Pubs Glossary A to Z B Part 2

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BARLEY An essential ingredient in many beers BARLEY WINE – Not a wine but a barley heavy beer and usually very strong ale BARMAID – Bar staff can be male or female though many bars purposely hire sexy bar maids with lots of cleavage on show to appeal to their predominantly male clientele. Such sexist practice is going out of fashion now. A few bars have even tried to encourage barmaids to work topless with varying degrees of success. BARRED – Being temporarily or permanently refused entry to a pub or chain of pubs after fighting, drunken abuse or just upsetting bar staff in some way is getting barred. BARRELS – Beer and spirits are often delivered to pubs in barrels, and sometimes served right from the barrel. The Barrels may be wooden or more frequently, steel. BEER – An alcoholic beverage made from fermented grain and hops and water BEER CLIPS – An advertising clip fixed to the handle of a beer engine pump to denote what beer it contains. Beer clips are highly collectible. BEER ENGINE – The devise that draws beer from the barrel to the glass often through lines that run right to the cellar so it takes a lot of strength to draw beer through to pour into the glass. BEER FESTIVALS – These are a testing market for beers and a place to try anything from a dozen to several hundred different beers, usually real ales. Festivals run in many countries and venues. Though pubs can run small festivals, bigger events use stadiums, sports halls and convention venues instead. There is often live entertainment during the events too. The biggest beer festivals include the Great British Beer Festival in London, and Munich’s Oktoberfest which both run annually. BEER GARDEN – An outside drinking area usually in the back garden or yard of a pub. A few pubs have converted car parks into beer gardens and others have rooftop beer gardens or balconies. Some beer gardens have canopies or umbrellas and heating systems for use in bad weather. BEER GOGGLES – The amusing notion that even ugly people look sexy when we are drunk, explaining how someone somehow falls in love or lust with someone most sober observers find less appealing. BEER LINES – The tubing that beer engines draw beer through to pour it from barrel to glass. BEER MATS – cardboard mats designed to sit under beer glasses and bottles to save on dripping, spillage and scratching to tables. Beer mat collecting is the most common form of breweriana. Arthur Chappell