1 00:00:01,920 --> 00:00:06,480 Speaker 1: Welcome to brain Stuff, a production of iHeart Radio. Hey 2 00:00:06,519 --> 00:00:11,080 Speaker 1: brain Stuff, Lauren Vogelbaum. Here, let's say you're on board 3 00:00:11,080 --> 00:00:15,000 Speaker 1: the Mayflower, kicking back with your fellow separatists over pints 4 00:00:15,000 --> 00:00:17,680 Speaker 1: of beer. You and the other voyagers marvel at the 5 00:00:17,800 --> 00:00:21,200 Speaker 1: bad luck that's befallen your trip thus far. One of 6 00:00:21,239 --> 00:00:23,919 Speaker 1: your ships sprang a leak not long after you left England, 7 00:00:24,200 --> 00:00:26,880 Speaker 1: and by the time everyone had moved to the remaining ship, 8 00:00:27,040 --> 00:00:31,320 Speaker 1: the sturdy Mayflower, it was well into storm season. Rough 9 00:00:31,400 --> 00:00:35,000 Speaker 1: seas delayed your journey even more, and some two months later, 10 00:00:35,440 --> 00:00:37,960 Speaker 1: just as you catch your first glimpse of a new continent, 11 00:00:38,440 --> 00:00:41,760 Speaker 1: you find that November is the worst time to arrive 12 00:00:41,840 --> 00:00:45,519 Speaker 1: and begin planting new crops. To make matters worse, your 13 00:00:45,560 --> 00:00:48,879 Speaker 1: ship actually needs to keep sailing south because the bit 14 00:00:48,920 --> 00:00:51,199 Speaker 1: of land you've spied isn't even the track that your 15 00:00:51,240 --> 00:00:55,480 Speaker 1: group is authorized to colonize. It has not been a 16 00:00:55,480 --> 00:01:00,960 Speaker 1: good year sixty and it's about to get worse. You 17 00:01:01,080 --> 00:01:03,920 Speaker 1: catch wind of news so terrible it makes you shiver 18 00:01:04,000 --> 00:01:07,679 Speaker 1: in your breeches. The ship's stores of beer have dwindled. 19 00:01:08,040 --> 00:01:11,360 Speaker 1: You're running out of the good stuff. Shortly thereafter, the 20 00:01:11,440 --> 00:01:15,759 Speaker 1: captain makes a quick decision. Latitude be darned. It's time 21 00:01:15,760 --> 00:01:19,240 Speaker 1: to dock this ship and canvas new land. The passengers 22 00:01:19,240 --> 00:01:22,000 Speaker 1: and their servants can seek out new water, but hopefully 23 00:01:22,040 --> 00:01:25,280 Speaker 1: to make more beer. Meanwhile, the crew will remain on 24 00:01:25,280 --> 00:01:30,920 Speaker 1: the moored vessel, reserving the remaining beer for themselves. It 25 00:01:31,080 --> 00:01:34,200 Speaker 1: may sound difficult to believe, but this fractured bit of 26 00:01:34,240 --> 00:01:38,280 Speaker 1: history gleaned from those aboard the Mayflower who recorded their experiences, 27 00:01:38,840 --> 00:01:42,400 Speaker 1: is rooted in truth. With the beer supply running low, 28 00:01:42,600 --> 00:01:45,759 Speaker 1: the Mayflower captain decided to land at Plymouth Rock rather 29 00:01:45,800 --> 00:01:49,200 Speaker 1: than sailing further south and winter there. That would cut 30 00:01:49,200 --> 00:01:51,440 Speaker 1: off the supply of beer to the passengers and leave 31 00:01:51,520 --> 00:01:56,760 Speaker 1: more for the crew and make history. Beer, it seems, 32 00:01:56,880 --> 00:02:00,320 Speaker 1: is the United States founding beverage so much though, that 33 00:02:00,360 --> 00:02:04,320 Speaker 1: one passenger, William Bradford, complained that he and other passengers 