LONDON ALE-TASTERS

Dominion, Volume 25, Issue 275, 16 August 1932, Page 14

LONDON ALE-TASTERS

£lO a Year With No Duties The City of London is one of the few places which has official ale-tasters. According to the city records the correct description of the office is “aleconner.” His duty is “to ascertain that the. beer sold in the city is wholesome, and that tho measures in which it is given are fair.” It is also stated that “the investigation is made four times in the year, and on occasion it occupies about 14 days.” One of the four city ale-conuers, Mr. Harry Stow, said to a “Daily Mail” reporter :— “I am the beadle of the Company of Coachmakers, a coroner’s officer, a licensing officer, and a special constable. All the other ale-conners hold these offices in other wards. “According to law I can enter licensed premises to test the quality of the ale, but I have never done so. It has not. been done by any ale-conner for years. That sort of work is done by the Excise or the weights-and-measures department.” Records show that even 100 years ago the ale-conners had ceased to be official judges of beer. But the appointment is still made every year, at a salary of £lO a year.