Comment on Medieval people had bathhouses & did not all die before 35...
VindictiveJudge@lemmy.world 2 weeks agoThe alchohol content also meant it was sterile, and it was much weaker than modern beer so they weren’t sloshed all the time.
Comment on Medieval people had bathhouses & did not all die before 35...
VindictiveJudge@lemmy.world 2 weeks agoThe alchohol content also meant it was sterile, and it was much weaker than modern beer so they weren’t sloshed all the time.
Akasazh@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
Not exactly. Mutliple bacteria thrive in alcoholic beverages (certainly sub 20% abv) when exposed to air (there were no air-tight storage solutions yet). The alcohol they made was far from sterile, as it would have been kept in barrels and they are ideal places for colonies to hide and be rekindled. Luckily most of the bacteriae that form in that manner are actually not unhealthy (like vinegar or pediococcus (feet bacerium)) or too bad tasting. If you look up Belgian wild ales you’ll find a whole amount of people who go crazy for those kind of beers.
The brilliant part is that the algae and bacteriae that make water taste nasty when put in a wooden barrel, make beer taste better, hence me saying it keeps better. And the alcohol content would be less. But people drank a lot of water too. It’s free and falls from the air and from streams and doesn’t involve boiling. It’s way to convenient and way too important for people to ignore.
Futhermore, you need good water to make good beer. Almost every brewery will praise their wellwater.