In ‘The Lordship of Man Under the Stanleys’, Dr Dickinson tells us that in 1640 more than one hundred alehousekeepers obtained licences to brew and sell their product (p. 132). But there were also more than 60 alehousekeepers brewing illegally! The latter are listed by parish in the exchequer books (Libri Scaccarii 1640, 79-98) and include a Jo: Bridson of Aristal in Malew, a farmer of whom I have some knowledge and have no reason to believe him to have been an alehousekeeper. When small beer was the staple drink in the 17C, the temptation to engage in a little unlicensed home brewing must have been considerable. However, Dr Dickinson’s table 3.4 on page 136 shows that the number of unlicensed brewers peaked at 192 in 1654 and thereafter declined to a mere 14 in 1699; if the figures tell us the whole story. Michael.