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I believe monks used to make and consume "beer" too, but it had a low alcohol content. I think this had something to do with preservation? - like the alcohol an
by Chris2048 5y ago
I believe monks used to make and consume "beer" too, but it had a low alcohol content. I think this had something to do with preservation? - like the alcohol and/or yeast purified the water, or at least provided an indicator of bad water.
There used to be something called "small beer" that was also v low in alcohol content, made from the same grain as a regular beer, but mashed/drained a 2nd time to get any remaining sugars.
- mattkrause 5y agoThe brewing process itself, which involves holding the mash at a pretty high temperature, probably does more to purify the water than the small amount of alcohol.
- Chris2048 5y agoBut you could do that without any beer production - i.e. boil the water and then store in a sealed container.
- mattkrause 5y agoYou could--but without any theory of microorganisms, why would you? If anything, the water tastes slightly worse after boiling and sitting, but the beer tastes good! More seriously, I bet alcohol and hops do play a role. The alcohol isn't enough to sterilize anything (which requires a much stronger concentration: ~70%, usually). However, it and the hops could help maintain sterility once the heat has done its job. Bacteriostatic water is used to dilute drugs for injection, and it uses a similar principle: a small (0.9%) amount of alcohol is added to keep any bacteria from getting a foothold.