In former times the only varieties of malt liquor in this country were =Ale= and =Beer=, the one strong, the other comparatively weak. To these a third, popularly described as =Twopenny=, was eventually added. However, it was rare that any one of these three was demanded singly; it being the custom, particularly in London, for the working-classes to call either for =Half-and-Half= or =Three Thirds=, meaning a tankard filled with equal portions of ale and beer, or of ale, beer, and twopenny. This custom remained in vogue until the year 1730, when it occurred to Mr. Harwood, a brewer of East London, to prepare a liquor analogous to the mixture of ale, beer, and twopenny; and thus save the time of the tavern-keepers, who were compelled to serve each customer from three different casks. Almost immediately, therefore, he introduced the malt liquor known as =Entire=, because it was drawn _entire_ from one cask. It was first retailed at the sign of “The Blue Last,” in Curtain Road, Shoreditch, where it soon came to be in active demand by the City porters, who made this house their regular resort, whereupon the enterprising publican adroitly called it =Porter=. The word “Entire” still appears upon the facia-boards of numerous taverns throughout the Metropolis; but who thinks of calling for _Entire_ at the present day? By the term =Stout= is implied a malt liquor of the stoutest quality, _i.e._, having the most body in it.
=Stingo= expresses an old beer of particular sharpness, in allusion to its _stinging_ properties; while =Yorkshire Stingo= is, of course, peculiar to the county of York. Originally the single X displayed on beer-barrels denoted that the liquor had paid a ten shillings’ duty. The additional X’s are merely brewers’ trade-marks, indicating various degrees of strength over and above that of the single X ale.
Concerning German beers, we need only allude to =Mum=, or =Mumm=, which is peculiar to Brunswick, and named after Christoph Mumme, who first brewed it in 1492; =Lager-Bier=, so called because it is kept in a lager or cellar; and =Bock-bier=, a liquor which causes the inconsiderate tippler to caper about like a bock, or goat.
The word =Diamond= is a corruption of, and synonymous with, =Adamant=, derived from the Greek _adamas_, untamable, infrangible, not to be subdued, in accordance with the prefix _a_, without, and _damas_, to tame, to subdue. As every one must be aware, the diamond is capable of resisting fire.