Beer Drinking!

Beer was one of the most common drinks in England during the Middle Ages. Rich or poor, beer was consumed daily by all the social classes. The purity of the water was highly questionable, so beer was popular and safer. The brew would have been boiled as part of the process and also provided much needed calories.

In England, most people drank beer every day with every meal, consuming about 500 pints per year a year per person by the late Middle Ages!

By the 1800's there were more than 500 taverns, inns and hotels in the one-square-mile City of London alone. Add to that the hundred's of public houses and it is not surprising if people were a little "blurred"! While beer was the main drink, cider was sometimes at alternative, especially in the conutry. Wine was much rarer due to the poor climate for growing grapes.

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