to deal with. They sally forth at night and do wanton mischief to gates, and let the stock out into the roads; whereas the Irishman is too idle to leave his tent or bothy, and contents himself with potatoes, tobacco, and beer. When a strike is made, the gipsies are quite the masterminds. Either they go to the owner's house en masse to parley, and leave the Irish in the field, pledged not to work under fearful pains and penalties, or they drive them to the house at the point of the hop pole. Irish hoppers attempting a strike on their own account is a very feeble business. "They don't make so clean a job of it as the gipsies do ; they try and look bold, and doddle about a bit, till one or two of them are paid off, and then they turn in again; after the hops want picking, it's rather denoying." So said a simple swain to us, who had observed their habits closely, down to the fact that the Irish will have sixpenny, while others are content with fourpenny ale.
The Milesian mind may show a daintiness in picking its ale, but it shows none in picking its hops. "We'll pick 'em cleaner, maister," is the constant response to all complaints, and they straightway relapse into the lazy old groove. The majority of hoppers work in gangs of two or three to a bin, or a woman will take her children and pick at a basket. Women generally work best, and some of the smartest fingered among them will pick their thirty bushels at a penny or three half-pence her bushel; but twenty-two is a good average. Sometimes they are paid by so many baskets to a shilling; and the quantity required is more or less according as the hops are large or small. Artists compass sea and land for subjects; but a lot of hoppers waiting for their special fourth-class train, seems to have never been thought of.
The station-master has a weary time of it, and he and his policeman must be clever hands at a barricade if they can keep the station clear for other traffic. Hoppers take very little note of time, and if a train goes in the afternoon, the station is in a state of siege from a very early hour, and the
"Little tube of mighty power,
Charmer of my leisure hour "
is glowing all day like a furnace in male and female lips. Most of them carry a can tied to his or her belt, a potatoe pan, a bundle of clothes, and an umbrella; and there would be no luck in leaving the gardens without a bunch of hop blossom for a chimney-piece token. Sometimes a squalid coquette of a girl bedizens her waist with a couple of dahlias, as the old special pleader said, "to give colour." Two or three comrades may be seen round a hop Nestor, whose legs, rendered more wayward than ever by draughts of "Eoff's Sparkling," have failed him suddenly in the road, while an old hop hag of a mate, with her grey back hair all down, has just "lived the distance" to the station barrier, and is feebly shaking her fist at the policeman behind it. Sometimes the men fight furiously, and end up — when it suddenly flashes on them that we "don't malice each other" — with a species of wild dance and bear-like hug. The women are more vindictive; they put down the baby on the road side, and seldom resume it, till they have been credited or debited with a pair of black eyes."
"The Gentleman's magazine, 1868, Volume 1", 1868, pages 532 - 534.
Buy a signed paperback edition of the Homebrewer's Guide to Vintage Beer. For locations inside Europe.
Buy a signed paperback edition of the Homebrewer's Guide to Vintage Beer. For the USA, Canada, Australia and other locations outside Europe.
Posts
All Comments
