Plague Wages Built Pub Culture

The Black Death killed around half the population and created a serious labor shortage by the 1370s. This was a huge factor in the rise of English pub culture. The surviving peasants earned better wages, lived better and spent more money and leisure time on better-quality ale. With demand increasing, the homebrew vendors gave way to commercial alehouses run by skilled brewers who offered better fare. These became social spaces for drinking and games, and laid the foundations of the modern British pub.

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