Methodist founder John Wesley warned: "You see the wine when it sparkles in the cup, and are going to drink of it. I tell you there is poison in it! and, therefore, beg you to throw it away". In an early letter to his mother Susanna, he simply dismissed those who thought she was unusual and too restrictive to have but one glass of wine. In a series of letters dated to 1789, he noted that experiments prove "ale without hops will keep just as well as the other"—thus he directly contradicted claims by vested interests, whom he likened to the pretentious silversmiths who stirred up violence: 'Sir, by this means we get our wealth.' (Acts 19:25). He rejected their claims of wholesomeness for this poisonous herb. Wesley, beyond many in his era, deplored distilled beverages such as brandy and whisky when they were used non-medicinally, and he said the many distillers who sold indiscriminately to anyone were nothing more than poisoners and murderers accursed by God. In 1744, the directions the Wesleys gave to the Methodist band societies (small groups of Methodists intended to support living a holy life) required them "to taste no spirituous distilled liquor ... unless prescribed by a physician."