“In the Sunday school book called the Gospel Principles, page 194, what is meant by, grains may be used to make mild drink. What is meant by mild drink?” (Larry)
Actually verse 17 of D&C 89 specifically refers to barley being used to make mild drinks. Given that beer has a much lower alcohol content than other alcoholic beverages (e.g. vodka, whiskey), mild drinks in that verse probably refers to beer.
Prophets have since declared that beer is against the Word of Wisdom, so presently mild drinks would refer to non-alcoholic drinks made from barley. I don’t drink drinks derived from grain, so I am unfamiliar with on-the-market drinks that would fall under modern interpretation of ‘mild drinks’.
During the three decades after the Revolutionary War in America, many factors contributed to what was deemed by many to be the excessive use of alcohol. This concern paralleled a similar sentiment in Europe, which in turn led a great many Christian religions to advocate for greater restraint in the availability and use of alcohol. this sentiment became so popular that it led to what was and is still referred to as The Temperance Movement. Temperance is today an archaic word, but it meant to curb or temper the use of alcohol (and became generally related to higher societal and moral values). Beer was indeed a plentiful form or alcoholic drink during this time, but it was not the only available drink made from barley and other grains. It is unlikely that this Section D&C referred to.
Nonalcoholic malt beverages made primarily from barley and hops had been produced for centuries prior to the 19th Century. They were especially popular in Middle Eastern Countries and parts of India and Asia where Islam had spread. Grains such as barley were mainstay foodstuffs for people since the beginning of recorded history–especially in the Middle East and the Holy Land. It is natural that beverages made from these grains became part of the mainstay diet of these people. Drunkenness is condemned throughout the Bible and religious writings of these and virtually every other significant civilization. Alcohol was used and tolerated by some of these peoples, but never to excess. Alcoholic drinks were not consumed on a day-to-day basis by most of them, and not at all by many. Women and children have universally been insulated from the use of alcohol by all prominent societies. Even men were not encouraged to regularly consume alcoholic beverages–except on holidays and in moderate amounts. But nonalcoholic beverages were a mainstay family drink depended upon for nutrition by the whole families. These beverages were not alcoholic beers as we know them today. They were different. They were truly mild drinks–containing no alcohol, or insignificant amounts of alcohol.
It is further supposed by some historians that these barley malt beverages were heated in order to evaporate the alcohol that was an inevitable and initial undesirable by-product of fermentation. Alcohol was recognized as a toxin in their otherwise nutritious daily food beverages. It is easily removed by heating because it turns into a gas at a lower temperature than does water and the other liquids in the malted liquid. Evaporation as a means of removing alcohol entirely reasonably preceded distilling the alcohol to be used separately. Distillation requires extra steps and is not so easily accomplished as is evaporation–although the knowledge that the alcohol goes somewhere must have rationally led to experiments in distillation. Subsequently, even within places and among cultures that did not readily allow drinking alcohol or drunkenness–distillation was known and used to extract alcohol as an external disinfectant, an internal medicine or anesthetic, a fuel, and as a product to export. But this was later in the evolution of fermented beverages. Even so, the primary purpose of distillation was probably used to rid the malt brew of alcohol, not to make alcohol–at least initially.And in any event, the nonalcoholic potion that was left was good for food. Where alcohol can kill you, the nonalcoholic brew is good for you.
Fermentation also produces yeast. Yeast is highly nutritious. The growth of yeast produces carbon dioxide–which causes the effervescent quality (bubbles) in these brews which may have been thought to both enhance the flavor and the same pleasantness associated with the fizz in carbonated drinks. It also is not so easily removed as is alcohol. Fermentation is a form of natural carbonation.
The Temperance Movement was in full swing when the Word of Wisdom came to be. The popularity of these ancient nonalcoholic drinks had reached an apex in history and were as commonplace than was beer, if not more-so. These drinks were separate and distinct from beer. They were known by such names as lager, small beer, little beer, gruel-water, near-beer, and maybe a dozen other names–and even ale. As the melting pot that America was mixed various languages and cultures, these terms became confused, or lost. But people living in America then commonly new the difference. It was not hard to test these products, since drinking one or more beers, would produce at least a minimal intoxication, whereas it was impossible to drink enough of the nonalcoholic malt beverage to become intoxicated.
Although the years that have passed since those times to this modern day–through almost a hundred years of the Temperance Movement and the days of Prohibition, followed by a relaxation of rules and laws may have obscured common knowledge of these conditions among many people, nonalcoholic malt beverages continue to have a popular following among members of some religions, cultures, and countries–for the same reasons that they were then and anciently. They are considered by those to be tasty, nutritious, and desirable to promote health. Also, as a result of those events, various cultural and legal definitions have arisen to define which is which. During prohibition, it was determined that a trace amount of alcohol would be reasonable to allow in order to provide producers a small margin of error. However, it was then and is now, known that many common foods and beverages naturally contain small amounts of alcohol.
For example, research known both then and now discloses that fresh orange juice contains upwards to a full 1% alcohol content. This is an insignificant amount. It harms no-one. The benchmark established as allowable, defining nonalcoholic malt beverages in America during the prohibition was half that at .05%. Today’s production methods make the amount far less–usually none. Thee continues to be some confusion in America regarding the nature of these drinks. A few states still legally consider them to be adult drinks and require proof of age to buy them. Most do not. But even in those that do not, stores and restaurants often demand to see an ID even from elderly consumers. Many religious people refuse to show an ID, as this would imply that they are buying alcohol. The Middle East and Indonesia continue to be the primary consumers of such beverages, but they are also still increasing in popularity in America. Early Mormons were aware of such drinks, did not confuse them with real beer, and drank them readily. They still do. Utah, as a state, is the number one consumer of nonalcoholic beer in America.