I was searching for a certain song that contained the phrase "rob a poor man of his beer." This isn't the right song, but it's so interesting I decided to collect it. By the way, I found so many instances of "rob a poor man of his beer" that I conclude it must have been a popular catch-phrase in the late 19th century.

From Life of Charles Haddon Spurgeon, the World's Great Preacher by Russell Herman Conwell (Philadelphia: A. T. Hubbard, 1892):

Now, if we try to do anything to shut up a boozing-house, or shorten the hour for guzzling, we are called all sorts of bad names, and the wind-up of it all is—"What! Rob a poor man of his beer?" The fact is that they rob the poor man by his beer. The ale-jug robs the cupboard and the table, starves the wife and strips the children; it is a great thief, housebreaker, and heartbreaker, and the best possible thing is to break it to pieces, or keep it on the shelf bottom upwards. In a newspaper which was lent me the other day I saw some verses by John Barleycorn, Jr., and as they tickled my fancy I copied them out, and here they are.

What! rob a poor man of his beer,
And give him good victuals instead!
Your heart's very hard, sir, I fear,
Or at least you are soft in the head

What! rob a poor man of his mug,
And give him a house of his own,
With kitchen and parlor so snug!
'Tis enough to draw tears from a stone.

What! rob a poor man of his glass,
And teach him to read and to write!
What! save him from being an ass!
'Tis nothing but malice and spite.

What! rob a poor man of his ale,
And prevent him from beating his wife,
From being locked up in a jail,
With penal employment for life!

What! rob a poor man of his beer,
And keep him from starving his child!
It makes me feel awfully queer,
And I'll thank you to draw it more mild.