On Jan 2, 2007, at 10:23 AM, John Kulig wrote:
Peter:
I am not a traveler by nature, so I cannot remember where I
picked up my preference for room temperature beer (and wine). I had
a friend in high school whose father claimed that in England during
World War II the locals used to warm the buckets (or some other
container) of beer/ale with pokers from the fireplaces. In fact,
this story may have inspired me to try warm beer. Perhaps, with
heating fuel so expensive then, they took every opportunity to add
warmth?
Maybe there is a brain/personality factor in here. I'm not real
high on the sensation seeking scales, and, I also take my coffee
less hot than other people and I drive slow and don't gamble. Are
the other "warm beer" people out there also introverted, non-
sensation seekers??
John,
Thanks for your response. There is the centuries old custom in
English pubs of 'drawing' the beer, i.e. pulling the long and usually
ornate brass handles to draw the beer from the barrels that are in
the pub's cellar. Those cellars were specially built for pubs to
keep the beer (in barrels) cool. That is the origin of what is now
called the 'draft beer' but, alas, newly built pubs do not much
bother with cellars and use more recent techniques. In my student
years in London one would indeed get disgustingly warm coke etc. but
never the beer.
As for the practice of using hot pokers to heat liquids in war-time
England: Through the second world war coal (used most commonly for
heating) was severely rationed as was e.g. hot water. People were
asked to take a bath no more than once a week, and to fill the bath
no higher than two inches (yes, 2 inches). Bear in mind that the
bathroom would be unheated, and winters in London are bitterly
cold. So, hot pokers were used, when available, to heat water (I
doubt beer) so that the heat of the poker would not be wasted.
I do apologize to all for this long description, and I will not
write on this again. For a non-beer drinker (not non-drinker!) I
have said a lot about beer. I just wanted to give some information
which I know to be accurate.
Peter
Peter Harzem, B.Sc.(Lond.), Ph.D.(Wales)
Hudson Professor Emeritus
Department of Psychology
Auburn University
Auburn, AL 36849-5214
USA
Phone: +334 844-6482
Fax: +334 844-4447
E-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Personal E-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
---
To make changes to your subscription go to:
http://acsun.frostburg.edu/cgi-bin/lyris.pl?enter=tips&text_mode=0&lang=english
