What’s the history of low-alcohol beer?
It could well be the history of most beers, actually. Beer is one of the world’s oldest alcoholic drinks, and in many different periods and places it wasn’t particularly potent.
We all “know”, for instance, that even children consumed beer in medieval England because it was safer than water. In truth, though the ingredients were boiled, they might then have been kept in unwashed containers; any hygiene advantage was as likely to come from the drink’s microbial stew, which would tolerate few outside pathogens.
Our ancestors often considered beer to be as much food as drink. “Small beer” or “table beer” was rarely clear, often looking like thin porridge. Commonly made with ingredients already used for a stronger brew, its alcohol content was “small”; an adult could consume a gallon or more in a day with no ill effects.
Hogarth’s famous 1751 print Beer Street, contrasting with the evils of Gin Lane, extolled the wholesome virtue of a drink that was low in alcohol. However, advances in brewing meant that by the 19th century ever-stronger beers were being consumed by urban workers in cities where the water was definitely dangerous. This in turn led to alcoholism, the birth of the temperance movement, and the installation of drinking fountains by assorted philanthropists to provide clean, free water – and keep people away from pubs.
Low-alcohol beers enjoyed a revival in the 20th century for various reasons. Many such drinks contain fewer calories than full-alcohol equivalents, and consumers can drive or operate machinery after drinking them. In many countries they attract lower taxes and can be legally bought by youngsters. Beer with very low or no alcohol content is also permitted in some conservative Muslim countries.