I believe the gist is that back in ye olden times when everybody was just throwing their sewage into the river, that beer was less likely to kill you because it’s boiled before it’s fermented. I don’t think they made the connection to boiling, but rather knew beer was a safer drink.
I’m spouting this off from memory without looking it up, so no guarantee I’m correct.
You’re going to get downvotes for not citing sources. You’ll also get downvotes for citing a reddit comment. People who are here tend to not want to go there, and people commenting there aren’t considered experts, which is why sources are required.
I clicked through and that person does cite references, but they use two books, and zero links. This is largely seen as not credible enough on the internet. People like citations, but want to be able to review the data themselves, thus disliking “trust me or buy this book.”
As an effort to demonstrate how you can do the thing without making people downvote you (and definitely, definitely never complain about or mention the downvoting or you’ll get more!) I have a reply.
I did a quick Google search for “did people in the middle ages drink beer instead of water” and got this articld which has several citations and says, “many did. Probably not everyone, and probably not all those who did were doing it because they thought it was healthier.” Which I personally liked, because it’s not the kind of absolutist view of huge populations I tend to find difficult to believe.
Are you asking why beer instead of water?
I believe the gist is that back in ye olden times when everybody was just throwing their sewage into the river, that beer was less likely to kill you because it’s boiled before it’s fermented. I don’t think they made the connection to boiling, but rather knew beer was a safer drink.
I’m spouting this off from memory without looking it up, so no guarantee I’m correct.
My understanding is people drank beer because it was tasty and not because it was cleaner.
Edit: here’s a reference. https://slate.com/human-interest/2013/05/medieval-europe-why-was-water-the-most-popular-drink.html
This medievalist says it was an important part of the caloric intake.
You’re going to get downvotes for not citing sources. You’ll also get downvotes for citing a reddit comment. People who are here tend to not want to go there, and people commenting there aren’t considered experts, which is why sources are required.
I clicked through and that person does cite references, but they use two books, and zero links. This is largely seen as not credible enough on the internet. People like citations, but want to be able to review the data themselves, thus disliking “trust me or buy this book.”
As an effort to demonstrate how you can do the thing without making people downvote you (and definitely, definitely never complain about or mention the downvoting or you’ll get more!) I have a reply.
I did a quick Google search for “did people in the middle ages drink beer instead of water” and got this articld which has several citations and says, “many did. Probably not everyone, and probably not all those who did were doing it because they thought it was healthier.” Which I personally liked, because it’s not the kind of absolutist view of huge populations I tend to find difficult to believe.