The representative. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1893-1901, 1894-11-21
THE BRITON AND his BEER.
He Wants a Full Glass, and the Gov
eminent Insists That He Shall Have

1t.
There is one important social reform I
want to see imported from England" said
a returned tourist, as he stood before a
bar up town contemplating two glasses of
lager beer and froth which the waiter had
just set before him. THAT is the govern
ment-guaranteed glassful of beer. When
you order a glass of beer in England, YOU
get glass of beer full clear up to the
brin-an imperial half pint of ale with just
sparkling string of beady foam around
the rim, like pearls in an amber setting
The law directs the vender of beer either
in swell cafe or poor mans pub to
give full measure, and the price of half
pint glass of ale is a fixed quantity-three
halfpence or two pence, according to the
quality of the liquor and the place where
it is served. If you should ask for half
pint of Bass, or half-and-half or any other
kind of drink, and should get half pint
glass containing four fingers of beer and a
tWo-inch high collar of froth, you can de-
mand that the glass be filed with good
drink, clear to the brim, and the British
government will back your demand.
" oh, / say, miss. l heard an English
man say to the barmaid al the refresh
ment counter Of a railway station as he
gently pushed back to her glass of ale
which lacked about three-quarters of an
inch of being full; I say, could you please
put two-penn orth of gin in this?
" Certainly, sir said the barmaid reach
ing for the glass
Well, 1 wish you'd just fill it up with
beer them you know said the bright
young man. And he got his full measure
Now, its not because I'm a tank, nor
crank, nor that 1 want too much for my
money that I'd like to see this reform over
here, but as matter of principle. In order
to get a decent drink for a thirsty man I
have to order two glasses of beer, and am
compelled to imbibe and inhale as much
froth and gas as beer, going through
twice the labor of lifting glasses, and hav-
ing the taste Of beer spoiled by the froth
Nobody-at least, nobody that l know
really likes this kind of thing and we put
up with it because we are free-born Amer
leans, and show reverence for free
American institutions by allowing every
one to show his independence in imposing
us.
"The full glass of beer is a settled insti
tuition In Continental Europe, too. The
Dutchman gets his long glass filled to the
brim, and the stolid German would, 1
imagine, get almost excited were he to
open the lid of his mug and look down
INTO fluffy, cottony half pint measure of
froth atop of his MAS of Munchener A
litre seems to be the usual size of a
draught of beer in Germany, and it's a
full litre of good beer, and the book you
get on the boulevards in Paris is a full
book, too.
'The Englishman, by the way, is very
particular about his beer, and it is a treat
ranking next the drink itself to watch
the tender care which the barman, or bar
maid, handles a bottle Of Bass, and the
scientific finish with which the precious
liquor is poured into the glass. Ice is
never permitted near beer. The bottles
are kent neck up, in cool cellar and
brought up in small quantities as wanted.
The bartender lifts the bottle very care
fully, taking pains to keep it perfectly
level as he draws the cork. Then he
brings the glass up to the bottle and both
up to the light and pours out the beer
as slowly and carefully as the professor
in chemistry would pour out precious
drugs into a measuring glass. The last
two or three spoonfuls of beer is never
poured out, of the bottle, and before set
ting the glass of beer before the customer
the bartender holds it up to the light
and sees that it fines up properly. Then
the man who is to drink it holds it up to
the light, too. If the bartender is too
hasty in his motions to suit his customer
he is apt to be called down.
"'Will you please give me a spoon,
miss?' I heard a man who looked like a
connoisseur of Bass say to a barmaid in
Burton-on-Trent. The young woman
looked at the man and then at the beer,
and then without a word reached for the
glass of ale she had just set before him,
emptied it behind the bar, drew another
glassful, held it up to the light to see
that it fined up properly, and set it down
before the particular man. The first glass
had looked a trife cloudy, because it had
been drawn too rapidly; that was all.
Talking of beer reminds ME that the
free lunch is becoming quite an institution
in English public houses, where it was
unknown a few years ago Formerly If
you wanted a bite Of something with
your beer you ordered two penn orth of
bread and cheese, I noticed this year
that in most bar-roons there was at least
basket of bread and crackers and a
dish of cheese, while some had more pre-
tentious lunches set out. In some places
I found they made a speciality of toasted
cheese on toasted bread. A pot of melted
and seasoned cheese is kept on gas
stove, behind the bar, and beside it some
bits of freshly toasted bread. When you
ask for glass of beer the bartender
asks if you will take little toasted cheese,
and hands out a tempting hot morsel on
a little plate. In many public houses, too,
an urn of hot coffee is kept on the bar in
the early morning hours, and rum and
coffee is dispensed. Rum and coffee is
not a half bad drink to start out on be-
fore breakfast, either. 1t is mostly sold
to people who begin work between and
8, and who take their breakfast about