Under a banner of "reducing public drunkenness" the Beer Act of 1830 introduced a new lower tier of premises permitted to sell alcohol, the Beer Houses. At the time beer was viewed as harmless, nutritious and even healthy. Young children were often given what was described as small beer, which was brewed to have a low alcohol content, as the local water was often unsafe. Even the evangelical church and temperance movements of the day viewed the drinking of beer very much as a secondary evil and a normal accompaniment to a meal. The freely available beer was thus intended to wean the drinkers off the evils of gin, or so the thinking went. COUNT 4
QSN1 What law allowed the existence of beer houses? ANS1 Beer Act of 1830 QSN2 In what way did small beer differ from regular beer? ANS2 low alcohol content QSN3 What alcohol was regarded as evil when compared to beer? ANS3 gin QSN4 What was the intention behind the passage of the Beer Act of 1830? ANS4 reducing public drunkenness