tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9716997.post957632801282980266..comments2024-03-15T23:30:38.471+11:00Comments on Lindsay's Lobes: Your money or your life; your life or Australia?Lindsay Byrneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11030132436987752741noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9716997.post-45370424208130474322011-12-27T13:32:09.023+11:002011-12-27T13:32:09.023+11:00I hope you've had a very nice Christmas. Peace...I hope you've had a very nice Christmas. Peace and best wishes for all good things to come your way in the New Year.susanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16747450215034568033noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9716997.post-37003288538836304842011-11-18T13:43:37.742+11:002011-11-18T13:43:37.742+11:00That was a fascinating story. You have a wonderful...That was a fascinating story. You have a wonderful family history and an excellent modern one too.susanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16747450215034568033noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9716997.post-37936350041082210252011-11-15T13:32:31.217+11:002011-11-15T13:32:31.217+11:00Thanks for the comments Merc and Gfid! I enjoyed r...Thanks for the comments Merc and Gfid! I enjoyed reading about Patty Byrnes. It's interesting to consider what beer he would have brewed etc.. I do like an amber ale and I would love to one day own a tavern and call it Shamrock Tavern. I think that would be tops!Rachael Byrneshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06792404154723243557noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9716997.post-7602572860760666512011-11-15T08:59:39.506+11:002011-11-15T08:59:39.506+11:00.... and i'll add to Mercutio's insights m....... and i'll add to Mercutio's insights my own suggestion that an inkeeper must be an astute businessman, which gene your very clever dad inherited. you have a fascinating family history. well done!gfidhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08452490194253665370noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9716997.post-21108648803375042212011-11-14T14:23:25.670+11:002011-11-14T14:23:25.670+11:00Hello, Rachel.
A very interesting historical vigne...Hello, Rachel.<br />A very interesting historical vignette.<br />A few notes here.<br /><br />At age 20, I don't believe that Patrick was a full-bore ruffian. More likely than not, he was plying his hand at a thing, and as you noted, a thing not so uncommon for the time & place. Peer pressure is more easily exerted on the young.<br />I remember years ago speaking with a man, a single father, who had found a gun in his son's room that day, and he was waiting for his son to get home. He was concerned that the friends that the boy was hanging around with were gang members, and he didn't want for his son to be the member of a gang.<br />Patrick doesn't strike me as the gang member type, for reasons that I will get to shortly.<br /><br />Now, Patrick was a tavern owner. He could probably have given you three times as much news as any newspaper. He could probably hold his own when push came to shove, and he was probably well-respected among his clientele.<br /><br />Now, what I'm thinking is this:<br />He probably brewed a bit as well.<br />This was around the time that glassware began to become less expensive, and replaced pewter as utensils of choice something like 1860 - 1880. But by the early 1880's, pale ale became fashionable, and not until then.<br />And though the Brits (and Scots) had significant exports of ales at the time, the India pale ale, or IPA, had not yet been introduced.<br />So, I'm thinking that he was probably supplied by one or two brewhouses from other parts of Australia, with an occasional barrel from London, by means of the river traffic; and he likely supplemented this with his own hooch.<br />I was looking earlier at some recipes; the one for Adnam's May Day Ale is Maris Otter a British winter barley) and amber malt. Now, sort of blending the recipes of the May Day Ale and Archer's Village Bitter, an ale 70% mild & 30% amber, hopped at a rate of about 1 lb./ 38.9 gallons, would come out to about $4.80 a case of pints, after the yeast, sanitizers, & bottling expenses. But this stuff sells for $1.29 a pint or better. I think I paid $1.49 for Bluebird Bitter recently.<br />In effect, the house brew enables the establishment to sell for half price while increasing profits by 50%.<br />So, I'm thinking he would have done it.<br />But then there's that sub-tropical environment thing, with all the bugs. Not to mention that yeast was discovered to be an ingredient of beer until Pasteur in the 1880's. So, the whole yeast-handling bit is in question.<br />But I'm sure it was done.<br /><br />Anyway, I'm sure there were all manner of chores associated with the tavern, and repairs to be done, etc. It occurs to me that one benefit derived from having such a large family in such an environment would be specialty of labor.<br />You have sisters, I believe; yes?<br />Well, then consider: All the time growing up, one of you was always better at threading a needle than the others. And were there three times as many siblings, there would still be just one that was better at this than all the rest. And that would be the one you would find threading a needle whenever a needle needed threading.<br />And I'm sure there were a great many other tasks to be had where one was found to be outstanding.<br />What I'm getting at here is not only that this was a benefit to Mr. & Mrs. Byrnes, but it was also of benefit to the children to be able to specialize in labor at an earlier age than would have otherwise been seen.<br /><br />On a larger scale, and back to the earlier point, old Patrick carved out a corner of civilization in rough-hewn fashion after found disposed toward ruffian tendencies.<br />Whatever the transgressions of his wayward youth, his character eventually found fertile ground to come to fruition.<br />It is only very rarely that a man is defined by his birth or his death. It is far more ordinary that the meaningful part should lie somewhere in the middle.<br /><br />And I love your rendition of 'Autumn Leaves' btw.Mercutiohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13270898097330918764noreply@blogger.com