“He who drinks beer sleeps well. He who sleeps well cannot sin. He who does not sin goes to heaven. Amen.” -Anonymous Monk
The first commercially sold beers were brewed by monks. Until then, people brewed their own beer at home or the neighborhood eatery brewed beer for their patrons who did not have a kitchen of their own. Beer was largely seen as something drunk with food (not to get drunk) and generally had a low alcohol content. During the American colonial period, the beer that was popular was called small beer and was low in alcohol content, most likely similar to the Northern European traditional beers that are less than 3% ABV, usually about 2% ABV. This Nordic traditional beer is still brewed in homes, factory cafeterias, university cafeterias, kids camps, and sold in stores by a variety of brands in each country.
It is considered non-alcoholic and tea todlers consider it an acceptable beverage. When asked, “Do you drink?” if the answer is, “I’ve never drunk anything stronger than small beer,” then you are not considered to have ever drunk.
