JEB,
You may be right, it may really have been as simple as that. Though I've never heard a definitive explanation for what was, in its time, a very significant development.
When you consider that even though immense quantities of barrels of fresh water were loaded on ships, but quickly became tainted by seawater sloshing in. The general principle laid down by The Admiralty, was to issue a ration of 1 gallon of beer per man, per day.
At the time of the Spanish Armada ( 1588 - for those who don't know ) , The Dons were rationed a bottle of Port or Sherry a day, each.
No wonder they lost.
