Evening star., 1939-01-03
Bottle Of Royal Ale
Expected 10 Yield
Small Fortune
1902 Brew Has Sold for
As High os $500;
Hos a History
Special Dispatch to The Star.

T0S history
Special Dispatch to The Star.
LONDON, Jan. 3 (N.ANA).-
A. E. Smith of Wealdstone, Mid
= dlesex, England, has a bottle of
Kings ale for disposal, but if you
wish to come by it you will be ex-
pected to pay good money. Such
bottles OF ale as Mr.. Smiths have
been sold for as much as a hundred
pounds sterling ($500) each.
Mr.. Smiths bottle of ale attracted
wide attention because he advertised
1t for sale in London and New York
newspapers.
The history of this bottle dates
from February %, 1902, when King
> Edward VII inspected the brewery
of Bass & Co.. Ltd, at Burton-on
Trent, Staffordshire. A special vat
of ale was then prepared in readi-
ness for his majesty to start the
brew, as Is customary when King
of England makes such visit. The
King having duly pulled lever to
start the mixing, the brew proved
successful one, and the ale was
bottled, labeled and sealed The
special bottles made for it have
Kings Ale" embossed on the glass,
v and the labels are printed with the
date of the brew.
Expects Little Fortune.
Ever since then Mr. Smith has
stored his precious bottle, given to
a member of his family employed
in the brewery, and now expects a
little fortune from it, for times are
hard with him.
A sentimental value attaches to
Kings ale among EnglEhmen, for
ale is the romantic beverage of old
England. This very last Christmas
tide you might have seen, had you
been in London, "ale garlands'
hanging outside the old George Inn
in the borough High Street, the old
custom of hanging out those gar
lands having been kept also by hun
dreds and hundreds of English Ii
Censees.
1t is only since the introduction
of hops into England from Flanders
In the sixteenth century that ale"
> In England has become synonymous
with beer" Before that time ale
was the name applied exclusively to
malt liquor.
Two Ales Formerly.
The Welsh and Scots in former
days had two kinds of ale called
common and spiced ales, the dis
tinction being recognized by the law.
Thus: IF a farmer have no mead,
he shall pay two casks of spiced ale,
or four casks of common ale, for one
!. cask of mead" Mead, OF course,
was hymned by Anglo-SaXon bards.
King Arthur and the Knights of the
Round Table must. like BeoWulf,
have thriven on that ancient liquor,
made from the fermentation of
honey and water which the Romans
called hydromel.
Since ale was the chief drink at
parish festivals and village merry
makings, the very word 'ale" came
to stand for the feast itself. Thus,
there were leet-ales (the festivals
held on leet or manorial court
days., lamb-ales cat sheep-shearing
a frolics), church-ales, Whitsun-ales
and so on. Bid-ales, the benefit
feasts to which all and sundry came
and contributed toward the benefit
of some person or persons or cause,
were at one time common through
out England. The word bridal is
really bride ale" that is the we'd
ding feast. Church-ales kept the
churches in repair and provided
aims for the poor as we'll. Thus, in
{ q Norfolk church you may still read
the inscription:
God speed the plough
And give us good ale enow.
Be merry and glade,
With good ale was this work made"
Colleges Brewed Own Ale.
Colleges of the English universi-
:. ties used to brew their own ales and
hold festivals called college -ales"
Some are, in fact, still breWed and
Z are famous, such as the audit ale"
y of Trinity College. Cambridge;
chancellor ale" at Wueen's College
! and "archdeacon ale" at Morton
College, oxford.
! An officer used to be appointed
: yearly at the court-leet of ancient
: English manors for the assize of
: ale and ale-measures. The ale
! conners," or "ale-tasters," examined
: the ale for its wholesomeness and
! saw that proper prices were charged
Z for it.
I In London four ale-conners, to
examine the measures used by beer
) and liquor sellers, are still chosen
every year by the "liverymen in
/ common hall assembled on mid
! summer day.
1 (copyright, 1898, by the North American
{ Newspaper Alliance, Inc1