Importance of Beer in Early America

 

(“Hd0310colonialbeerbrewingjpeg-87ce9233df0d6ca5.Jpeg (1280×1405),” n.d.)

While in the world today beer is considered a luxury item that is restricted to individuals of a certain age, in early America it was required to survive. The necessity of drinking beer to survive arose from the urban European living that created polluted waters that were unsafe to drink. While these people did not understand the reasons behind it, people who drank water were plagued with a multitude of diseases including cholera and dysentery. However, people who were only drinking tea and beer were not getting sick. Nowadays, we know that this is a result of the water being boiled while brewing both tea and beer, killing the bacteria and microbes causing the diseases. The mentality of water is harmful to health was brought to America with the European settlers, and while the water in America was safe to drink beer was still regarded as the only safe way to survive. The necessity of beer for daily life resulted in every household brewing their own beer until the late 1600s when the creation of public taverns reduced the need for each house to create its own beer. 

Carver, M. (2022, January 10). Importance of Beer in the 1700’s Colonial America. Retrieved September 18, 2022, from Michael Carver—Historical Interpreter/Reenactor website: https://colonialbrewer.com/2022/01/09/importance-of-beer-in-the-1700s-colonial-america/

Hd0310colonialbeerbrewingjpeg-87ce9233df0d6ca5.jpeg (1280×1405). (n.d.). Retrieved September 18, 2022, from https://www.nj.com/resizer/h2O1mmMHUrwrVD4hdV6175_jp0U=/1280x0/smart/advancelocal-adapter-image-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/image.nj.com/home/njo-media/width2048/img/hunterdonnews_impact/photo/hd0310colonialbeerbrewingjpeg-87ce9233df0d6ca5.jpeg