[Note: Parts of this entry were previously at choc and Choctaw n 2.]
Choctaw beer n Also Choc-a-taw, Choctaw; abbrs chalk, choc(k) (beer), (old) chock esp OK
A sort of beer, usually home-made or illicitly brewed, of varying composition; see quots.
1886 in 1894 Choctaw Nation Constitution & Laws 261, Be it enacted by the general council of the Choctaw nation assembled: That the sale or manufacture of Choctaw beer, cider or any kind of malt, fermented or distilled liquors or beverage or intoxicant of any kind whatsoever in the Choctaw nation is hereby prohibited. 1889 in 1986 DARE File, We were able to capture and to destroy . . what we estimated to be about three thousand or more gallons of what is know as “Choctaw Beer.” . . “Choctaw Beer” as it is called is a decoction fermented from Corn, barley, rye, hops &c. Men who drink it tell me that when pure it intoxicates slightly but the addition of cocculus indicus and alcohol, even in small quantity renders the mixture “intensely intoxicating.” 1895 Chicago Tribune (IL) 24 Mar 43/2, Then among the Choctaws they have a peculiar and most nasty drink called Choctaw beer—vulgarly “Choc.” Just what “Choc” is made of nobody seems to be quite sure. When I was in that country I asked at least a dozen people and they gave me not less than ten recipes. . . It can be home made, and it looks like muddy cider with strange white flecks floating in it. 1917 AR Gaz. (Little Rock) 4 Mar 9/3, Hartford, March 3.—Sheriff Thompson and Constable Slankard today raided 18 “chock joints” in the county, destroying a total of 20 barrels of choctaw beer and arresting the owners. . . Choctaw beer is a home-made beverage manufactured from a mixture of carbide and fishberrries. 1929 AmSp 4.387 KS, Another common malt beverage is called choc or chalk—a thin whitish ale made of barley and hops. I am told that the name was originally Choctaw or Choc-a-taw, and that the drink came to Kansas by way of Oklahoma. 1931 AmSp 7.53 Sth, SW [Lumberjack lingo], “Choc” is a low-grade beer originally made by the Choctaws. 1943 (1976) Guthrie Bound for Glory 224, They even had a kind of beer called old Chock that was made by throwing everything under the sun into an old barrel, adding the yeast and sugar and water to it, and letting her go. Biscuit heels, corn-bread scraps, potato leavings, and all sorts of table scraps went into this beer. It is a whitish, milky, slicky-looking bunch of crap. But especially down in Oklahoma I’ve seen men drive fifteen miles out in the country just to get hold of a few bottles of it. 1962 Bakersfield Californian (CA) 6 Dec 28/3, They charged the couple with illegally manufacturing Choctaw beer and selling it at 50 cents a quart. Deputies said the beer’s alcoholic content was about 14 per cent. 1965–66 DARE (Qu. DD21c, . . Whiskey, especially illegally made) Inf MS64, Choctaw; (Qu. DD28b, . . Fermented drinks . . made at home) Infs OK25, 42, Choc; (Qu. DD25, . . Nicknames . . beer) Inf OK11, Choc, Choctaw beer. 1970 Green Ely 445 TX (as of c1915), The colored people I am told has a formula the Teacher never heard of. It can be made from a wash pot to a coffee pot. One is called rip gizzard. The other is chock beer. 1994 (1998) Graham ’Til Judgment 291 ceTX (as of 1930s), His stepdad was Painter Smith, whose homemade Choctaw beer drew high praise from the roughnecks and drillers for its fine flavor and powerful kick. 2019 DARE File—Internet ceOK, Four generations later, we’re still . . serving up the same traditional Italian recipes we’re famous for. And the choc® beer served today is made with the same old recipe passed down from generation to generation.