The 1881 Scribner's article states that George Arnold "is best known as the author of 'Beer'-partly because the poem has a pathetic personal significance, partly because it has also a quaint individuality that gives it a firm hold on the reader's remembrance." However, it also asserts that "Mr. Stedman's 'Ballad of Lager Beer' was a better piece of work than Arnold's 'Beer'" ("Three New York Poets" 470).