Getting Drunk Before Lunch?

It’s only half past twelve. But I don’t care…It’s five o’clock somewhere.

It often seems a bit confusing. What really makes day drinking during the week so different than having a cocktail with brunch on a Sunday. What makes it a “problem” and when is it “justified”? These are moral and social issues not for this blog. No less, the ideas of Alan Jackson and Jimmy Buffet in their song “It’s Five O’clock Somewhere” have been echoed throughout history and, as it would appear, into the modern day. So, what has day drinking looked like throughout history?

The Middle Ages Savior

During the Middle Ages culture was expanding. With the fall of the Western Roman Empire, culture was no longer unified and conformed under a single ruling ideal. Diversity of ideas and innovation flourished. However, the process to keep water clean and pure was not always perfect.

A depiction (circa. 1300) of a French monk sampling a fermented beverage-likely wine. Source 1

As basic first aid will teach you, alcohol kills germs. In a time when water purification wasn’t always perfect and access to fresh water depended on nature, people needs a safe source of water (or at least some water). At the time, the alcoholic beverage of choice was wine. But, it was reserved for clergymen and for the upper class who could afford the fermented grape drink. Therefore, it was fermenting grains like wheat and barley that allowed some facets of Medieval peoples to have a beverage that was relatively free of deadly pathogens.

Getting Drunk for God

Bavarian monks (go figure) were the first to perfect the early predecessors to modern beer at the turn of the millennium. Containing around one percent alcohol, getting drunk may be an overstatement. These beers, often referred to as “liquid bread”, were drunken as supplements for monks as they fasted for Lent. The high carb content gave plenty of energy to the monks and allowed them to continue their duties over the 40+ days of fasting.

Soon, beer became a staple in the households of people throughout Europe. It was cheap, readily available, and could be made with the wide range of grains that grew throughout the landscapes. Soon it was alongside every meal and provided a full feeling even when it was paired with little food.

Beer for the Laborer

It was with no surprise that between the fifteenth century and the mid-nineteenth century that a beer, likely with a bit more alcohol, was taken before work. This tradition was shared around the world as the practice of making beer, whether light or dark or somewhere in between, was adapted to each society and culture.

Dublin law limits the amount of “Early Houses”; many are still the originals from as early as the 1600’s. Source 2

Throughout the world culture absorbed beer into everyday life.  Farmers made batches of winter beer to have ready for the summer. Supplemental harvesters would be given this beer to sustain them through the long hot days in the field. Fishermen in Dublin would make a morning stop at “Early Houses” to have a hearty breakfast and wash it down with a pint of beer. Some might even say the beer was the reason that the workers kept working each day!

Booze in America

Early America shared much of its drinking culture with England (again, go figure). However, as the nation evolved so did the drinking ideology. Through the Second World War, it was not uncommon to down a cold one before work or have a glass of bourbon or whisky as a mid-morning pick-me-up.

In the modern day, drinking on the job is limited to stay-at-home workers and those with extra lenient bosses and no HR. No less, the weekend Mimosa or Bloody Mary still serves as a quintessential beverage of choice for those special and not-so-special brunches throughout the year.  Who knows, maybe one day it will be margaritas helping us all hang on.