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Re:When did people stop being drunk all the time? by pavlov on Wednesday July 26, 2023 @03:06AM (#36874032)
I suspect it’s the latter. The beers were nothing like the highly polished industrial lagers or ales of today.

In Finland, a home-made small beer (kotikalja) remains a popular drink in the countryside. The alcohol content is around 1%. It’s a sweet brown mush that you can make in one day at home using rye malt sold in every grocery store. Here’s a video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YtgWBCnOt4M

Re:When did people stop being drunk all the time? by resolutebat on Wednesday July 26, 2023 @03:35AM (#36874218)
Kotikalja is the Finnish version of kvas, which is ubiquitous across Eastern Europe.

There's a Tibetan/Bhutanese/north Indian barley version of this too, known as chhang.

Re:When did people stop being drunk all the time? by alephnerd on Wednesday July 26, 2023 @02:12PM (#36882279)
Chhang generally reaches around 4-6%, but it is also a generic word for that fermented barley drink, so maybe other regions brew it at a lower ABV.