Last of The Big Time Drinkers: History’s Biggest Beer Drinkers

King Wenceles II

His father, known as ‘Good’ King Wenceles, was famous for two things, having a son & ordering the death penalty to anyone caught exporting Czech hop cuttings. Before the 13th Century, the Czech people were only allowed to make alcohol for their own consumption and it small amounts but that was soon to change. King Wenceles II convinced the Pope to revoke an order banning the wide-sale brewing of beer. In 1290, he had granted 260 families the right to brew their distinctive, light, hoppy beer. The region was Pilsen; the beer that was made was called Pilsner. King Wenceles II enjoyed Pilsner in vast amounts.

Oliver Reed

One of the best known drinkers, Reed dies in May 1999 after collapsing in a Maltese bar. It was rumoured that he had drank three bottles of Captain Morgan’s rum, eight bottles of beer and numerous doubles of Famous Grouse whisky during that fateful day. A famous actor in his day, Reed appeared on many talk show but was very often disillusioned when the interviewer would ask more about his drinking life-style than the films he appeared in. The drink still flows, not for Reed but from him, he left a sum of £10,000 to his local pub to pay for the drinks of patrons, but only if they were crying.

Saint Arnold

Arnold was born in 580AD to Austrian parent and he entered the priesthood. By 612 he had been made Bishop of Metz, from which position he spent his entire life urging the peasants to drink lots of beer. He claimed: ‘From man’s sweat and God’s love, beer came into the world. Saint Arnold died in 641, a long way from home, so some of his congregation carried his body home. On the journey there was only one tavern and within there was only one mug of beer left. Don’t worry though, everyone had their fill from that one mug as it never ran dry. The story of the never ending mug of beer travelled far and wide. Because of this ‘miracle’, Saint Arnold was canonised by the Catholic Church and became the patron saint of brewers.

The Jivaro Indians

The Jivaro Indians may be better known for their habit of ‘shrinking heads’ but they are also known for their brewing abilities. They live deep in the Ecuadorian and Peruvian Amazon and once revolted against the might of the Spanish Empire. It is the tribe’s womenfolk who brew the beer by peeling, boiling and chewing handfuls of manioc root. It then gets spat into a large pot and left to ferment. It is estimated that an adult male Jivaro consumes up to four gallons of manioc beer each and every day.

Vaclav Havel

The last president of Czechoslovakia and the first of the Czech republic, Havel was a direct descendant of King Wenceles. He was a beer drinker to match anyone in the world. Havel worked in a brewery when he was younger and it seemed he never forgot that. He once claimed that drinking beer was good for the behaviour of the Czech society. When dignitaries visited, Havel took them to his local pub to drink Staroprammen and Budvar. On one visit to America, he missed an official state function so he good go to a rock concert and get drunk. He once hired Frank Zappa to work at the Ministry of Culture.