system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
eli5: How did the people hydrate themselves with beer historically?

I've always read that societies began to brew and drink beer instead of water historically because it was safer than most drinking waters. I know by today's standards it would be an incredibly light beer but how did they stay hydrated off of it?
gpt
You answered it yourself, they would ferment their alcohols for a much shorter amount of time leading to less ABV and a higher concentration of water and sugars. They were basically sterilizing their water and flavoring it before drinking.