How Beer Helped Colonize America

When we are in grade school we are taught that the Pilgrims came to America in search of a new home were they could worship freely. In middle school we are taught that they chose to land on Plymouth Rock in Massachusetts because they were blown off course while heading for Virginia. The truth however is a little more humorous and an event that most frat boys can sympathize with. They had run out of beer!

Beer is one of the world's oldest and most admired alcoholic beverages. It is produced by the fermentation of sugars derived from starch-based material with the most frequent being malted barley. Wheat, corn and rice are also commonly used, typically in combination with the barley

Yes, the Pilgrims made port because they had run out of beer. In 1620, when the Pilgrims had sailed for the New World it was common to drink beer. In fact beer was considered an essential and healthy part of everyone's daily diet. Everyone drank beer because water was so easily contaminated with disease.

All ships of the day sailed with beer on board because it was impossible to keep a fresh water supply for more than a few days and barrels could be used to capture rainwater. The Mayflower had set sail from England loaded with beer barrels that were now running out.

Most likely the beverage in question was "ship's beer," a non-alcoholic brew that was drunk in tremendous amounts during the colonial era. It seems the average pilgrim drank upwards of a quart per day as a typical ratio. The main advantage was that, unlike more perishable goods, ship's beer could keep during extended voyages and, having been boiled, was prone to be purer than regular water.

When the Pilgrims came ashore they began work immediately on build a brewery house to make a fresh batch of beer. In fact beer was so important that one of the passengers who came ashore that was a young pilgrim that was there just for the beer. The man named John Alden had been hired for the journey as a cooper. A cooper's job was to make barrels and most specifically he made beer barrels.