Introduction
Throughout the Middle Ages ale and beer were staple beverages for most everyone. “Small ales”, or low alcohol brewed beverages, were a common source of nutrients for the common farmworker. Of course, not everyone was a brewer, nor did every household have the resources to create their daily ration of ale. Enter the alehouses, taverns, and inns of the day. These ranged from the kitchen of a family with extra ale to be rid of, to community gathering places, to larger establishments available to the traveling gentry to feed and stable men and horses on long journeys.
Alehouses, Taverns, and Inns
Generally speaking, there were three types of establishments that served ales: The alehouse, the tavern, and the inn. Each of these served similar but different roles in medieval society.
Alehouses
Alehouses are establishments that primarily serve ale and other alcoholic beverages, historically significant in social and economic contexts. They functioned as communal gathering places, influencing local culture and community interactions, particularly in medieval and early modern Europe. (academia.edu)
Alehouses were just that, houses where one could purchase ale. These were the homesteads of families that otherwise made their living not serving as a public house. The Ale was brewed by the “alewife” for personal consumption. Ale, in this case, was unhopped and flavored with all manner of botanicals such as mugwort, yarrow, and ground ivy. The lack of any preservatives (such as expensive hops) would limit the shelf life of the beverage. The ale served in the alehouse was what was left over from what the family could consume before (or just after!) it started to turn sour.
Taverns
Taverns are establishments that serve alcoholic beverages and often provide food, acting as social gathering places. Historically significant in various cultures, they functioned as venues for social interaction, commerce, and community engagement, influencing local economies and social structures.(academia.edu)
The medieval tavern most closely resembles a modern public house or restaurant . This is where the locals would gather for “a pie and a pint”, and where travelers may stop for a meal. The ale was brewed on premises by the taverner’s wife. Medieval brewing was “women’s work.” The menu would be mostly simple fare of potage and bread. The potage was usually a “perpetual stew”; one that was always on the hearth and consisted of whatever odd grains and veg was available. If the customer was lucky, the bread was baked that same day! If the tavern was fairly successful, they could afford to use imported hops and make beer. This would improve the stability of the drink, as well as its flavor. Better drink would improve sales which would make the tavern more successful. Rinse, repeat.
Inns
Inns are establishments that serve alcoholic beverages and provide food as a tavern, but also offer sleeping space (I hesitate to say “rooms”, as these spaces were often shared with strangers – including the beds!).
“Although individual alehouses may have provided some informal shelter, it was the organised provision of support for travellers, their horses and their goods that distinguished inns, and that was to prove a characteristic development of the later Middle Ages.”(Hare)
The inn resolved that issue by providing stables an food for horses and ample space to host guests and their goods. Inns had a main hall, chambers (could be anywhere from 5 to as many as 17 with 1 to 3 beds a piece), a kitchen, innkeeper’s quarters, stables, and common area. Inns also seemed to attract a certain type of clientele – a more wealthy one. Inns often catered to the gentry and well to do, with many guests being merchants, members of wealthy families and government officials. (medievalists.net)
Costs
These numbers are a rough estimate of what an ale might cost. Hodges says, “The list of medieval prices which follows is by no means complete or thoroughly researched; I merely extracted references from some of the books I have, and I thought others might like to inspect it.” Ii think these are rough estimates, though.
Money goes as follows:
1 pound (£) = 20 shillings (s)
1 crown = 5 shillings
1 shilling = 12 pence(pennies) (d)
1 penny = 4 farthings
1 mark = 13s 4d
This table shows possible costs of beverages at these establishments. (Hodges)
| Item | Price | Date |
| Ale (beer comes later): | ||
| Good | 1.5d/gal | 14 cen |
| Medium | 1d/gal | 14 cen |
| Poor | .75d/gal | 14 cen |
| Ale: | ||
| First-rate | 1-1.25d/gal | 1320-1420 |
| Second-rate | .75-1d/gal | 1320-1420 |
| Ale (best): | ||
| Somerset | .75d | 1338 |
| London | 1.25d | 1338 |
| Beer | 1d/quart | late 16 cen |
Bibliography
Hare, J. (2013). Inns, innkeepers and the society of later medieval England, 1350–1600. Journal of Medieval History, 39(4), 477–497. https://doi.org/10.1080/03044181.2013.833132
Medievalists.net, Copyright © 2026, Ye Ol’ Bed & Breakfast: A Look at the Medieval Inn
Kenneth Hodges, List of price of medieval items https://medieval.ucdavis.edu/120D/Money.html (hodges@jif.berkeley.edu)
Carrick of Nordenhal 
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