Children Drinking Beer: Historical Norm Or Myth?

It is true that children drank beer in the past. In medieval Europe, water was easily contaminated due to poor sanitary conditions, so most adults drank alcoholic beverages such as wine and mead with every meal. Beer was also commonly consumed during this period, and it is said that beer is liquid bread. Beer was an important source of nutrition and was often safer to drink than water.

Small beer was a lager or ale with a lower alcohol content, usually between 0.5% and 2.8% ABV. It was a favoured drink in Medieval Europe and colonial North America compared to more expensive beers with higher alcohol content. Small beer was often consumed by children and servants. At mealtimes in the Middle Ages, people of all ages drank small beer. It was also consumed for its nutritional content.

In the 1800s, it was very common for children to consume alcohol, usually in the form of beer in Germanic and Nordic parts of America and northern Europe, and wine in the French and Italian parts of Europe and southern Europe. This was partly because there was no understanding that alcohol was harmful to children, and partly because beer was considered safer than water.

Beer was safer to drink than water

It is a common misconception that people in the past drank beer instead of water because the former was safer. In reality, people in Medieval Europe had access to clean water, and drinking water was commonplace throughout history. The notion that water could carry diseases is a modern one, and while people understood that water could be good or bad, this was limited to its smell and flavour.

That being said, beer was still consumed for reasons other than pleasure. Beer was considered a nutritious snack, providing drinkers with carbs and calories. For peasants performing hard labour all day, beer was a more nutritious and energy-providing choice than water. Beer was also cheaper than water, and with limited manufacturing, natural water sources such as rivers and streams were relatively clean. In fact, most communities understood the importance of not polluting their water sources with human or livestock waste. Even in more densely populated areas, infrastructure was put in place to ensure clean water was available. For example, London had developed a complex pipe system by 1237.

Beer was also considered a health drink, and people believed that drinking water could be penance. In addition, beer was socially acceptable due to its lower alcohol content, allowing people to drink several glasses without becoming drunk.

While beer was consumed by children in the past, the practice was not universal. For instance, it was limited to certain areas of the Holy Roman Empire. In his 1797 work, 'A Plan for the Conduct of Female Education, in Boarding Schools', writer Erasmus Darwin agreed that "For the drink of the more robust children water is preferable, and for the weaker ones, small beer".

Beer was a health drink

Beer was considered a health drink in the past. In medieval Europe, beer was often consumed due to its health benefits, and it was also a popular drink in colonial North America. Beer was also considered a health drink in pre-Temperance United States.

Firstly, beer was thought to be safer than water. Although people in medieval Europe did have access to clean water, it was harder to find in cities. Brewing can kill bacteria, and the process of making beer involves using heated water to convert starches into sugars, which sanitises the water.

Secondly, beer was considered nutritious. It contains vitamins and minerals, including potassium, calcium, thiamine, iron, and zinc, as well as B vitamins and phosphorus, folate, niacin, and silicon. Beer also has significant protein and some fibre. It is one of the few significant dietary sources of silicon, which can help prevent osteoporosis. Beer may also contain prebiotics that feed the good bacteria in the gut.

Thirdly, beer was thought to have positive effects on the heart. Light to moderate beer intake may be linked to a lower risk of heart disease. A study presented at the American Heart Association Scientific Sessions in 2016 followed 80,000 participants for six years and found that moderate drinkers had the slowest decline in high-density lipoprotein (HDL), or "good" cholesterol, and a lower risk of cardiovascular diseases.

Finally, beer was believed to have other health benefits, including a reduced risk of diabetes, stronger bones, improved brain power, and reduced inflammation.

However, it is important to note that these health benefits are only associated with light to moderate beer intake. Heavy and binge drinking have the opposite effects and can lead to negative health consequences, including an increased risk of early death, alcohol dependence, depression, liver disease, weight gain, and cancers.

Beer was drunk at mealtimes

In the Middle Ages, beer was drunk at mealtimes by people of all ages. "Small beer" was a lager or ale with a lower alcohol content, usually between 0.5% and 2.8% ABV. It was a favoured drink in Medieval Europe and colonial North America compared to more expensive beers with higher alcohol content.

Small beer was drunk by all ages at mealtimes, particularly while eating at the table. It was also produced in households for consumption by children and servants. In his 1797 publication, 'A Plan for the Conduct of Female Education, in Boarding Schools', writer Erasmus Darwin agreed that "For the drink of the more robust children water is preferable, and for the weaker ones, small beer".

Small beer was also consumed for its nutritional content. It might contain traces of wheat or bread suspended within it. In his autobiography, Benjamin Franklin noted that small beer was sometimes drunk with breakfast. It was also drunk for its health benefits. In larger educational establishments like Eton, Winchester, and Oxford University, small beer was so popular that they even ran their own breweries.

In the Middle Ages, small beer was drunk by all members of the household, including children. It was also safer to drink than water, which was often contaminated due to poor sanitary conditions. Small beer was boiled before being put up to ferment, and any contamination would reveal itself with strong unpleasant odours and tastes, which were much more noticeable than in water.

In addition to being safer, small beer was also more accessible than water in larger towns and cities. Local well water was often contaminated, and while rivers and streams provided cleaner water, they were not always nearby. Beer, on the other hand, could be produced at home.

Small beer was also cheaper than other beverages. In 17th-century England, excise tax classes were determined by wholesale price. Between 1782 and 1802, table beer was defined as costing between six and eleven shillings per barrel, with a tax of around three shillings. Cheaper beer was considered small beer, while the more expensive brands were classed as strong (big) beer.

The role of small beer as an everyday drink was gradually replaced by tea in the British Isles in the late 18th century, as tea became more affordable.

Beer was drunk by people of all ages

In the Middle Ages, "small beer" was a favoured drink. This was a lager or ale with a lower alcohol content, usually between 0.5% and 2.8% alcohol by volume. Small beer was drunk by all ages, particularly during mealtimes. It was also consumed for its nutritional value, and to quench thirst—workers engaged in labour-intensive tasks could drink over 5.7 litres of small beer a day.

In the 1800s, children in early America would drink whiskey due to poor drinking water. However, this was not the case everywhere. In the countryside, for example, people generally had access to fresh water. In towns, beer was drunk due to water being contaminated.

In some cultures, children drinking beer was common until relatively recently. On the Swedish island of Gotland, children were drinking weak beer as late as the 1960s. In Norway, it was normal for children as young as eight to drink beer.

Beer was drunk by children in schools

Ruthin School's charter, signed by Elizabeth I, stipulated that small beer should be provided to all scholars. Larger educational establishments like Eton, Winchester, and Oxford University even ran their own breweries.

Small beer, also known as small ale or table beer, is a lager or ale that contains a lower amount of alcohol by volume than most others, usually between 0.5% and 2.8%. It was a favoured drink in Medieval Europe and colonial North America compared with more expensive beers containing higher levels of alcohol.

At mealtimes in the Middle Ages, persons of all ages drank small beer, particularly while eating a meal at the table. It was common for workers who engaged in laborious tasks to drink more than ten imperial pints (5.7 litres) of small beer a day to quench their thirst. Small beer was also consumed for its nutritional content. It might contain traces of wheat or bread suspended within it.

In the 17th century, small beer was classed as an excise class determined by its wholesale price. Between 1782 and 1802, table beer was said to define beer that cost between six and eleven shillings per barrel, with tax on this class at around three shillings.

Small beer was socially acceptable in 18th-century England because of its lower alcohol content, allowing people to drink several glasses without becoming drunk. Its role as an everyday drink was gradually overtaken in the British Isles by tea in the late 18th century, as tea became more affordable.

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