Ale, the favourite drink of our Saxon forefathers, has been described as a thick, sweet, _unhopped_ liquor, and as such distinguished from our modern _hopped_ "beer." Gerard says: "The manifold virtues in hops do manifestly argue the wholesomeness of _beer_ above _ale_;" and conjectures that the origin of this distinction may be due to the use of the word beer in the Low Countries, from which hops were introduced. It would appear, however, that beer was known in this country, and specified as such, before the use of hops; which were not imported till 1524, other bitters having supplied their place. There is an ancient rhyme which says,-- "Turkeys, Carps, _Hops_, Piccarel, and _Beer_, Came into England all in one year." The year when all these good things are supposed to have been introduced, was somewhere in the early part of the reign of King Henry VIII. But it is evident that as early as 1440, when the _Parvulorum Promptorium_ was compiled, the use of hops was not altogether unknown. Mr. Albert Way supposes that at that time hopped beer was either imported from abroad or brewed by foreigners. And this supposition is certainly supported by the _Promptorium_. The great hop county of Kent produced better ale than any other; and the large quantity of ale found in the cellars of the Kentish gentry, had much to do with fomenting Jack Cade's rebellion, which arose in Kent. Unhopped ale, having no bitter principle, would easily run into acetous fermentation. And this is the reason why, in old family receipt-books, we find that our great-grandmothers were in the habit of using alegar where, by the cooks of the present day, vinegar is employed. In modern usage the distinction between _Ale_ and _Beer_ is different in various parts of the country. But originally, the distinction was very clearly marked: _Ale_ being a liquor brewed from _malt_, to be drunk fresh; _Beer_, a liquor brewed from _malt and hops_, intended to keep. The above distinction is clearly observed in Johnson's _Dictionary_, where _ale_ is defined, "A liquor made by infusing _malt_ in hot water, and then fermenting the liquor:" _Beer_, "Liquor made _from malt and hops_;" "distinguished from ale either by being older or smaller." Ale thus defined answers to the description given by Tacitus of the drink of the ancient Germans. The ancient Spaniards had a somewhat similar drink, called by them _Celia_.