system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
ELI5: How did drinking beer help out during the time of the bubonic plague pandemics?

I heard something about the plague not being transmitted through the beer for some reason.
gpt
Bubonic plague is carried by fleas and rats (which have the fleas), so clean water isn't so much the issue for that particular disease. However, diseases that *do* spread through contaminated water, like cholera, aren't transmitted through beer because brewing beer involves boiling everything. This kills bacteria in it. Additionally, the alcohol in it will also kill the infectious bacteria. Alcohol sterilizes things.