Single X

[Quang Hai]

I am reading Midwinter Break by B. Maclaverty

"He’d just been to lunch with two of the other architects. They all knew they had work to do in the afternoon so they drank only porter. Single X. A pint each. Helped them keep a clear head because it wasn’t strong. It wasn’t considered drinking – the way gin and tonic wasn’t considered drinking – just something to wash down their sandwiches."

What is "Single X" means. I guess waiter, after served each pint, will mark a "X" on a paper left on table. Is that right?

 

[Rover_KE]

This is a reference to the long-standing brewers' tradition of using Xs to indicate the strength of an ale, so a single X beer is the weakest available.

Compare:

 

[Charlie Bernstein]

This is a reference to the long-standing brewers' tradition of using Xs to indicate the strength of an ale, so a single X beer is the weakest available.

Good to know. Thanks!

 

[Raymott]

In the case of Rover's illustration, XXXX is a trademark of Fourex beer, brewed just around the corner (almost) from me.
The building on the labels is the Milton Fourex brewery in Brisbane.
They also make a XXXX Lite, so at least for this brand, it doesn't signify the strength.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Castlemaine_XXXX

 

[SoothingDave]

Moonshiners do it as well. From X up to 6X!

 

[GoesStation]

Googling suggests the brand may no longer exist, but "Fourex" evokes the image of something other than beer to many Americans.

 

[emsr2d2]

The most memorable of these for me (from an advertising campaign from the 1980s) is Castlemaine XXXX (referred to as "Castlemaine Four X").

 

[Raymott]

The most memorable of these for me (from an advertising campaign from the 1980s) is Castlemaine XXXX (referred to as "Castlemaine Four X").

Yes, but it's not "Four X" with equal stress on each syllable. It's Fourex.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0FK073qi0tQ

 

[emsr2d2]

Yes, but it's not "Four X" with equal stress on each syllable. It's Fourex.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0FK073qi0tQ

Yes, sorry, that is of course how it was pronounced in the advertising. I just failed to put that across in text. Had I realised that you'd already posted the info, I wouldn't have rehashed it - for some reason, nothing after post #3 was visible to me when I posted!

 

[Charlie Bernstein]

Googling suggests the brand may no longer exist, but "Fourex" evokes the image of something other than beer to many Americans.

Whew. At $430 a box, I wouldn't have enough for a beer — much less dinner and a movie.

 

[Tdol]

In the case of Rover's illustration, XXXX is a trademark of Fourex beer, brewed just around the corner (almost) from me.
The building on the labels is the Milton Fourex brewery in Brisbane.
They also make a XXXX Lite, so at least for this brand, it doesn't signify the strength.

They used to market Castlemaine XXXX in the UK for its strength. I didn't know they changed their name to Fourex. They haven't much choice if they want to make weaker or stronger beers, tough, than to break with tradition.