Pub Glossary a

Terms and phrases associated with pub life and drinking.

A

ABV – (ALCOHOL BY VOLUME) A measure of just how alcoholic a drink is, with the alcohol level marked as a percentage in relation to other ingredients. The higher the ABV, the beer, wine, or spirits might need to be consumed more slowly, and in fewer quantities. Pricing can also be dictated by ABV’s with higher alcohol content making a drink more expensive.

AFTER HOURS – AFTER TIME (AT’s) Unlicensed, and in effect illegal drinking session taking place outside a pub’s opening hours, usually at night after legal drinking is over and done with. Only trusted regular customers and friends of staff usually get to drink after time. If caught, customers can be fined and licensees can lose their pubs.

ALCOHOL A chemical substance, in fact there are many alcohols, but that which is produced in brewing of wines, spirits and beers is most commonly an ethanol. Many other industrial or chemical alcohols would be highly poisonous to humans rather than intoxicating and surviving as a drug. The earliest known use in drinkable form goes back 9,000 years, to Neolithic China. Alcohol can be used as a lubricant, a medicinal salve, a fuel, (it is highly flammable), and in many other ways. Astronomers have identified natural sources of alcohol in distant galaxies. Your next pint may be mere light years away.

ALCOHOLIC – Someone who has developed an addiction to alcohol, often with devastating effects on work, income, relationships, health, etc. Support groups and medical advice should be sought in such matters. Not all heavy drinkers or drunkards should be regarded as alcoholics.

ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS – Founded in 1935, in Ohio, but now very much an international organizational network. They remain the best known support group for alcoholics and their families, rooted in temperance movements and with some quasi-religious rituals. The AA has undoubtedly helped many alcoholics recover from their drink problems  Their official website – http://www.aa.org/?Media=PlayFlash

ALCOPOPS – Popular drinks, which are alcohol, flavoured versions of soft drinks, such as Orange Wkd, being an alcoholic version of Irn Bru fizzy pop. The increased sale of such drinks has been blamed for fuelling the modern media perception of binge drinking.

ALE – Though most beer is sometimes referred to as ale, the word ale generally refers to barley beers with light hops added to influence flavour and serve as a preservative.

Saxon England meals were seldom without ale, though this was usually small ale, something akin to a modern Shandy, with low alcohol content ale serving as liquid refreshment at the dinner table. Ales vary, from Pale, to Brown, depending on strengths, colour, ingredient mixes, etc.

ALEWIFE – Old name for a pub Landlord’s wife, who would be expected to assist in running the pub. Divorce would mean the couple lose control of the pub. Alewives would later become pub land-ladies with sufficient status to be seen as the owners and managers of pubs in their own right.

AMATUER NIGHTS – Times when casual drinkers invade pubs in droves to celebrate special occasions. Xmas Eve, Xmas Day lunchtime (most pubs close Xmas night), New Year’s Eve, other national holidays, birthdays, hen & stag nights, etc. Inexperienced drinkers often drink too much, or switch from a few halves of ale to large-scale consumption of spirits and become drunkenly abusive or violent. Others moan about pricing, service, etc, and then don’t support the pub again until the next special occasion. Many seasoned drinkers dislike the amateur night, especially when pubs try to control it by charging admission fees, turning a pub into a temporary nightclub, with no clear indication of what the money collected goes towards.

Arthur Chappell