Water Purification

[Ian]

We seem on this site to have runs on different types of water purification. People support boiling, filters, purifiers, Chlorine, Iodine, and so on but I have never seen a thread about using alcohol.

I understand that is was common many, many years ago never to drink raw water, or even bath in it, mainly because of poor sanitation and the consequent contamination.

People drank brewed, fermented and boiled water. Small beer and other low alcohol brews together with thin cider, weak wine and cold tea is mentioned in many novels and plays and equipment is found in archaeological studies. Watered ale and spirits was often supplied as part of wages, 8-10 pints a day. One example I am sure you will you will know of was the watered beer and rum ration known as grog supplied daily to sailors.

Classical brewing of course uses boiling the wort as part of the process so beer and ale would be safe but it was common practice to dilute this before drinking, often about 4:1 from what I can find.

Back to today. How much alcohol and for how long do you need to treat typically found UK water to pasturise it well enough for day to day use. As far as I can tell 2.5% seems about right but the dilution and drinking appears to be done fairly close in time so 'contact time' for the alcohol to kill the bus was short which does not appear quite right to me.

Has anybody done any serious research on this or can you point me to any?

[scoobie]

Interesting thread Ian..I have nothing to add, but will be keeping my eyes on it

[nickdutch]

It isn't really something that I would recommend.

The "small beer" they they had in those days was the same strength as the real ales of today.

Can you really keep your wits about you when drunk as a skunk? Trust be, I have been an undergraduate before and I used to drink beer the way that they drank small beer in the proper old days.

It was BAD. I mean BAD.

You don't want to live like that unless you are doing a job that might get yourself killed and you just don't want to feel the moment of death but you suspect it might happen any moment.

Keep sober.

[Ian]

That is the whole point nickdutch. Small beer was NOT very strong thus the name small beer. I understand it was common practice to dilute common beer 4:1 so that people would not get drunk or be impaired.

See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Low-alcohol_beer About halfway down.

Certainly the Royal Navy knew about the problem which is why ALL alcohol was under lock and key and controlled by the Captain. Any inebriation at sea is dangerous and indeed under 1860 Naval Discipline Act drunkenness could be punished severely, up to but not including penal servitude and death, at the discretion of the captain.

[jansman]

MyGrandfather spoke of this. Their well was suspect so small beer was the drink of the day.Cheaper than tea apparently !He reckoned it was the strength of modern pub beer.