The first Thanksgiving feast likely had no turkey but instead consisted primarily of venison, waterfowl, and regional staples such as seafood and various leafy vegetables. Though they were known to like beer, the pilgrims drank something else during the first Thanksgiving.

The pilgrims had run out of beer when they reached Plymouth Rock, so they simply drank water during the Thanksgiving feast. Not only did they not have access to barley or hops, but they also wouldn't have had enough time to brew it all before that first Thanksgiving.

Many pilgrims, however, didn't trust the water, so they resorted to hard cider on Thanksgiving. They produced it by harvesting apples from the crops they had access to and fermenting the juice.