I have this long-standing image (and I'm sure others have the same as well) that drinking taverns/pubs/inns where townsfolk would retire after a long day's work to drink and be merry, like what we usually see and read about in knights-and-wizards fantasy stories e.g. Lord of the Rings (LOTR), existed in "medieval" times. But I know that 90% of the people living during that period were dirt poor peasants that I wouldn't imagine having had disposable income that they could spend for drinks in a bar. Could a historian shed some light on this topic? Thanks!
UPDATE: I found a post that sufficiently answered this question. https://www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/comments/rjq1f/what_were_medieval_taverns_like/?utm_medium=android_app&utm_source=share
Medieval Pubs: Ireland by /u/gothwalk
I'm a peasant visiting a 14th century alehouse. How would I be charged for my drinks and how easily could I skip the bill? by /u/sunagainstgold
What wrong ideas about medieval Europe might one get from popular works of "medieval fantasy"? by /u/vonadler
... But I couldn't find the post I was actually looking for, which was about medieval irish inns and how they existed to put up traveling aristocrats, and didn't charge but rather operated on prestige and rubbing elbows (iirc).