Since beer was the daily drink for all people, many names were used to identify ‘beer’. Many styles of beers were consumed, and had of course different names, but they also created names for beers depending on WHEN beer was consumed. This is very similar to the Innuit people, who have over 20 different names for snow. When you have a lot of something, you tend to classify and give different names. Beer consumption was so normal, so natural until WW II, it was such a necessity, that people gave all kind of names to beer, consumed at specific times.

When two young people in love, wanted to make their engagement official, a betrothal-beer (Flemish: verlovingsbier) was a must at the celebration with their parents. This beer was of the better kind, offered by the father of the bride. The richer the father, the better (higher in alcohol) and the more beer was offered.
Since these festive meals were held during the day, the young lovers and their friends had in the evening their own party with gossip-beer (Flemish: kwanselbier).
A lighter beer as company for the dancing, chatting and playing that was going on.
When the date of the wedding was set, and the would-be-husband and wife were named by the priest in the church, it was time to organize the bachelor party for the groom. Such party was organized very close to the day of the wedding, sometimes just the night before. The groom was expected to give a keg in the pub around his house, and another keg in the pub near the brides home. This beer was called cry-beer (Flemish: huilbier).
Two explanations: first, all friends of the groom cried that the groom was now leaving their brotherhood, and second, a lot of loud crying and yelling was going on during such wild parties. By giving plenty of beer to his friends, the groom was buying the loyalty of his friends, to avoid that they would create havoc during his wedding. By making them really drunk the night before the wedding, the friends would have too much of a wooden head (hangover) to make much noise during the wedding.

Also, poor giving grooms were welcomed the day of the wedding along the streets with posters poking fun with him. For example:
“Hier offert men voor de arme man, die geen vaatje geven kan.”
“One cheers here for the poor fellow, unable to give a keg.”
The bride and her parents offered a good-bye-beer to the friends of the family, the evening before the wedding. Very probably again a much better beer than the beer consumed by the groom and his friends. But, they had of course to drink many more beers than the bride and her friends.
On the day of the wedding, everybody drank the weddings-beer, and sometimes the groom offered his own grooms-beer as an extra. Both beers were beers specially brewed for the occasion. Today, in Belgium, some couples still have their own beer, with special label on the bottles, on the day of their wedding. To the musicians and the dancers, row dancing was the practice in these days, a row-beer (Flemish: rijbier) was offered. Probably of a lesser quality than the beer consumed by the guests.
When the groom was a member of the guild of the archers, he had to give a keg of shoot-beer (Flemish: schietbier) to his fellow members of the guild.

When a child was conceived in the young family, two beers were brewed and aged until the child was born. One beer was called the birth-beer and consumed by the father and his friends to celebrate the birth of his child. When the mother was able enough, she invited all her friends and neighbors to drink the second beer, her child-beer. Both beers were heavy beers, and it is known that the ladies had a very good time during these celebrations. Something else than coffee. Since the mother was of course nursing the baby, it was common sense for her to continue to drink good strong beer during the whole nursing time.
Still today, Belgian doctors recommend nursing women to drink dark double beers while nursing. It is good for the mother and good for the baby.
Newsletter April 2000