Beverage Gastronomy

Tuesday 27 January 2009

Home page for Beverage Gastronomy

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The main classifications at this stage are

non-alcoholic beverages

alcoholic beverages

and the two pages assess the gastronomic aspects of drink.

That means that beverage manufacture will not be looked at but marketing aspects will. There is not much concern in modern times for the effect of tea on western society but there is for alcohol. Elsewhere, influences on a nation's diet are looked at. The focus there is the food part of the diet. It is now appropriate to assess the beverage dimensions of a nation's diet.
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Thus, we begin by assessing childhood and the song about Polly putting the kettle on. A range of topics is then discussed before ending with men whose abilities include showing off by drinking excessive amounts of beer.

There are two extremes here. The ordinary kettle at top left represents the taken-as-normal low level gastronomic interaction over the simple cup of tea or coffee. The "yard of ale" on the right has been chosen as the other end of the scale. It was that or a picture of racing drivers spraying everybody with Champagne. Although the "yard glass" is used by a minority of UK etc men to display their drinking prowess, it is a demonstration that false criteria are used to shout their worth. The discussion continues in the lower panel.

More information on the Chinese pictures can be found at

http://www.jiangnan.edu.cn/zhgjiu/u7-1-2.htm

The ancient Bierstein comes from

http://www.123rf.com/photo_746872.html

The Tappit Hen illustrates that Scotsmen in the past didn't need finger holes to show that they could drink with one hand. Their valour in that respect has contributed to the drink problem from ancient to modern times in Scotland.

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The normal way of proceeding in this website is to direct the reader to another page once the introduction has been made. That approach has not been adopted here as readers from outside the UK, Australia etc may not be familiar with the yard of ale. It is part of the introduction and it would be distracting if there was a redirection activity just now.

1
A yard (or yard glass) is a very long glass used for drinking beer; a yard (or yard of ale) also refers to the (variable) quantity of beer held by such a glass.

2
The glass is approximately 1 yard long (hence the name), and holds very approximately 3 imperial pints (1.7 litres) of liquid. The glass is shaped with a bulb at the bottom, and a widening shaft which constitutes most of the height.

3
Because the glass is so long and in any case does not usually have a stable flat base, it is hung on the wall when not in use. A yard (abbreviation: yd) is the name of a unit of length in a number of different systems, including English units, Imperial units, and United States customary units. ... The pint is a unit of volume or capacity. ... The litre or liter (U.S. spelling) is a unit of volume. ... A liquid will usually assume the shape of its container.

4
Drinking a yard glass full of beer is a traditional pub game. The object is to drink the entire glassful without pausing for breath, and/or to drink it as quickly as possible.

5
The tradition is most often associated with drunken and disorderly tomfoolery in party-like environments. Because of the shape of the glass, once it is raised and the liquid starts to flow, it is difficult to pause.

6
When attempted by the novice, the liquid may flow out in a rush and soak the person holding the glass. To counteract this the glass is usually rotated as it is held.

7
Pub games are traditional games which are or were played in British pubs, inns and taverns.

8
The "Yard of Ale" is associated with Rugby team rituals, and with the compulsory "drinking of the fish from the bulb of the yard" imposed upon a newly qualified UK submarine sailor by one's [his] qualified shipmates at a tavern ashore.

http://www.answers.com/topic/yard-of-ale

The two glasses are from

http://www.answers.com/topic/champagne-stemware

and hold the hors d'oeuvre to a later discussion of the way the changing culture affects what happens between cup and lip.