Medieval people drank beer instead of water?

by afghanamino

Is it true that people in the Middle Ages often hydrated with beer instead of water due to clean water not always being readily available? Read this on a few places online including this one:

https://history.howstuffworks.com/medieval-people-drink-beer-water.htm

DanKensington

I'm afraid your question rests on a false premise. Medieval water cleanliness was Serious Business, and the notion that they all drank alcoholic drinks to make water safe is pop-cultural nonsense.

I shall direct you first to the VFAQ (Middle Ages, subsection Health and Hygiene, in case your browser doesn't go there immediately), in particular the answers from u/sunagainstgold and u/Qweniden.

To illustrate just how Serious Business water was for the Medieval era, more u/sunagainstgold on the incidents she touches on in her VFAQ post:

EvilGeniuseses

This is a common myth that gets thrown around a lot, in fact it's buried deep in the FAQ under hygiene and healthy lifestyles with an answer by /u/Qweniden here https://www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/comments/2bewpo/what_factors_made_beer_so_important_to_the/