You’ve probably heard the old adage, ‘For good health, drink at least 8 glasses of water every day!’ Believe it or not, there was a time when water was not held in high esteem as the thirst-quencher of choice. During the Medieval Period, commonly referred to as The Dark Ages (roughly 500 AD to 1500 AD), drinking water could be downright dangerous. Alcoholic beverages were much preferred, and quite frankly, healthier than the often-contaminated water of the day. The kind of alcoholic beverage you consumed often depended on your location and social status.
Wine: Wine was the alcoholic beverage of choice across Europe, particularly in France and the Mediterranean regions. If grapes could be grown, wine was typically produced. It was considered by many physicians as the most healthful drink available, aiding in the digestion and serving as a conductor of nutrients throughout the body. Then, as now, the wealthy got first dibs on the best, most expensive, and highest alcohol-content wines. Common folks had to settle for watered down versions from the second or third pressings which could be consumed in great quantities with little intoxicating effect due to its low alcohol content. What was left for the poor was more like vinegar than wine.
Beer: Beer and ale were the beverages of choice for all classes of people in Northern Europe where grapes were not cultivated. Although quite popular, beer got a bad rap from the intelligencia of the day, who considered it bad for the head and stomach, heavily intoxicating and causing bad breath and rotting teeth. On the bright side, a physician from the 13th century noted that beer “…does have the property of facilitating urination and makes one's flesh white and smooth.”
Mead: Sometimes referred to as “honey wine,” mead was made from the fermentation of honey mixed with water and yeast. Mead might be one of the most diverse types of alcoholic beverages in the Middle Ages due to the wide variety of recipes employed by local producers. It could be highly alcoholic, like a strong wine, or mildly alcoholic, like a watered-down ale. Taste range from dry to sweet, and it could be brewed with hops to resemble beer, or with sour mash to give it a spirituous bite. It could be mixed with spices and heated to produced a mulled mead, or distilled into a honey-jack brandy.