"I am not one who was born in the custody of wisdom. I am one who is fond of olden times and intense in quest of the sacred knowing of the ancients." Gustave Courbet

12 December 2010

Throughout.


It was not uncommon for drinking to begin even before breakfast and it continued with every meal throughout the day. Seldom did anyone pass on the opportunity to down an ale. It was both the nourishment and refreshment common throughout that period's long work days. The quintessential colonist Benjamin Franklin described his earliest job in a print shop with frequent reference to ale. As a young apprentice, tending to the needs of the journeymen was one of his foremost duties. A right to take a portion of one's wages in ale was another custom these displaced Englishmen brought with them. Franklin's diary repeatedly mentions the times his work was interrupted as he was dispatched to fetch rations of ale. Although this job resulted in his early disdain for the beverage he soon developed a fondness. Even John Adams, first United States ambassador to the court of St.James was a beer drinker.

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