davek said:
Did they actually do it, though? I've heard of the ale-conner, and knew
that it was his job to test beer quality, but I've never heard the
leather britches story.
"An ale-conner was an official whose duty was to inspect commercial
beers for purity. Custom required the ale-conner, or ale-founder, to
enter the premises and seize a quantity of any brew served. The sample
beer was then poured on the seat of a wooden bench. Sitting down in the
puddle of beer, the ale-conner would allow his leather overalls
sufficient time to dry. Upon arising, he would observe whether his
britches stuck to the bench. if they did, he concluded that sugar had
been added to the brew.
British custom dictated that if the ale-conner's pants stuck to the
seat, a more potent beer had to be produced. In Germany, however, sticky
beer was prized.
In Britain, ale-conners were appointed by nearly every manor house to
assay taxable unfermented sugar content. These bureaucrats dragged
shifty brewsters in to borough-court, or court-leet. At such sessions,
fines and less pleasant penalties were handed down. Condemned beer was
seized and given to the poor. John Shakespeare, father of the poet and
playwright, was employed as an ale-conner.
In London, the office of ale-conner dates to the first charter of
William the Conqueror. In deference to this ancient custom, the lord
mayor of London is still required to don the ale-conner's uniform every
10 years to ritually inspect a selected local pub.
In Saxon times in England, rents and taxes were paid all or in part with
homebrewed ale. In an age when the sale of surplus beer was often the
only source of hard currency, common folk considered good beer the equal
of gold. Feudal landlords often stipulated payments of beer rather than
coins."
from the "Encyclopedia of Beer", edited by Christine P. Rhodes
Tony
