Way, way long ago! 
Currently, pretty much anything with “Malta” printed on the label would do it. I’ve seen it in delis here in SoCal. The east coast definitely had it pretty much everywhere.
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My conjecture about the adaptation of some humans to acetaldehyde is that it would have occurred over a much longer time, on the order of tens of thousands of years, not hundreds or a few thousand. This would likely have been in areas with more rotten fruits consumed, compared to other geographies. And then, lots of migrations ensued in the next epoch, mixing it all up beyond recognition. That’s my story and I’m stickin to it.
How’d ya like it? Any hopsey-ness may vary from brand to brand.
It wasn’t that bad, though I preferred the local Guinness. Apparently VitaMalt was popular as a kids drink.
Hence my pre-school experience. 
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It is very much actual history. Coffee was nothing short of world-changing when it hit Europe. It was safer than water. It made you more productive. It made you smarter. It didn’t make you drunk. In an age where NOT being seen falling down drunk was notable and per capita consumption of strong beer was 4-5 liters a day coffee changed everything.
It’s been covered in great detail. Two well-researched but very readable treatments below:
and
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This from romancontributions.weebly site:
The wine [of Ancient Rome] was made from grape juice that was extracted by stomping or crushing the grapes in a press. The most prized wine was the juice made by stomping the grapes. When Romans made wine, it was heavily watered down so they could drink large quantities of wine with out getting drunk as fast.
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I recall a story from quite a few years back where there was a massive grain spill off a train. The combination of the grain and rain fermented and the local bear population lapped it up.
Around the same time the next year, the bears returned to the spot, hoping for more.
Bears and some primates, certainly. Elephants are famous for eating fermented fruit and breaking into places where alcohol is stored and making off with the hooch. Fruit flies dive into alcohol, and the bacteria they are carrying turn it into vinegar.
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Aw. That was one of my favorites and now I have to stop telling it. Thanks for linking the article though. That was interesting.
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