The C-in-C's round: "Malt Liquor"

[michaeldr]

We've discussed here before the Director of Supplies & Transport having to order some strange items at Gallipoli (eg: non-medical opium for the Indian troops) and now I've come across this entry: 8th September 1915 - Malt Liquor - wired for 90,000 gals and necessary staff  

see the last line on the crop below

 

'Malt Liquor' suggests to me strong beer - did this term mean the same in 1915?

thanks for advice, Michael

[pierssc]

Could it be a non-alcoholic malt drink?  Its difficult to Google because of the high-alcohol use of the term, but the brand  "Malta" is an example of the soft drink.  Reckoned to be beneficial to health (good for B vitamins apparently).  

[pierssc]

Further to my last "Malt liquor" seems to be an American term for very strong beer,  I think what they may have been thinking of in your extract is nowadays termed "malt beer" which is non-alcoholic and made, like beer, from malt extract.  According to Wikipedia, "Malt extract, also known as extract of malt, is a sweet, treacle-like substance used as a dietary supplement.^[20] It was popular in the first half of the 20th century as a nutritional enhancer for the children of the British urban working class, whose diet was often deficient in vitamins and minerals. Children were given cod liver oil for the same reason, but it proved so unpalatable that it was combined with extract of malt to produce "Malt and Cod-Liver Oil."

[michaeldr]

Many thanks 'pierssc' - Beer did seem too good to be true

[pierssc]

I'm not confident about it, but like you, I think beer seems too good to be true.  Giving the resting troops malt to help build them up seems plausible to me.  I would have thought that giving them straight malt extract would have been easier in supply terms (being a concentrated product).  But I dare say that administering spoonfulls of malt extract to soldiers individually would have been a major task - far easier and quicker to dole out a measured amount of a liquid into a soldier's own mug.  Hence the "necessary staff" perhaps.

I'm afraid the 11th Edition of the Encyclopedia Britannica (1911) gives no great leads under "malt" "liquor" "beer" or "brewing" as far as I could see. I might try "neutrition" "malnourishment" and "public health". [Edit: I did, and a few others, but no joy].

Edited 24 January , 2022 by pierssc

[Jeff Pickerd]

Michael,

Most interesting, if the 90,000 gallons of Malt - Liquor was an alcoholic beverage, i.e, beer, why not just call it that?

The oldest dictionary that I have is ‘The Concise English Dictionary, by Dr. Charles Annandale M.A. LL.D. Published 1901’.

the definition for Malt - Liquor is “a beverage prepared from Malt”. The definition for Liquor is “A liquid or fluid substance; often specifically, an intoxicating beverage; drink (beer).”

Not much help, except it leans towards it being a beer.

A more promising reference is from ‘Chamber’s Twentieth Century Dictionary, first published in 1901, but my copy is the 1966 Last Impression’, here the definition is “Malt Liquor - a liquid, as ale or porter, formed from Malt.”

The Reader’s Digest Great Encyclopaedic Dictionary has “Malt liquor- made from fermented malt (e.g. Beer) not by distillation.”

Jeff

[pierssc]

Non or low alcoholic malt beer is also, apparently, brewed with yeast.

Given the difficulty we are having discovering what they were referring to, it would be ironic if 90,000 gallons of strong ale had turned up when they had intended to order a sustaining nutritious non-alcoholic beverage! 

 

[michaeldr]

Jeff & Pierssc,

thanks for your time and your comments here

I do wonder if the original note “and necessary staff” is significant?

I shall have to go further through the diary and see if there is a note of what exactly was delivered, and perhaps that may give us further clues.

Thanks again for your interest here

Michael

Edited 24 January , 2022 by michaeldr

[pierssc]

Thanks Michael.  It occurred to me this morning to look at some newspapers of the time via the British Newspaper archive to see how the term was used in 1915.  The term "Malt liquor" appears 329 times, but always apparently as a generic term for products made from malt, mainly (if not exclusively) with some alcoholic content.  There are many versions of the following, from around 30th April 1915:

THE BUDGET AND DRINK. Mr. Lloyd George hopes to bring in the Budget next week, and meanwhile large numbers of people have been preparing for eventualities with regard to the restrictions on drink and its higher taxation. Thousands of householders to whom the King's example does not appeal have carefully laid in one or two years' supply of whiskey—moved thereto by the threat of prohibition, and the still more likely prospect of increased prices....  The proposal that we should drink less beer and of lower alcoholic strength would not have appealed to our ancestors, and even Mr. Gladstone spoke up for malt liquor.  In introducing one of his Budgets he described Burton beer as "one of the best drinks which had ever been produced since nectar went out of fashion." That was before glucose, hop substitutes, ail other foreign materials entered so largely as they do now into the manufacture of beer.

