Hello!
I'm still dropping down the rabbit holes of research and finding out interesting stuff! For previously published novels, I've researched food and drink in the 1st Century Roman Britain era, and during the Victorian era for Books 1 & 2 of the Silver Sampler Series. Till now, I've not delved into the use of Ginger Beer as a popular Victorian drink.
I was recently writing about my character moving to a brand new location in 1870. Margaret Watson (nee Law) was moving from a rented room in Aberdeen, to a rented cottage in St. Andrews. In previous chapters (and in Book 2 of the series) I've mentioned that ale was sometimes drunk, as well as tea, to avoid drinking water that was unsanitary.
Having arrived by train to St. Andrews, Margaret gets some help to buy some basic second hand furniture, needed for the unfurnished cottage she is about to move in to. Food, and something to drink, is sought to keep Margaret and her friends going as they transfer furnishings using a horse and cart. As I wrote the scene I needed to find out what 'take away' possibilities existed in a provincial town.
Since Margaret has a three-year-old son, she cannot go for a 'pub' meal since
children weren't welcome in pubs at this time. And indeed women weren't regularly served in the main bar areas but could be served in dedicated 'snug' rooms. There were hotels in St. Andrews in 1870, which did provide meals for the visitors to St. Andrews (and locals) but again these did not serve adults and children.
Some foods that were available over the counter in bakeries were variations of (Scotch) Pies which may have been still warm from a recent firing if early enough in the day, or they were eaten cold. Ale could be bought from the 'off licence' section of a pub and was generally sold in returnable ceramic bottles, glass bottles, or jugs. But something I'd not really thought of before was that an alternative to ale was Ginger Beer. During the Victorian era Ginger Beer was alcoholic but was regarded as less potent than some beers made from hops etc.
Who sold Ginger Beer in 1870?
Ceramic bottles (usually deposit/ returnable) could be bought from grocers (licensed), sometimes bakers, chemists (who sometimes brewed their own variety) and other small general stores.
My character Margaret enjoys a still-warm pie and a bottle of ginger beer while out in the street, before she takes up residence in her new lodgings. Her son Jamie isn't so taken by the taste of ginger beer, though a kindly grocer is persuaded to provided a glass of milk for him.
This research makes me inclined to look out for some 'alcoholic' ginger beer in the supermarket today, since most ginger beer I've drunk during my lifetime is of the non-alcoholic variety that became the norm during the mid twentieth century.
Slainthe!
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