Note 223 — THE THIRD VOYAGE NORTH-WARD TO THE KINGDOMES OF CATHAIA and China, in Anno 1596.

The 14 of October, as we came out of the ship, we found the barrell of beere standing [in the open air] vpon the sleade, but it was fast frozen at the heads,223 yet by reason of the great cold the beere that purged out224 frose as hard vpon the side225 of the barrel as if it had bin glewed thereon, and in that sort we drew it to our house and set the barrel an end, and dranke it first vp; but we were forced to melt the beere, for there was scant226 any vnfrozen beere in the barrell, but in that thicke yeast that was vnfrozen lay the strength of the beere,227 so that it was too strong to drinke alone, and that which was frozen tasted like water; and being melted we mixt one with the other, and so dranke it, but it had neither strength nor tast.