I had been looking at the words on my beermat in the pub yesterday for some time before it occurred to me that there was more than one possible interpretation and that I had no idea which was meant. Worse than that, one of the two possible interpretations gives precisely no information.

"MADE WITH 100% BRITISH BARLEY"

Does this mean that the beer in question has

a) British barley as the only grain involved in the brewing process or
b) Multiple different grains are present but any barley used is British (though there might be any amount from 0% to 100%)

No I have no idea either.

There is another possible interpretation, although it is self-evident nonsense:
c) (The beer) is made from British barley alone, with no other ingredients, not even water.

Indeed.
But my two are both plausible and it's impossible to say which is meant.

Why would you make a beermat out of barley?

Because if they made it out of hops it wouldn't just lie there.

To me, it clearly means b).

You see goofy, that's the point. Until b) occurred to me, to me it clearly meant a).

If you'd had enough beer, you would have recognized it as the Magna Carta.

Interestingly, it clearly meant a) to me.

Beermats may be a thing of the past if this article is to be believed! http://212.58.226.17/1/hi/business/8049077.stm

From what we're hearing, so might pubs be ?

Although the situation is not as dire as it might immediately seem (J D Wetherspoon opened five new pubs last month) is is grave. The recession and our present Government's swinging tax increases are the main reasons - but there are others.

Don't worry, Richard. I'm sure, in keeping with our record of assistance during WW2, President Obama will send convoys of American beer to save Britain from its drought.

quote:

Originally posted by Proofreader:
Don't worry, Richard. I'm sure, in keeping with our record of assistance during WW2, President Obama will send convoys of American beer to save Britain from its drought.

Yes, and I'm sure he'll send his favorite beer, Bud Light.

What's wrong with that? It's Belgian now.

quote:

Yes, and I'm sure he'll send his favorite beer, Bud Light.

It hasn't changed an iota, Proof.

Yes, we talked about this on our chat. I was disappointed that Obama didn't select something like Goose Island. He must not like beer.

quote:

Don't worry, Richard. I'm sure, in keeping with our record of assistance during WW2, President Obama will send convoys of American beer to save Britain from its drought.

It's not the beer that is in short supply, it's the disposable income to buy it. Beer consumption has decreased over the years - but the reduction in production is a consequence of the reduction in consumption, not its cause.

Even during WW2, beer was not in short supply and was not rationed.

Obviously, Obama, in spite of his other examples of good judgement, does not like good beer if he considers Bud Light his favourite. Just about the only resemblance that Bud Light has to decent beer is that it is a liquid with a head.