Beer in England - Beer in English Literature

Beer in English Literature

• "The roots and herbs beaten and put into new ale or beer and daily drunk, cleareth, strengthen and quicken the sight of the eyes." - Nicholas Culpeper

• "I would give all my fame for a pot of ale and safety." - William Shakespeare, Henry V

• "For a quart of ale is a dish for a king" - William Shakespeare, A Winter’s Tale

• "Blessings of your heart, you brew good ale." - William Shakespeare, Two Gentlemen of Verona

• "But if at church they would give some ale. And a pleasant fire our souls to regale. We’d sing and we’d pray all the live long day, Nor ever once from the church to stray." - William Blake

• "Payday came and with it beer" - Rudyard Kipling

• "O Beer! O Hodgson, Guinness, Allsopp, Bass! Names that should be on every infant’s tongue." -C.V. Calverley

• "Sir, I have now in my cellar ten tun of the best ale in Staffordshire; ’tis smooth as oil, sweet as milk, clear as amber, and strong as brandy; and will be just fourteen year old the fifth day of next March, old style. I have fed purely upon ale; I have eat my ale, drank my ale, and I always sleep upon ale."- Boniface in The Beaux' Stratagem by George Farquhar.

• "Of beer, an enthusiast said that it could never be bad, but that some brands might be better than others." - A. A. Milne

• "Poor John Scott lies buried here, although he was both hale and stout. Death stretched his on the bitter bier, in another world he hops about." - from the tomb of a Liverpool brewer

• "I wish we could all have good luck, all the time! I wish we had wings! I wish rain water was beer!" - Robert Bolt (A Man for All Seasons)

• "What event is more awfully important to an English Colony than the erection of its first brewhouse?"- Rev.Sydney Smith

• "He that buys land buys many stones. He that buys flesh buys many bones. He that buys eggs buys many shells. He that buys good ale buys nothing else." - John Ray (1627–1705)

• "American Beer is a lot like making love in a row boat. It's fucking close to water!" - Eric Idle

• "What's the difference between a pint of beer and a pee? Twenty minutes." - Benny Hill