Beer on Board in the Age of Sail (2017)

I think it’s important to point out that almost everyone drank beer and it wasn’t because the water was bad. It was because they liked drinking beer.

Our modern culture doesn’t like the idea of people drinking beer all day so there has to be some scientific justification to make it acceptable to modern sensibilities.

The percentage of alcohol required to preserve beer for long periods is too high for sailors to be drinking a gallon of it per day.

In the 17th and 18th centuries cider was far more prevalent on board - and massive amounts of it to boot.

Source: Cider Country (James Crowden)

No mention of sauerkraut ?