The Brewery Bird column
In the UK, around a third of adults admit to collecting something; be that footy programmes, spoons, egg cups, dolls or stamps.
For some it’s a way to express loyalty to a brand or team, for others eventual monetary gain but for many it’s more of an emotional tie, perhaps to their childhood, or a way of reliving an unforgettable experience.
Now in the past I’ll admit to having had a passing interest in collecting the odd memento – cereal box figures, comic books, gig tickets, wine bottle corks, and at the age of 10, notebooks filled with the names of pubs we’d passed on our annual family holiday or weekends away - clearly my subconscious knew what my eventual career path would be, even if it took me another 20 years to find out!
So, as a beer-drinker, aside from collecting beers (more on that later), what sort of things do drinkers with collecting tendencies choose to collect?
Beer Mats - In the 19th century, felt or pieces of fabric were used in pubs, not to protect tables, but to cover drinks and ward off bugs and dirt from those precious pints.
The material was absorbent, but it was also reused, so hardly hygenic!
The Germans get the credit for the first cardboard beer mat in the 1880s and brewers started to use them as advertising tools from the 1900s.
Famous Tegestologists include the late Eric Morcombe and Ernie Wise! (NB: no one loves a beer mat ripper, least of all bar staff – so stop it)!
Glass beer bottles - In use commercially since the late 1600s. Samuel Pepys recorded drinking “several bottles of Hull ale” with friends at an inn called the Bell in London in November 1660. Ceramic bottles were the precursor to glass, and corks were used right up until the late 1880s.
Labeorphilists collect bottles for their history and links to individual brewers – bold engravings, bottle shape, colour and texture were advertising tools in a pre-media world.
Beer bottle labels – According to the UK Labologist’s Society which was set up in 1958, there is evidence of soldiers in both World Wars collecting labels from beer bottles in the town where they were posted. The name labologists was coined by Harold Horden and Colonel Fawcett of Guinness Exports.
Bottle Caps - In 1879 Englishman, Henry Barrett invented the screwtop beer bottle. The crown cork or cap was later patented by William Painter, of Baltimore, USA on 2nd February, 1892.
It had 24 teeth and a cork seal with a paper backing to prevent contact between the contents and the metal cap. The current version has 21 teeth. A collector may be referred to as an utremcoronaphile.
Beer Ticking/Scooping/Bashing – The drinking of different beers and recording details of the beer consumed.
This can be as simple as notation of brewer and beer, or perhaps with added prose on location, date, beer condition and sock colour of the drinker.
Tickers can opt for apps such as Untappd or spreadsheets for data whilst pen and paper thankfully are still widely available for the uninitiated.