34 00:02:04,480 --> 00:02:07,440 Speaker 1: were hastened ashore and made to drink water that the 35 00:02:07,520 --> 00:02:11,400 Speaker 1: seamen might have more beer. And even though the pilgrims 36 00:02:11,440 --> 00:02:14,919 Speaker 1: discovered clean streams ashore, they were suspicious of the New 37 00:02:14,919 --> 00:02:18,600 Speaker 1: World liquid and not altogether fond of its taste. As 38 00:02:18,639 --> 00:02:22,480 Speaker 1: one colonist wrote, I dare not prefer it before good beer. 39 00:02:23,800 --> 00:02:26,480 Speaker 1: It seems the long voyage that had made beer consumption 40 00:02:26,520 --> 00:02:30,120 Speaker 1: and necessity would have a long term effect, giving pilgrims 41 00:02:30,240 --> 00:02:34,639 Speaker 1: quite a penchant for a good brew. It turns out, 42 00:02:34,800 --> 00:02:38,000 Speaker 1: to those aboard the Mayflower, beer had become an essential 43 00:02:38,080 --> 00:02:42,040 Speaker 1: part of daily life. Even the children drank beer. Almost 44 00:02:42,120 --> 00:02:45,240 Speaker 1: all of the beers consumed, though we're probably weaker versions 45 00:02:45,280 --> 00:02:48,880 Speaker 1: of what we experience as beer today. Ship beer kept 46 00:02:48,919 --> 00:02:52,320 Speaker 1: for sailor's daily rations did not have high alcohol content, 47 00:02:52,960 --> 00:02:55,799 Speaker 1: and the small beer of which passengers drank a court 48 00:02:55,840 --> 00:02:58,639 Speaker 1: per day might have been even weaker, clocking in it 49 00:02:58,800 --> 00:03:01,880 Speaker 1: under three percent alcoho hauled by valium tops, and often 50 00:03:01,919 --> 00:03:04,919 Speaker 1: even lower down to less than one percent. For contrast, 51 00:03:05,040 --> 00:03:07,560 Speaker 1: most beers on the market today contain something over four 52 00:03:07,600 --> 00:03:12,520 Speaker 1: percent alcohol by volume, and that's because these brews weren't 53 00:03:12,560 --> 00:03:16,000 Speaker 1: crafted with an eye toward getting tipsy. They were actually 54 00:03:16,040 --> 00:03:18,640 Speaker 1: a workaround to store in water on board the ship. 55 00:03:19,520 --> 00:03:22,440 Speaker 1: Stored for long periods of time, a ship's water would 56 00:03:22,480 --> 00:03:26,520 Speaker 1: become contaminated a journey affair. Beer, on the other hand, 57 00:03:26,639 --> 00:03:30,120 Speaker 1: could more often be stored and ingested for weeks and 58 00:03:30,200 --> 00:03:33,560 Speaker 1: months without getting anyone sick, making it a more ideal 59 00:03:33,600 --> 00:03:37,360 Speaker 1: beverage for a lengthy journey, though no promises would taste 60 00:03:37,360 --> 00:03:39,520 Speaker 1: as good a few months in, even when there was 61 00:03:39,640 --> 00:03:47,520 Speaker 1: enough to go around. Today's episode was written by Laurel 62 00:03:47,600 --> 00:03:50,040 Speaker 1: Dove and produced by Tyler Klang. For more on listen 63 00:03:50,080 --> 00:03:53,080 Speaker 1: lots of other barmy topics, visit how stuff works dot com. 64 00:03:53,200 --> 00:03:56,000 Speaker 1: Brain Stuff is production of iHeart Radio. For more podcasts 65 00:03:56,000 --> 00:03:58,960 Speaker 1: for my heart Radio, visit the iHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, 66 00:03:59,040 --> 00:04:00,760 Speaker 1: or wherever you listen to favorite shows.