[HPforGrownups] Ok, Stupid Question (butterbeer)

[Jocelyn Grunow]

No: HPFGUIDX 122039

On Sunday, January 16, 2005, at 06:06 am, manawydan wrote:
>
> Replying to this
>>>> What is Butterbeer, and why, seeing that
>>>> it contains alcohol, are the students
>>>> allowed to have it?
>>>>
I have been following this thread with interest.  A lot of the WW's 
practices hearken back to the middle ages.  During that period people 
drank something called ale quite freely.

  Although the name reminds us of modern beer, ale was only very 
slightly alcoholic - the main point of brewing it was to purify it so 
that it was safe to drink - unlike much water which was contaminated by 
animals and by people whose understanding of hygiene was rudimentary at 
best.  Ale was considered healthy for everyone to drink with breakfast 
and all day.

I suspect the origins of butterbeer lie with mediaeval ale.

Jocelyn