[davegardner]

> I think this was something to do with the dark ages when in the western world, drinking water with alcohol was better than drinking water with bacteria and other pathogens.

I've read recently that this has been debunked. See http://leslefts.blogspot.com.au/2013/11/the-great-medieval-w....

Edit: As pointed out by thisjepisje, it was on HN - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9031856