Beer has been around since the days of the Pharaohs. In Tenth Century England, before the easy availability of hops, "beer" and "ale" were synonymous (and meant what we'd call "ale" today).

There's an inaccurate bumper-tciker around that says, "Beer. Helping Ugly People Have Sex Since 1862." Now if you see it, you can feel superior.

It's not so much the beer in the ballad as the idiom that doesn't ring true (that means "sound old")to me. But I've been wrong before.

Art, that's a great story, and thanks for sharing it.