Should we drink beer instead of water like the Founding Fathers? Times have changed, according to this historian

When Philadelphians learned Sunday that the city’s drinking water could be contaminated with toxic chemicals, it didn’t take long for some to look to history for alternatives.

“This is why the founders drank beer and not water,” The Big Talker’s Rich Zeoli tweeted alongside a video of panicked buyers stocking their grocery carts with bottled H₂O.

“Cheers,” others responded.

“Can’t drink water; so beer it is!” wrote @DrunkPhilsFans. Another user claimed they were “going medieval” by cracking open a cold one instead of hitting the tap, though officials provided an update Monday that water would be considered safe through Tuesday afternoon as contaminants from the spill have yet to be detected.

Even brewers like Kenwood raised a glass for a momentary marketing opportunity, while Callowhill’s Love City rushed to assure customers their suds were safe to consume.

Though it seemed Philadelphia was returning to the traditions of its ale-abiding forebearers, medical experts don’t recommend making the swap.

But is the story accurate that the Founding Fathers — and most of colonial America, for that matter — were picking up pints over a water jug? According to Rich Wagner, a veteran brewer and Pennsylvania brewery historian, the answer is complicated.

“Take a look at Independence Hall,” Wagner said. “Does that look like it was built by a bunch of drunken carpenters?”

While Wagner sees exaggeration in these stories, he acknowledged the outsized role that ale played in colonial-era Philadelphia.

During the 1700s, it was common to find politicians in taverns squabbling over the day’s revolutionary or congressional argument. Notable Pennsylvanians like William Penn were responsible for pushing the state’s rich brewing culture, Wagner said, both for economic reasons and because beer consumption caused less of a ruckus among colonists than its more intoxicating cousins, whiskey and rum.

It’s true, according to Wagner, that beer was an appealing alternative to water as society began to industrialize. Concern over the city’s water grew as leather tanneries and other factories began to introduce pollutants to a society a long way from the luxury of modern water treatment.

Still, fresh water was available if one knew where to look.

“You always had good springs,” Wagner said, mentioning that Fairmount Park had a clean well. Travelers new to an area would ask locals where they could find the good stuff, he added.

Before you down a six-pack by lunchtime in the name of hydration, Wagner stressed that many beers in early America were less alcoholic than today’s.

As the weekend closed with sun and a high of 62 degrees, beer drinkers crept outside to indulge.

Love City co-founder Melissa Walter stressed that their beer was brewed weeks before the chemical spill and was safe to drink.

Whether that was an advisable alternative to water — which doctors do not recommend — she had no comment.

“People can make their own choices,” Walter said with a laugh.

Others were happy at the thought of a city choosing to imbibe.

Behind the bar at Philadelphia Brewing Company in Kensington on Monday, Michelle Graser was beaming.

“Beer is way better than water!” she exclaimed. “Throughout history, people have drunk beer instead of water when water’s been unsafe.”

Graser can’t say for certain if it was because of the good weather or not, but she swears the brewery did above-average in sales Sunday.

“It’s like, beer and wine,” she recommended. “Skip water.”