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All this in addition to the logistics of simply boiling some water compared to the wine and beer. Water was a somewhat precious resource for most folks. You ei

All this in addition to the logistics of simply boiling some water compared to the wine and beer. Water was a somewhat precious resource for most folks. You either fetched it from the well or from the source plus have a fire to heat the water over - a fire that you aren't going to need for that day's food. Not to mention that you might need to do this for your family of 6 and doing the rest of your chores - all of which took much more work than today. the beer or wine would have likely been delivered by horse and wagon if one purchased it. Otherwise, it likely would have been produced and stored on-site - the fetching would have been a bit different.

cmdrfred 10y ago
Also this neglects the fact that beer was a way to store water. If you simply boil water and store it in a clay pot someplace, it is possible for it to become infected again due to the container having small openings. Beer solved this problem allowing for transportable, safe, ready to drink fluids.
andrepd 10y ago
> Water was a somewhat precious resource for most folks. Again, this is not true. Water only became a scarce resource for some when population density reached a certain point. https://www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/comments/1yts0v/comment/cfnrg32 https://www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/comments/1yts0v/comme...