Beer Mat Slogans Quiz | Hobbies

Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. What is the collecting of beermats usually called? Hint: It's from the Latin for mat.

Answer: Tegestology

Dysteleology is the study of purposeless organs - usually after drinking several beers.

Coprology is the study of Richard's (you know: Richard the Third) - usually after drinking several Newcastle Brown Ales.

Emetology is the study of vomiting - no comment.

Which leaves Tegestology being the study of Beermats. From the latin tegetis - covering, mat.

Since most people just collect rather than study them, calling it an -ology is a bit pretentious.

Actually the beermat collection is my wife's, I collected bar towels which is a much more difficult hobby and usually called "Hey come back here with that towel"

2. Which beermat has a picture of a draught horse on it and warns that this is "The beer with a punch"? Hint: This is a pun.

Answer: Greene King Strong Suffolk Ale

The Suffolk Punch is a strong chestnut draught (working) horse, hence the pun. Hilarious.
That does however accurately describe the beer: a strong chestnut draught.

3. Fillet of a fenny snake, In the caldron boil and bake; Eye of newt, and toe of frog, Wool of bat, and tongue of dog, With a silhouette of a witch, with hat and broom stick, this mat has a decidedly witchy theme to it - although *not* the Shakespeare verse quoted above. What's it promoting?

Answer: Moorhouse's Pendle Witches Brew

This beermat shows a silhouette of a witch, with hat and broom stick and written on the obverse is this explanation:
"It was no accident that Harrison Ainsworth set chapter one of his famous book "Lancashire Witches" on Pendle Hill, near Burnly. for the aera has long been regarded as a hot-bed of witchcraft.
And in the 17th Century, when superstition ruled and witches went to the stake for brewing love potions and other traditional remedies, the very words "Witches Brew" were spoken with bated breath.

In these more enlightened times, Pendle Witches Brew is winning new friends among real ale lovers everywhere. If you haven't yet sampled its traditional flavor and strength, why not try a pint tonight"

Why not indeed, eye of newt and dog's tongue probably taste a lot better than they sound.

4. "You won't find much like it outside Yorkshire" This is true of a lot of things and in many cases we are grateful for it. Which beer was being advertised? Hint: According to the trade mark, after drinking this beer you'll be magnetically attractive and lucky!

Answer: John Smith's Bitter

Actually it is rather good beer and you can get it outside Yorkshire now - even in Canada. John Smiths use a large Horseshoe magnet as their trade mark.

Hobsons choice is of course no choice at all...

Theakstones Old Peculiar is of course a real beer, and peculiar is a good description of it, dark (almost black)and sweet with a strange lingering aftertaste, this is an acquired taste. If you don't like licorice and molasses then don't bother acquiring it.

I can't think of anything funny to say about Tetley's

5. "It's what your right arm's for" Leftys need not apply, according to which beer slogan? Hint: Be brave, this isn't that difficult.

Answer: Courage Tavern

I grew up in Reading and depending on the day and wind direction the town was permeated with either the smell of Huntley and Palmer baking biscuits (Mmmmmm) or Courage brewing beer (Ahhhh)

Tavern wasn't one of their best.

6. This beermat has a bird with a colourful beak on it. No prizes for guessing it's the Guinness Toucan, but which British detective novelist made the toucan into the Guinness celebrity spokesbird with her whimsical (hint) poem?

Answer: Dorothy L Sayers

The advertising agency had the idea of using animals to promote Guinness and the artist had come up with a drawing of a pelican with 7 pints of Guinness on its beak.

This was inspired by the traditional Limerick:

A wonderful bird is the pelican
His beak can hold more than his bellican
He can hold in his beak,
Enough for a week
And no one knows how the hellican

This was considered a little rude for the times (1935) so Dorothy L. Sayers (author of the Lord Peter Wimsey novels), who was then working for the agency, was asked to come up with a more sanitized version which she did:

If he can say as you can
A Guinness is good for you,
How grand to be a Toucan,
Just think what Toucan do.

The Toucan was firmly associated with Guinness until 1982 when he was retired.

Alas I don't have a beermat with the poem on it, but the Toucan is prominent on the several Guinness mats I have.

7. "Worth passing a few pubs for" Possibly, but it doesn't say whether you should pass them because they do or don't carry which mediocre keg beer? Hint: The advice is given by what appears to be one of the seven dwarves wearing a tophat.

Answer: Youngers Tartan

The then Scottish and Newcastle Breweries is now Scottish Courage (some Scotsmen have a lot of courage, especially after the pubs close).

According to their Annual Report: "Scottish Courage's objective is to deliver superior long-term returns through the effective marketing, production and distribution of branded beverages."

Notice it doesn't say anything there about brewing good beer!

8. This beermat features a jolly, fat huntsman with the words "Hardy beer from Hardy's Country" The brewery certainly was in Hardy's country - and still is, although it has changed its name. Just where is Hardy's country? Hint: it's actually a real county not a country, and you should have paid more attention in English Lit.

Answer: Dorset

Hardy refers to 'Wessex" in his books but Wessex had had no official status since 1066. It was one of the seven major Anglo-Saxon kingdoms (the Heptarchy) that preceded the Kingdom of England.

Alfred Pope, the first Chairman of Eldridge Pope Brewery, Dorset, was a friend of Thomas Hardy and the brewery is now called Hardy's Brewery.

Hardy often waxed eloquently on his local ales. In the "Trumpet Major" he describes a local beer as "of the most beautiful colour that the eye of an artist in beer could desire; full in body, yet brisk as a volcano; piquant, yet without twang; luminous as an autumn sunset; free from streakiness of taste; but, finally, rather heady. The masses worshipped it, the minor gentry loved it more than wine, and by the most illustrious country families, it was not despised."

That's a much nicer image than an obese killer of indigenous wildlife.

9. In these times of drunk-driving awareness, this beermat looks to be in bad taste. Featuring a picture of a traffic light it says: "Stop..Now...Go for XXX Ales". Which beer was being advertised? (XXX is the name of the brewery) Who was responsible for this politically incorrect beermat? Hint: Put these ad-men out to pasture

Answer: Mansfield Ales

The message now would be: : "Stop...Think...Go for a taxi"

10. This beermat has a spade on it with the words "If you haven't got a leaflet, you haven't got a clue" It was one of a series with other digging implements on it. Which beer was advertised with that slogan? Hint: This brewery was in England's then smallest county which got a case of severe rising damp.

Answer: Ruddles

I never did get a leaflet, but I expect it was to do with the construction of Rutland Water, a large reservoir that flooded a large part of Rutland County, close to Ruddles Oakham brewery. Rutland Water was called "Ruddles Puddle" by many locals.

Source: Author qcobb

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor Bruyere before going online.
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Beer Mat Slogans Trivia Quiz

Yes it's the "Beer Which Project" Questions about beer mats collected in British pubs in the 70s. Even with an intimate knowledge of beer served in British Pubs, this quiz is nearly impossible, so I've given broad hints!

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