Other articles use the term in a similar sense and I must reluctantly conclude that I couldn't find any evidence to support my suggestion that they were referring in the diary extract to a non alcoholic malt drink.  The evidence points toward "malt liquor" being used as a generic term to mean beers ales of all types and kinds without going into the minutiae of their exact colour and strength and whether or not they were flavoured with hops.  A policeman prosecuting for drinking after hours had simply to claim that there was a glass of "malt liquor" being consumed.

This article from Freemans Journal (26 June 1915) about the Dublin Unions is interesting, because it indicates that it was thought that alcohol had some benefit in hospitals:

Regarding medicinal whiskey in the Dublin Unions, the executive learned with satisfaction that in recent years the consumption of whiskey in the North Union had appreciably diminished. Mr. Howard H. Hely, B.A., adverted to the published and unquestioned fact that in the South Dublin Union 1,700 ounces (half glasses) of whiskey are consumed weekly, meaning large expenditure ot the ratepayer's money, which, according to the teaching of modern medical science, is unnecessary and unjustifiable. He quoted from an authoritative source the following figures, which show that in the past half century the consumption of " infirmary" whiskey has largely declined and that the comsumption of milk has correspondingly increased,—

(1) In 1862 there were occupied in London hospitals 2,254 beds. The expenditure in alcoholic liquids that year for patients and staff was £7,712 and for milk £3,026. In 1902 the beds numbered 2.309; alcoholic liquids cost £2,925; milk £9,035.

(2) 1865—Salisbury Infirmary....... [similar]

(3) Handsworth infirmary....... [similar]

(4) Year 1889 - 255,000 gallons malt liquors and 1900 gallons of spirits and wines were consumed by 8000 patients and hospital staff.  In 1905 1000 gallons of malt liquors and 250 gallons of spirits and wines were consumed by 19000 patients and hospital staff.

Admittedly this article points towards malt liquor going out of fashion in medical circles (though I think the speaker had his own agenda) but the figures are nevertheless interesting in terms of their sheer size. 

So maybe someone had it in mind that there was some benefiit, or perhaps the C-in-C really was proposing that troops coming out of the line should "have one on him" (though I suspect he disn't foot the bill for 90,000 gallons personally)!  What relationship does 90,000 gallons have to the numbers of troops likely to rest at Mudros during the lifetime of the beer, I wonder?  And did they re-order?

Piers

[Jeff Pickerd]

Thanks Piers, again most interesting.

It does seem to further support the general description of Malt Liquor to be a brewed beer of any variety.

As to High Command seeking a suitable product to enhance the health and well-being of troops resting on Mudros, i.e. a Malt product, would not it have been more likely to have ordered an equivalent quantity in the form of Malt extract?

I suppose it will all come down to what the Director of Supplies and Transport diary reveals as regards to just what Malt Liquor was, and who it was issued to, if it ever was forwarded as requested.

A fascinating subject.

Jeff

[pierssc]

2 hours ago, Jeff Pickerd said:

As to High Command seeking a suitable product to enhance the health and well-being of troops resting on Mudros, i.e. a Malt product, would not it have been more likely to have ordered an equivalent quantity in the form of Malt extract?

Well I thought about that, but how do you dole out a dose of malt extract to however many thousand troops that are there?  Its gloupy stuff (think Vegemite, but stickier), unless diluted.  Do they all line up and stick their spoons in the barrel/tin?   Or would they dilute it on site.... what was the water situation at Mudros?  Much easier to pour out whatever the dose was of the liquid version from a barrel into a measure, and from the measure into a drinking container - whether it is is beer or a malty non-alcoholic drink.  Or naval grog.

Faced with a load of exhausted troops coming out of the front line for a rest, it must have been quite tempting to give them something like -

Picture thanks to British Newspaper archive

Even abstainers could drink it.  "A wine-glass full taken three or four times a day will be found extremely beneficial in cases of debility and weakness"  (sorry, haven't worked out how to take a higher res copy).  Though I must admit that that is about the only such reference I found for the liquid version in 1915.  Mostly by then malt extract seems to have been mixed with cod liver oil.

Mind you all it takes is a senior officer who swears by his three or four glasses of the stuff a day.  But as I say, hard as I looked, I couldn't find anything to suggest that "Malt liquor" was a soft drink and the references I found were to beers and ales etc.

 

 

 

 

Edited 24 January , 2022 by pierssc

[michaeldr]

2 hours ago, pierssc said:

What relationship does 90,000 gallons have to the numbers of troops likely to rest at Mudros

Regarding the numbers of men

The same WD [GHQ – Director of Supplies & Transport] gives on 28^th October 1915

“We are now feeding 190,000 men and 45,000 animals; of these,

115,000 men and 13,000 animals on Peninsula

40,000 men and 2,500 animals at Mudros...”

