What kinds of alcoholic beverages did the Native Americans/First Nations consume?

by Euralos

I am making a slight assumption that the NA/FN DID actually make and consume alchohol, but I am sure you fine folks wwill set me straight if I am incorrect :)

Mictlantecuhtli

I can only speak about Mesoamerica. The common beverages would have been pulque which was made out of fermented agave sap, chicha which was a kind of maize based beer, a fermented drink made out of cacao beans and sometimes honey, and possibly distilled agave sap based off some experiments on ceramic vessel forms. The last one is a hypothesis because no one has conducted a residue analysis to prove such a thing happened, but it opens up the possibility that other claims for distilled beverages in pre-Columbian times may be true.

Among the Aztec pulque was perhaps the most commonly consumed alcoholic beverage since they had access to agave. It was only consumed in rare instances since public intoxication was forbidden unless you were elderly. Even so, if an elderly person was too intoxicated they would be punished.

The Classic Maya favored maize beer and fermented cacao beverages, partially because they had access to cacao and partially because they lacked agave. It was not uncommon for men to go to a men's house to receive a maize beer or tobacco enema in order to feel the effects more quickly. Usually if one was doing this it was part of a religious function rather than recreational consumption.

Searocksandtrees