Beerage
Encyclopedia
Beerage is a term mainly used to describe the influence of the brewing
industry within the British political system. A portmanteau word combining beer
and peerage
, it arose through the ennoblement and award of other honours to brewers in the late 19th century, and such individuals were considered to be within this subset of the peerage. Its use has since been applied in other contexts within the British beer sector.
and peerage
and was coined about 1880. The term carried connotations of political funding by brewers, and reciprocal favourable treatment of the brewing industry.
In the late 19th century there were a large number brewers as Members of Parliament in the House of Commons and several of these were elevated to the peerage or awarded other honours. The link between political donations and the honours system, though criticised, was then more prevalent.
The 19th century Liberals
included a strong contingent of temperance campaigners which created tensions with the brewing faction within the party. It has been noted that following Gladstone
's Licensing Act of 1872 "the beerage swung from the Liberal party to the Conservative party" By the early 1900s, Sir Winston Churchill
accused the Conservative Party of "drawing a brewer's dray across the road of progress" and the Conservative Benches in the House of Lords were known collectively as the "Beerage". These references were used in setting the historical context in the course of debates on licensing in the Houses of Parliament in 1995 and 2005.
In 1931 the term was used in the Commons during a "hotly debated" bill
by Scottish temperance M. P., Edwin Scrymgeour
, to prohibit commercial liquor sales in Britain:
- that were about to withdraw from the industry. However, the lobbying power of the beerage was still great, and its long tradition of Tory Party activism still evident.
The hereditary principle of peerage has also seen the term applied to family-run breweries that have been inherited over the generations.
Brewing
Brewing is the production of beer through steeping a starch source in water and then fermenting with yeast. Brewing has taken place since around the 6th millennium BCE, and archeological evidence suggests that this technique was used in ancient Egypt...
industry within the British political system. A portmanteau word combining beer
Beer
Beer is the world's most widely consumed andprobably oldest alcoholic beverage; it is the third most popular drink overall, after water and tea. It is produced by the brewing and fermentation of sugars, mainly derived from malted cereal grains, most commonly malted barley and malted wheat...
and peerage
Peerage
The Peerage is a legal system of largely hereditary titles in the United Kingdom, which constitute the ranks of British nobility and is part of the British honours system...
, it arose through the ennoblement and award of other honours to brewers in the late 19th century, and such individuals were considered to be within this subset of the peerage. Its use has since been applied in other contexts within the British beer sector.
Historical use
Beerage is a portmanteau word combining beerBeer
Beer is the world's most widely consumed andprobably oldest alcoholic beverage; it is the third most popular drink overall, after water and tea. It is produced by the brewing and fermentation of sugars, mainly derived from malted cereal grains, most commonly malted barley and malted wheat...
and peerage
Peerage
The Peerage is a legal system of largely hereditary titles in the United Kingdom, which constitute the ranks of British nobility and is part of the British honours system...
and was coined about 1880. The term carried connotations of political funding by brewers, and reciprocal favourable treatment of the brewing industry.
In the late 19th century there were a large number brewers as Members of Parliament in the House of Commons and several of these were elevated to the peerage or awarded other honours. The link between political donations and the honours system, though criticised, was then more prevalent.
The 19th century Liberals
Liberal Party (UK)
The Liberal Party was one of the two major political parties of the United Kingdom during the 19th and early 20th centuries. It was a third party of negligible importance throughout the latter half of the 20th Century, before merging with the Social Democratic Party in 1988 to form the present day...
included a strong contingent of temperance campaigners which created tensions with the brewing faction within the party. It has been noted that following Gladstone
William Ewart Gladstone
William Ewart Gladstone FRS FSS was a British Liberal statesman. In a career lasting over sixty years, he served as Prime Minister four separate times , more than any other person. Gladstone was also Britain's oldest Prime Minister, 84 years old when he resigned for the last time...
's Licensing Act of 1872 "the beerage swung from the Liberal party to the Conservative party" By the early 1900s, Sir Winston Churchill
Winston Churchill
Sir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill, was a predominantly Conservative British politician and statesman known for his leadership of the United Kingdom during the Second World War. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest wartime leaders of the century and served as Prime Minister twice...
accused the Conservative Party of "drawing a brewer's dray across the road of progress" and the Conservative Benches in the House of Lords were known collectively as the "Beerage". These references were used in setting the historical context in the course of debates on licensing in the Houses of Parliament in 1995 and 2005.
In 1931 the term was used in the Commons during a "hotly debated" bill
Bill (proposed law)
A bill is a proposed law under consideration by a legislature. A bill does not become law until it is passed by the legislature and, in most cases, approved by the executive. Once a bill has been enacted into law, it is called an act or a statute....
by Scottish temperance M. P., Edwin Scrymgeour
Edwin Scrymgeour
Edwin Scrymgeour , was a Member of Parliament for Dundee, Scotland. He is the only person ever elected to the House of Commons on a prohibitionist ticket as the candidate of the Scottish Prohibition Party....
, to prohibit commercial liquor sales in Britain:
Mr. Scrymgeour: "Evidence given before the present Royal Licensing Commission showed that in four London brewing companies there were among the shareholders forty-six peers, twenty peeresses, 161 lords and ladies and honorables, forty-seven baronets, 106 knights and seventeen members of Parliament."
Lady AstorNancy Astor, Viscountess AstorNancy Witcher Astor, Viscountess Astor, CH, was the first woman to sit as a Member of Parliament in the British House of Commons.Constance Markievicz was the first woman elected to the House of Commons in December 1918 after running for the Sinn Féin party in 1918 General Election, but in line...
: "You might as well call it the beerage as the peerage", to which the SpeakerSpeaker (politics)The term speaker is a title often given to the presiding officer of a deliberative assembly, especially a legislative body. The speaker's official role is to moderate debate, make rulings on procedure, announce the results of votes, and the like. The speaker decides who may speak and has the...
interjected severely:
"I would remind the noble lady that it is a rule of this House not to say anything disrespectful of the Other Place (the House of LordsHouse of LordsThe House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster....
").
Modern use
The term "Beerage" has been used more recently in a wider context to reflect the dominance of the industry by major players. In 1995 the brewing industry was in the hands of the "Big Six" which by 2000 was down to two - Bass and WhitbreadWhitbread
Whitbread PLC is a global hotel, coffee shop and restaurant company headquartered in Dunstable, United Kingdom. Its largest division is Premier Inn, which is the largest hotel brand in the UK with around 580 hotels and over 40,000 rooms. Its Costa Coffee chain has around 1,600 stores across 25...
- that were about to withdraw from the industry. However, the lobbying power of the beerage was still great, and its long tradition of Tory Party activism still evident.
The hereditary principle of peerage has also seen the term applied to family-run breweries that have been inherited over the generations.
Members of the Beerage
Ennobled brewers include:- Arthur Edward Guinness, Baron Ardilaun (1880)
- Henry Allsopp, 1st Baron HindlipHenry Allsopp, 1st Baron HindlipHenry Allsopp, 1st Baron Hindlip , was a British businessman and Conservative Member of Parliament ....
(1886) - Michael Arthur Bass, 1st Baron Burton (1886)
- Earl of IveaghEarl of IveaghEarl of Iveagh is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created in 1919 for the businessman and philanthropist Edward Guinness, 1st Viscount Iveagh. He was the third son of Sir Benjamin Guinness, 1st Baronet, of Ashford, and the great-grandson of Arthur Guinness, the founder of the...
(1919)