Small beer

Small beer(also known assmall aleortable beer) is alageroralethat contains a lower amount ofalcohol by volumethan most others, usually between 0.5% and 2.8%.Sometimes unfiltered and porridge-like, it was a favoured drink in MedievalEuropeand colonialNorth Americacompared with more expensive beer containing higher levels ofalcohol.Small beer was also produced in households for consumption by children and by servants.
At mealtimes in theMiddle Ages, persons of all ages drank small beer, particularly while eating a meal at the table. It is hard to establish the associated alcoholic content, since systematic records of brewing practice do not exist much before theGeorgian era.
It was common for workers who engaged in laborious tasks to drink more than tenimperialpints(5.7 litres) of small beer a day to quench their thirst. Small beer was also consumed for its nutrition content. It might contain traces of wheat or bread suspended within it.
In 17th century England, it was anexciseclass which was determined by its wholesale price. Between the years 1782 and 1802, table beer was said to define that which cost between six and elevenshillingsper barrel and the tax on this class was around three shillings. Cheaper beer was consideredsmall beerwhile the more expensive brands were classed as strong (big) beer. The differences between small beer and table beer were removed in 1802 because there was much fraudulent mixing of the types.
Small beer was socially acceptable in 18th-century England because of its lower alcohol content, allowing people to drink several glasses without becomingdrunk.William Hogarth's portraitBeer Street(1751) shows a group of happy workers going about their business after drinking table beer.It became increasingly popular during the 19th century, displacingmalt liquoras the drink of choice for families and servants.
In hisA Plan for the Conduct of Female Education, in Boarding Schoolspublished 1797, writerErasmus Darwinagreed that "For the drink of the more robust children water is preferable, and for the weaker ones, small beer ...".Ruthin School'scharter, signed byElizabeth I, stipulates that small beer should be provided to all scholars, and larger educational establishments likeEton,Winchester, andOxford Universityeven ran their own breweries.
To a large extent, the role of small beer as an everyday drink was gradually overtaken in the British Isles by tea, as that became cheaper from the later 18th century.
Small beer and small ale can also refer to beers made from the second runnings from the stronger beer (e.g.,Scotch ale). Such beers can be as strong as amild ale, but it depends on the strength of the original mash. This was an economic measure in household brewing in England until the 18th century, and still produced by somehomebrewers.it is now only produced commercially in small quantities in Britain, and is not widely available in pubs or shops.
InBelgium, small or table beer is known asbière de tableortafelbierand their many varieties are still brewed. Breweries that perpetuated in this type included De Es ofSchalkhovenand Gigi ofGérouvillein theProvince of Luxembourg.In the US, a Vienna lager was a popular table beer beforeprohibition.Small beers are also produced in Germany and Switzerland albeit using local brewing methods.
Metaphorically,small beermeans a trifle, or a thing of little importance.