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Tuesday, December 23, 2008

Can you survive on beer alone?

Beer has had a reputation since antiquity as being a staple in the diet, often called “liquid bread”. In ancient times, workers received beer as part of their salary, as did the ladies-in-waiting of Queen Elizabeth Ist. In 1492, one gallon of beer per day was the standard allocation for sailors in the navy of Henry VII. This high reputation for beer came about because it was made from malted barley, which is rich in vitamins.

This is still true today. A quick check using nutritional tables shows that a pint can provide more than 5 per cent of the daily recommended intake of several vitamins such as B9, B6 and B2, although other vitamins such as A, C and D are lacking.

It is of course unethical to conduct an experiment to see whether one can live on beer alone. However, during the Seven Years War of 1756-63, John Clephane, physician to the English fleet, conducted a clinical (?) trial. Three ships were sent to the New World . One – the Grampus – was supplied with plenty of beer, while the other two – the Daedalus and the Trotoise – had only the common allowance of spirits. After an unusually long voyage due to bad weather, Clephane reported that the Daedalus and Tortoise had 112 and 62 men respectively requiring hospitalisation. The Grampus, on the other hand, had only 13, arguably a clear-cut result. Needless to say, the sailor’s allowance of eight pints of beer per day is no longer within the accepted confines of current alcohol consumption. One can only speculate on the state of their livers.

Living on beer alone may well be a fantasy to some , to which I now ask the next question; is there such a thing as Beer Porn, and I offer you the following Picture as an example, and await your comments.

Sir Dayvd ( always willing to experiment ) of Oxfordshire


  1. Sir Dayvd,

    A toast to John Clephane, physician to the English fleet!

    Sir Bowie

  2. Well, where does one drunken "son of a sailor" start with this challenge?

    First, 8 pints a day fueled the mightiest navy of its day, running circles around those "wino" Spaniards, and blasting big holes in the French ego, who also were more fond of wine, make-up and boys than beer.

    As for Beer Porn, may I offer one of the official British Navy Officer's Toast, I believe it was Wednesday's (They had a different one every day, but this is my favorite!), "Here's to wife's and mistresses, may they never meet!" Sounds like the beginning of a pretty good Porn Movie to me!

    As to the picture with your challenge, the Freudian in me sees a female hand stroking a long hard object which is spewing its bountiful I see two milky breasts waiting to quench my thirst with the nectar of the gods?

    As usual when faced with such decisions, I can't make up my mind, so I guess I'll have to explore both options in more detail.

    Here's to drunken sailors and big breasted barmaids...may their broadsides always fire through the proper porthole!

    Does that answer your question?

    Sir Hook the Captain of Several Golden Hinds of Warrick

  3. Hooky... Freud, if he were alive today, would be able to get several books worth of material out of you.....

    and there was me just thinking of the smooth foamy foam and the cold strong amber Belgian beer ready to quaff and quench my thirst...

    D of O getting in the Christmas Spirit.