Simply put, they ran out of beer. In those days, beer was safer to drink than water and it carried nutritional value as well. When the Pilgrims turned up in Massachusetts instead of the intended Virginia, they disembarked there to make some more beer. Pintful: Celebrate the season with an Advent beer calendarNews & Observer Awesome Thanksgiving craft beer pairingsDenver Post (blog) How to Brew up Holiday Cheer With Craft BeerABC News MLive.com -Westword (blog) -Free Times all 37 news articles »