Beer : Health and Nutrition

Beer Through History 43
of six hundred quarts per annum. Despite all the arguments and invectives of the
agitators who advocate what is paradoxically described as a ‘permissive bill’,
on account of its prohibitory character, we adhere to our faith that sound honest
malt liquor does far more good than harm; nor should we dream of opposing any
system of nancial legislation which would make it cheaper without in icting an
extra burden upon the community.
And the beer strength in England at the time was formidable (Dunn 1979). In 1843
Burton Ale had original gravities between 1077 (19.25°P) and 1120 (30°P), while
Common Ale was 1073 (18.25°P) and Porter 1050 (12.5°P) (see Chapter 3 for de nitions
of beer strength).
Early nineteenth-century diets, though, retained beer as an integral feature, indeed
the recommended ‘family economy’ for ‘moderate persons in a frugal family’ for 1826
comprised (per person, per week):
6 pounds meat (undressed)
4 pounds bread (quartern loaf)
0.5 pounds butter
2 ounces tea
0.5 pound sugar
1 pint per day of beer (Porter)
Drummond & Wilbraham (1958)
The same authors cite a range of typical diets through the ages, reproduced in Table 2.1,
and their estimated nutritive value is given in Table 2.2.
Table 2.1 Diets through history in England.
Diet 1 Diet 2 Diet 3 Diet 4 Diet 5
15th-century meat-
St Bartholomew’s
eating classes Sailor’s diet, 1615 Hospital, 1687 Navy ration, 1745 Navy ration, 1811
(per day) (per day) (per day) (per week) (per day)
cheese, 4 ounces
meat, 1.5 pounds
herring, 6 ounces
fat, 1 ounce
bread, 1 pound
wine, 1 pint
ale, 2 pints
cheese, 8 ounces
bacon, 4 ounces
butter, 4 ounces
biscuit, 1 pound
oatmeal, 3 ounces
beer, 8 pints
Source: based on Drummond & Wilbraham (1958).
cheese, 1.5 ounces
milk pottage, 1 pint
beef or mutton, 4
ounces
broth, 1 pint
butter, 1 ounce
bread, 10 ounces
beer, 3 pints
cheese, 12 ounces cheese, 1.75 ounces
salt beef, 4 pounds
salt pork, 2 pounds
butter, 8 ounces
biscuit, 7 pounds
oatmeal, 2.5
pounds
pease, 2 pints
beer, 7 gallons
beef, 4.5 ounces
pork, 2.25 ounces
butter, 0.9 ounce
suet, 0.25 ounce
sugar, 0.9 ounce
bread, 1 pound
our, 3 ounces
beer, 2 pints