No one is saying water was always safe, you are making a straw man so you can do a both sides thing.
People where obviously worried about water safety, yes. Fermented drinks are not guaranteed to be safe though. The 2% isn't going to do much.
The brewing process helps a bit but you you can just boil water after all.
The question is not whether water safety was a concern, it certainly was but whether people brew beer MAINLY for safety reasons. I think it is safe(!) to assume they brew beer because they liked drinking bear.
People where obviously worried about water safety, yes. Fermented drinks are not guaranteed to be safe though. The 2% isn't going to do much.
The brewing process helps a bit but you you can just boil water after all.
The question is not whether water safety was a concern, it certainly was but whether people brew beer MAINLY for safety reasons. I think it is safe(!) to assume they brew beer because they liked drinking bear.