middle ages

Fact Check verdict: Unverified. Medieval people drank water when it looked clean, towns piped it in, and ale was valued as food. A short clip of the author Michael Pollan talking about caffeine recirculated on X in late October 2026, reviving a familiar idea about the past. Did people in the Middle Ages really drink ale all day because their water was unsafe to drink? Pollan made the point in a 2021 interview on The Tim Ferriss Show. He said "It’s important to know just how drunk everybody was before caffeine came to Europe." He added that "alcohol was safer than the water then. When you ferment, you disinfect." The claim tested here is the general one about medieval drinkers