Back when New York was still New Amsterdam, the Dutch settlers drank beer with every meal. (They thought it was healthier than the brackish water available from wells.) Taverns not only brewed the beer, but also functioned as social and political centers. The oldest bar in the city (although it was shut down for many years) is the reconstructed Fraunces Tavern and Museum in Lower Manhattan, where George Washington had a drink to celebrate victory over the British forces in 1783. One of the city’s best–known bars today is also one of the oldest in continuous service: McSorley’s Ale House, on 7th Street between 2nd and 3rd Avenues, has been brewing its own beer for nearly a century and a half.