Food in the Migrant Experience by Anne J. Kershen

Author:Anne J. Kershen [Kershen, Anne J.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780754618744
Barnesnoble:
Goodreads: 4173044
Publisher: Routledge
Published: 2002-10-09T00:00:00+00:00

Declining Opportunities for Alien Brewers

Although aliens still controlled a large part of beer production in the 1570s, it is clear that their significance declined steadily after this date. Evidence shows that while in the fifteenth century, most beer brewers are known to have been aliens, by the late sixteenth century, they only made up one third of beer brewers in London. By 1607 of the 50 brewers who contributed money to the Brewers’ Company only 8 per cent can be identified as aliens.97

So what caused this significant shift in the beer brewing industry in London, from one that was dominated by aliens brewers to that controlled by English brewers? The spectacular growth of the industry in the late sixteenth century may have been the key factor in this shift, as it precipitated three significant changes. First, a higher capital investment was necessary as a result of larger scale of production. This raised the barrier of entry, as brewers needed more money to start up, to buy equipment and invest in a higher level of stocks and raw materials. It is unclear how much capital was needed to set up a brew house in the sixteenth century. An inventory of Jacob Wittewrongle for 1621 shows that his equipment, including a great copper kettle, a mash tun with a loose bottom, a woort tun, a yield tun, coal barks, four hand kettles, and one scouring fork were valued at £84 10s.98 But brewers also needed a lot of working capital to cover credit to customers. Debts constituted a large proportion of brewers’ capital. Although all brewers provided credit to customers and had to absorb unpaid debts, these were an acute problem especially for beer brewers, perhaps because their larger operations produced more customers and bigger debts. Throughout the sixteenth century, beer brewers constantly complained about bad debts. When Roger Mascall died in 1573, he left more than £1,400 in ‘desperate and doubtful debts’ owned by more than 200 customers. He had more of his wealth in bad debts than in assets.99 In other words, alien brewers wishing to set up needed at least a few hundred pounds. They also needed to pay approximately £20 admission fee into the brotherhood of the Brewers’ Company, which was essential to set up independently, and £50 for admission into the freedom of the city. This was a considerable sum considering that the average annual wage of a brewer journeyman was only £10.

Partnership was one way to raise the necessary capital. The survey in 1574 mentioned four partnerships among the stranger beer brewers, and none among the English brewers, reflecting perhaps the lower financial resources of aliens. Among the 35 strangers who were admitted as brothers into the Brewers’ Company between 1566 and 1597, at least 12 or a third had worked together as partners. Of the 13 partnerships formed in this period, nearly half was cemented during the 1570s, indicating perhaps the increasing capital requirements necessitated by growing scale of production. By the 1580s, partnerships were

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