Beer and the Pilgrims

Here is an item most people don’t know about the Pilgrims of 1620 in their ship the Mayflower. Barrels of beer (English ale) along with water were on the ship for the long trip across the Atlantic. The water went bad – unsafe to drink, but the fermented beer remained safe to drink.

There were different strengths of beer, most people in the early 1600s had a weak form beer, less alcohol. Also malt beer, being milder was a common drink. Having a cup of tea or coffee was unheard of because it was so expensive. After such a long voyage as the Mayflower had, with a full ship of crew and passengers, they did start to run out of beer. This may have been the reason they had to reach any land, and the closest was what would be named Plymouth.

Even after getting settled in Plymouth and the production of crops, barley was a major crop grown, used for making bread and brewing beer.