Tavern and Inn - what´s the difference?

[Wombat]

Beer was safer than water and very often the most common beverage (Bennett, J., Ale, Beer, and Brewsters in England (Women's work in a Changing World, 1300--1600), 1996 Oxford University Press, New York, ISBN 0-19-507390-8). It was also the primary beverage of the northern medieval monastaries. Now, whether or not the product of medieval brewing would be considered worth drinking today is an entirely different matter. Records show that poorer households made weaker beer.

The method was far simpler than modern. There was no sparging, and mashing was the pure infusion method. The mash would be held with hot water, and the liquid run off into a tun for fermentation. Then more hot water would be added to run off for a second, much weaker ("small") brew. The Vikings and Saxons certainly drank a great deal of beer on a daily basis.

"Small beer" was the breakfast of choice in most households -- essentially brewed just enough to wipe out the problems with drinking unfiltered, questionable quality water, with the alcoholic content of most modern "Near Beer" -- notably less than 1%. This drink remained popular well into Colonial times. This also explains the fact that many monestaries were limited to 1 gallon of beer per person per day -- we are not really talking about alcohol, but something safer to drink than water.