What's a Festival without Ale?

Monk brewing beer

     In the late Middle Ages, cultures were rich with festivals and parties for both play and religious reasons.  Around major holidays, such as Christmas and Easter, or other lesser known celebrations in today's world such as Carnival, May Day, or the feast of St. John the Baptist, medieval life would loosen and song, dance, bonfires, feasting, and of course drinking, would give ordinary people a break from the hardships of life.
     Ale, which would have been consumed mostly in the northern regions, and particularly in England.  In many cases, alcoholic drinks would have been safer to drink than water, and was consumed by everyone daily, including children.
   Since ale was such a part of daily life, many monasteries incorporated the drink into their routine. Many monks visited local taverns every day, such as the Bicester Priory in England.  These men, in order to kill off bacteria, are thought to have drank around 10 pints a day.  Because monasteries also acted as refuge for the needy, many monks supplied and made their own drinks during the Middle Ages. 



Monk drinking an alcoholic drink, most
likely a type of beer. Drinking beer
was a part of everyday life because
it was safer than water.

Sources:
Judith Bennett.  Medieval Europe: A Short History.
http://www.cs.cmu.edu/~pwp/tofi/medieval_english_ale.html
http://beforeitsnews.com/entertainment/2013/12/nine-unusual-archaeological-discoveries-of-2013-2455906.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ale