Thursday, August 29, 2013

How to Drink Beer, 1623


"Beere that is too bitter of the hop... hurteth the sinewes, offendeth the sight, and causeth the head-ach, by filling the ventricles of the braine with troublesome vapors... Here some may demand, Whether it be better to drink their Beere cold, or a little warmed, especially in the Winter season? Whereto I answer, that I see no good reason to approve the drinking thereof warme, as I know some to do, not only in the Winter, but almost all the yeere: for it is nauceous and fulsome to the stomack... Moreover, it doth not so well quench the thirst, temper the naturall heat, and coole the inward parts, as if it be taken cold." 
Tobias Venner, Via recta ad vitam longam (1623) 
This just in from the archives of drinking lore: poorly chosen beer can give you the head-ach, and warm beer is nauseating.

4 comments:

  1. Clearly, Mr. Venner would be a fan of Strong Bad, who said it best, "A One That Isn't Cold, Is Scarcely A One At All"

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  2. Apparently the seventeenth century is not a fan of IPAs

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  3. I love your blog! We keep posting your links on our facebook page. Check out ours: http://cohort.utk.edu - University of Tennessee grad students in Medieval and Renaissance Studies.

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  4. Have you tried hot beer?

    Heated up ale was a massively popular way of drinking beer (especially in the winter) for hundreds of years. As long as it isn't one of the modern style hop bombs, heating ale up to around coffee/tea temperature is delicious. (Imagine! A sweet malty drink with a bit of bitterness in it tasting good hot! What's next, hot coffee?)

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