Pubs Glossary A To Z – A

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ABSTINENCE – A period of sobriety, and avoidance of any alcohol, which may be temporary, long term or permanent. I had a long period of abstinence after a hepatitis attack when my Doctor advised me to stay off alcohol for six months in the early 1980’s. I coped easily despite many assuming I’d never manage. ABV – Alcohol by volume – A measure of how strong an alcoholic liquid is measuring the ethanol levels in 100 millilitres of any given drink. The higher the ABV percentage the stronger the alcohol is. Spirits generally have a far greater ABV than beers and need consuming in smaller quantities much more slowly. ADJUNCTS – Brewing process additives, and flavourings. Some brewers add rice, or other grains to the hops and barley to adjust, or alter the pace of fermentation. Traditionalists avoid beer with any such Adjuncts while others like them. ADVERTIZING IN PUBS – Pub advertising is rife. The sign and name on a pub is itself an ad, encouraging drinkers to come in. Once within, beer labels, posters, beer mats, etc. promote goods and services, mostly beer related. Some pubs allow posters and even electronic/ video as, etc. which can annoy customers. Too much advertising in a pub can deter customers. Many people like to promote local plays, and events in pubs which mostly welcome such promotions while some publicans fear promoting events likely to lure customers from the pub. AERATION – increasing the oxygenation of liquids, especially water. It can be part of the brewing process though it is best known for oxygenating fish tank water for pet fish keepers. AGGRESSIVE BEHAVIOUR – Alcohol can drive some drinkers towards aggression, threat or violence which is increasingly opposed by the authorities and communities in general. If a publican is known to serve drinkers already showing signs of aggression, the publican may be putting his / her license at risk. ALCOHOL – There are many kinds of alcohol recognised in chemistry and lots are used as industrial or surgical lubricants, (Antiseptics are rubbing alcohols) or as ant-freeze and solvent agents, with many being highly deadly poisons no one could enjoy drinking for long. The alcohol in beers, wines and spirits is actually ethanol. An alcoholic is strictly speaking, an ethanolic. Ethanol is a natural product of yeast as it metabolizes and you can get drunk by eating fruit that is too ripe. In fact elephants have been known to enjoy the buzz created by seeking out over-ripe fruit. ALCOHOL BY VOLUME -SEE ABV ALCOHOLIC – A/. Something containing a level of alcohol. A brandy may be alcoholic but of course, so may a sherry trifle or Christmas pudding. ALCOHOLIC – B/. Someone who has been or is addicted to the consumption of alcohol which is a drug. Over-consumption can become habitual and ultimately creates its own chemical dependency. Alcoholics can run into difficulties over their addictions much as other substance addicts can. It can lead to illness, loss of employment, being barred from pubs, marital and relationship disintegration, and even death. Generally, if alcohol makes you aggressive, you fall over a lot, can’t recall what happened for much of your day / nights out, you find yourself vomiting a lot, and people avoid you, it is time to try to quit drinking alcohol. ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS (AA) The biggest organization offering support to alcoholics and former addicts. The AA grew from 19th century temperance movements and its twelve-step recovery programme has been criticised for involving lots of religious elements, but the AA has undoubtedly saved many alcoholics from total self-destruction. ALCOHOLISM - Becoming or being an alcoholic counts as alcoholism. ALCOPOPS – Beers designed to imitate the look and taste of soft drinks, despite an often high ABV content. A beer may be created to taste like lemonade or an Iron Brew, but it is very high in alcohol content. Alcopops are criticised for encouraging binge drinking as they often don’t taste alcoholic and unwary drinkers down them too fast. They can often be mistaken for the non-alcoholic equivalents by unwary minors and recovering alcoholics. ALE – Not all beer counts as ale, just that brewed without hops, and with gruit, or herbs used to add flavour and preservative properties later replaced by the use of hops in most beers. ALE-WIFE – In Medieval times alcohol was not brewed in commercial breweries or distilleries but in the home. The first home brew specialists were mostly women, seeing beer making as one of their house-wife chores, and the label ale-wife was often attributed to those producing the more popular beers in a community. As brewing was increasingly commercialized and industrialized women were largely pushed aside by male brewery workers until very recent years. AMBER ALES – Beers that have an amber, orange look to them. ARMS – Pubs are often given names ending in Arms, designating guilds, trades or societies. A Builder’s Arms Inn may have once served workers in the building trade, etc. A King’s or Queen’s Arms inn pledges loyalty to a monarch, or possibly served as a drinking place for a royal militia. AROMATIC HOPS – Hops chosen as much for their scent as for their taste, especially in citrus or wheat beers. ASH TRAYS – Pub ash trays were frequently seen as collectible in the years before the smoking ban led to their removal from bars and seating areas. Many ash trays were stolen, and in aggressive situations heavy ash trays often became missiles. AT'S – After Time’s – A period of illegal continued drinking and selling of beer outside the pub license contracts officially stated drinking up or closing times. Arthur Chappell