ABOVE ALL

From the introduction to Country House Brewing in England 1500-1900:

To what extent, for example, was beer a staple drink at different times and for different classes of people? Did household beer retain its appeal longer for country households than others? Can we see in their accounts illustrations of the process by which beer-drinking moved away from being a staple to its more modern position as a luxury? Were drinking patterns episodic or daily? Were servants restricted to weak beer or were they allowed stronger drink? Were there other issues of gender or status which divided beer-drinkers? To what extent was the beer allowance system supervised? Who were the brewers? Were they male or female? What were the reasons for building private brewhouses? Were they provided by only the wealthiest country house owners? Why did they bother to make their own beer when they could have bought in their supplies? More technically, when did permantent built-in boilers become coommon? Or when did hand pumps begine to lighten heavy labour? Or lead-linings come to the 'aid' of hygiene? Today we accept almost without question a picture of brewing in the past as being a highly seasonal activity; is this accurate? Above all, how strong was the drink, how much did people drink -- and were they in a permanent alcoholic haze?