Ale House

ale house. (eiyl' haws)

    A public house where beer is sold. In early England, the term brewery referred to both the brew house and the room in which the ale was sold, which later became known as an ale house. Licenses to operate ale houses have been issued as early as the fourteenth century. In 1305 one William Saleman was fined two shillings for operating a brewery on Cornwall without a livense. Later such licenses were issued by the justice of the peace. Also spelled: alehouse. Rare syn: bush house. See also: Brewster Sessions.