Folklore: What is 'new' ale?

Subject: Folklore: What is 'new' ale?
From: GUEST,David Levine in Senegal (would you believe?!
Date: 23 Feb 26 - 09:01 AM

The song "When Jones's Ale Was New" has been going in my head today.
What is the significance of "new" ale? And what is new ale?
I imagine it is/was something that existed before all ale was in bottles.

Subject: RE: Folklore: What is 'new' ale?
From: Pappy Fiddle
Date: 23 Feb 26 - 10:32 AM

My grandfather used to brew root beer in his basement. He had about 100 bottles in a rack. Every once in a while one of these bottles would explode. I think this was different from the root beer you buy in the store. It was alcoholic.

I'll go out on a limb here and guess that in olden times, they stored their brews in containers that were not 100.00 percent airtight. So the alcohol would gradually evaporate out of the liquid and escape. So, "new" ale had a higher alcohol content.

My brain is old but I seem to have memories back there somewhere of reading literature, more than once, where someone got real loaded drinking new ale.

Subject: RE: Folklore: What is 'new' ale?
From: Steve Gardham
Date: 23 Feb 26 - 01:03 PM

Sounds reasonable, PF.
The earliest record we have of the ballet is in the Stationers' Register for 1594, but the earliest copy I have is about 1656. The 'new' simply means 'new' as opposed to old ale which would have gone a little stale/flat..

'All you that do this merry ditty view,
taste of Joan's Ale, for it is strong and true.' intro.

last few lines:
And when the business was done,
They every man departed home,
And promised Jone again to come,
When she had brew'd anew.'

Subject: RE: Folklore: What is 'new' ale?
From: The Sandman
Date: 23 Feb 26 - 03:24 PM

new ale is not generally as good as matured, an example is IPA,It was brewed with plenty of hops to preserve it on its journey to india, journey time, several months, apparently when it arrived it was not bitter at all.