Christine Fell, in Leeds Studies in English (1975), suggests that the Old English/Norse word bēor did not originally denote ale or beer, but a strong, sweet drink rather like mead or cider. Whatever the case, the meaning of bēor expanded to cover the meaning of ale. When hopped ale from Europe was imported into Britain in the late Middle Ages, it was described as "beer" to differentiate it from the British unhopped ale, later acquiring a broader meaning.
Christine Fell, in Leeds Studies in English (1975), suggests that the Old English/Norse word bēor did not originally denote ale or beer, but a strong, sweet drink rather like mead or cider Whatever the case, the meaning of bēor expanded to cover th.e meaning of ale. When hopped ale from Europe was imported into Britain in the late Middle Ages, it was described as "beer" to differentiate it from the British unhopped ale, later acquiring a broader meaning.