[michaeldr]

This is just by-the-by .... .... .... but a different C-in-C is now in charge, and he has his own suggestion for additions to the troops' diet - see entry for 4^th November 1915

“DDST, GHQ, writes that C-in-C wishes troops to have pickles as regular issue, and coffee for one month. Cabled JAUNTINESS for 400,000 lbs pickles and 50,000 lbs coffee early as possible.”

(Still no sign of any Malt Liquor arriving)

[michaeldr]

Though it is not clearly stated in the exact same words, it may be that this refers to the Malt Liquor; see entry for 11^th December 1915

“GOC 8^th Corps, Helles asks for beer to be issued there. GOC Dardanelles Army concurs; reply we regret that at present this is impossible; much more necessary to build up supplies and forage and these are going ashore all too slowly”

The latter refers to the great difficulty in getting supplies of anything at all onto the peninsula, due to insufficient lighters and craft of all descriptions, plus the constant battle against the elements which did their best to wreck the piers and jetties, and impede any rebuilding.

[pierssc]

This probably won't take us much further, but I'm reading Matthew Flinders' log of his Australian voyages in the late eighteenth century in which I'm finding references to the crew being served "sweet wort" weekly.  Googling this led me to Captain Cook and his use of beer, sweet worts and malt preparations during his voyages.  This article is quite interesting.  The author makes the point that in the eighteenth century beer was seen as both food, drink, and medicine; it was thought to have benefits in preventing scurvy (it doesn't, but they thought it did).  Only limited amounts of beer could be carried on board, though, but a sweet wort could be prepared at sea during long voyages from boiling malted barley in water, or forms of beer from concentrated extracts.  Cook also favoured pickled cabbage (sauerkraut) as an antiscorbutic.  Obviously this is all well before the time with which we are concerned, but my point in referring to it is to show that the belief that beer and pickles had benefits to health went back a long way; as the newspaper articles I referred to above showed beer was still being served to hospital patients and staff in the late nineteenth century, and maybe this had some influence on the c-in-c's thinking in 1915.  

[michaeldr]

Thanks for that further input here. We may not have pinpointed the Malt Liquor, but at least we've seen evidence that the top echelon were giving some thought to the well being of their troops. Incidentally, I have also seen a reference to those not wishing to partake of the rum ration being offered cocoa instead.

[seaJane]

Further point on beer/malt is that although it does not contain vitamin C it does contain B vitamins and minerals, so is slightly better for the drinker than neat spirits.

(restrains self from going off at a tangent about scurvy and vitamin C. I'm supposed to be retired!)

 

 

 

[frev]

This may be of interest - a discussion in Australia on the benefit of providing malt liquor to the soldiers in the training camps:

 

Singleton Argus (NSW), Sat 27 Nov 1915 (p.2):

NOTES AND NOTIONS

The question of whether the soldiers are to have their beer garden or not is keeping the correspondence columns of the city press well supplied with copy.  …………………………………

To those who have had experience with British Imperial soldiers at home and abroad, the reasonable and sane view is that the regimental “wet” canteen is the best thing after all.  With proper control by non-coms, and good wholesome malt liquor (no spirits) supplied at regular times and in no excessive quantities, it seems hard to find any great fault.  As it is, men in our camps are drilled and marched and worked hard in summer heat and dust, and their only solace is the more or less thirst-provoking aerated stuff.  Most of the men in civilian life, or those of them who have been outdoor workers, have been used to their pint or two, and the entire deprivation of this in camp can be taken to largely account for the big “drunks” they indulge in when they go to town.  …………………….

https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/80175287

 

Cheers, Frev

[michaeldr]

Many thanks Frev, that's very useful

[geraint]

Very interesting thread! Just found it and a couple of points come to mind. The term 'malt liquor' was used during the American prohibition for illegally brewed beer sold privately or in speakeasies. The distilled spirits or moonshine was sold as whiskey, gin or which ever spirit it resembled. as an ex-history teacher back in the late 70s I can remember newsreel documentaries, with the late Brian Redhead commenting, and a reel clip of uniformed US police smashing barrels of 'malt liquor'. 

The malt extract and cod liver oil I well remember! The Boots own brand was the best! We'd raid the fridge for a couple of tablespoons as a midnight dessert!

[aconnolly]

Likewise missed this at the time but a report in NZ press in May 1918 notes that restrictions in the US included malt liquor containing "no more than 7.5% alcohol".  Presumably various levels of alcohol content therefore existed depending on the brewer?

Similar to Frev's 1915 newspaper report, the NZ Official Correspondent on Gallipoli, Malcolm Ross noted: "In the rest camp the men have been well fed and for a few days they were well supplied with malt liquor - the perfect God-send under all the circumstances".  Christchurch Press 9 December 1915