Religious origins

All monasteries and abbeys featured breweries. The symbols X, XX and XXX were used as a guarantee of sound quality for beers of increasing strength (Savage 1866;
King 1947).
The monasteries passed on their skills to those brewing in their own homes (notably the women: 'ale wyfes') and by the Middle Ages ale had become the drink at all meal­times. Out of the domestic brewing scene came the development of breweries, each selling their own beer in a room at the front - they would be known today as 'brew pubs'. They produced two main products: 'strong beer' fermented from the rst runnings from the mash and 'small beer' from the weaker, later runnings.
In the early fourteenth century there was one 'brew pub' for every 12 people in England. In Faversham in 1327, 84 out of 252 traders were brewers. All ale was sold locally because of transport limitations and the dif culty of keeping beer for any length of time. Ale was sold in three types of premises: inns, where you also sought food and accommodation; taverns, which also sold wine; and ale-houses (Dunn 1979). And yet 90% of ale was still 'home-brew'.
One of the earlier attempts to regulate standards of quality was in Chester, where the penalty for a woman brewing bad ale was a drenching in the ducking chair (King 1947). The number of ordinances and regulations in the middle years of the second millennium that dealt with beer were nearly as many as dealt with another staple, bread (Drummond & Wilbraham 1958). In the Liber Albus of1419 compiled by John Carpenter and Richard Whittington (of cat fame) there is mention of the 'aleconners of the Ward' whose job was to taste each brew and report on it to the Mayor.
In Medieval times ale was associated with festivals and family events - thus there were lamb-ales, bride-ales (bridals) and so on. A bride could sell ale on her wedding day and take the proceeds (King 1947).
Ale was sold to support Parish funds, hence at Sygatem Church in Norfolk we nd the quotation:

God speed the plough
And give us good ale enow.
Be merry and glade
With good ale this church was made.

We look back to those times for the origins of terms like 'cheers' and 'good health' and diverse other 'toasts' (Fleming 1975). It was the custom to put a piece of toasted bread into the beer, which was passed around the guests in a 'loving cup'. Perhaps the toast improved the avour. Finally the host received the cup, drank the remains and ate the bread.