How a thirst for beer played a role in the colonizing of America

The Mayflower was headed for Virginia when heavy storms and high winds blew it off course.  The ship ended up hitting the shore of Massachusetts.  Rather than heading south to find a better location for their colony, the Pilgrims put ashore at what is now called Plymouth Rock.

One Pilgrim’s personal journal explains why.  “We could not take time for further search or consideration, our victuals being much spent, especially our beere.”

Yes, the Pilgrims made port because they ran out of beer!  In those days, beer was considered an essential and healthy part of everyone’s daily diet–Water, on the other hand, was usually considered suspect, because it easily became contaminated with disease.  The Mayflower had set out from England loaded with beer barrels that were by now getting very low and were running out of their precious liquid contents.

Once ashore, the Pilgrims promptly erected a brew house and got to work brewing up a new batch of beer to slake their thirst.  So Plymouth, Massachusetts, became the historic home of the Pilgrims…because they needed to make a beer run.

One of the Pilgrims who came ashore that day was a young man who was there strictly for the beer–in a manner of speaking.  John Alden was hired for the journey as a cooper, primarily to make beer barrels. British law required that “whosoever shall carry beer beyond the sea” had to bring a cooper along to make replacement barrels, since barrels back in England were always is short supply.  Otherwise, John never would have had a chance to romance Priscilla.

“Welcome Englishman!
I am Samoset.
Do you have any beer?”

These were the first words from the Indian, Samoset, when he astonished the Pilgrims by walking into their colony and greeting them in English in March 1621.  He had learned the language from his contact with English men and their fishing vessels along the New England coastline.

There is a reason and a beginning for everything we do in our American culture.

Learn More, Know More, and Become More…………..