tgarnsl: profile of an eighteenth century woman (Default)
tgarnsl ([personal profile] tgarnsl) wrote2019-09-23 10:56 pm

Ivy-ale and Chop-houses

 I've been doing some reading (as you do) about 18th/19th century dining, and I came across this fascinating bit of trivia: apparently at certain chop-houses, roast beef was served with "gill-ale", which is an ale made with ground ivy (from what I've read, in place of hops.) Now, of course, it's very difficult to find such a thing nowadays, but BUT I have found that apparently Lincoln College, Oxford serves it on May 25th to students of Brasenose!

(For the record, I don't know if it actually contains ivy, but the tradition is it does. That being said, All Souls no longer does their Duck Hunt with a real duck, so we shall see.)