Seventy-Five Years Ago: Fill 'Er Up!

Counting Down to April 7, the Anniversary of the Return of Legal Beer

It was really happening! On March 26th and 27th, 1933, breweries in Milwaukee began bottling beer. The folks at Blatz cranked up the bottling line on the evening of the 26th, running a shift through the night to get the work finished. Pabst flipped the switch on its line at noon on the 27th.

It's hard to imagine what roused the most interest: the newspaper report about all those bottles of beer -- or the photograph that accompanied the article. It showed several men tending the bottling equipment at Blatz. Men working. Collecting paychecks. Earning money to buy food and clothes for their families. In the end, that's probably what mattered most to Americans during that grim spring of 1933, when a third of adults were out of work.

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Source: "Bottled Beer Awaits Signal," Milwaukee Sentinel, March 27, 1933, p. 9.

About That Bock Beer Article

In a previous blog entry, I included a link to an article about bock beer from the March 26. 1933 New York Times. But according to An Astute Reader (and I love the Astute Readers), it's only free if you subscribe to the newspaper (the paper version) or the online "Reader's Service."

So apparently I subscribe to the "Reader's Service" -- which, frankly, I had forgotten. (What can I say? I'm over forty. My memory is not my strong point.) Anyway, apologies for unintentionally misleading all of you. It's a terrific article and if I could do so legally, I'd just cut-and-paste the whole thing as a blog entry.

But of course I can't do that. It's the property of the New York Times. So if you're dessssssssssperate to read it, you have two options.

One, spend $4.00 to buy an online copy. (Again, I'd happily do that for all of you, but I still wouldn't be able to copy here.) Two, find a library that subscribes to the ProQuest electronic version of the Times Archives, or owns the microfilm version of the newspaper. Any university library will have them, as will any big city library. Finally, the Times archive IS free back to 1981.

The Solution Begins At Home

I'm on record as supporting the idea of parents teaching their children to drink at home. (See especially this blog entry.) My belief is that when we demonize alcohol, we teach kids to fear rather than respect it. And then we end up with an "underage drinking problem." We end up with, in other words, a drinking problem of our own making.

Anyway, there's a thoughtful piece about this topic by Eric Asimov in today's New York Times. Instead of resorting to the usual kneejerk "booze is bad, period," he actually did some digging to find out if there's any evidence that kids' attitudes toward alcohol can be shaped by parents at home. Worth reading.

Seventy-Five Years Ago: Bock Beer and No Beer

Counting Down to April 7, the Anniversary of the Return of Legal Beer

News about beer and beermaking filled the nation's newspapers in late March, as Americans geared up for Beer Day.

Beermakers in New York City, for example, warned that they'd have to ration their supplies. "We are booked already above our capacity," Henry Piel told a newspaper reporter. "It is quite possible that there may be a shortage of beer at first . . . ." He explained that the brewery would supply its long-standing customers first. Everyone else would have to get in line.

Some of the Milwaukee breweries announced they'd be selling their beer in new metal barrels. Their engineers had been working on the new container for years; now they planned to start using it. (The beer can wouldn't show up for another two years.)

Finally, on this day in 1933, the New York Times ran a long article on the traditions and lore surrounding bock beer. If you're into beer history, it's worth reading.

CORRECTION TO ORIGINAL BLOG ENTRY: When I accessed the bock article, it came up as a "free" read, so I assumed it was free to everyone. But apparently you can only access the article if you have subscribe to the print version of the paper or the online Reader's Service. See a longer blog entry here for more details. Thanks and tip 'o the mug to Jeff for pointing this out.

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Source for Piel quote: "City Beer Shortage Feared By Brewers," New York Times, March 26, 1933, p. 1.

Re-thinking Malthusian Limits?

I'm going to assume most people have at least a passing familiarity with the ideas of Thomas Malthus regarding human population and the planet's resources.

According to him, a society's population "adjusts" to accommodate the available supply of food and natural resources. People might learn how to raise more food more efficiently, but often the mechanisms of "adjustment" are things like war, disease, and famine. That's a simplistic summary, but you get the drift. (If you want to learn more, the internet is actually a good place to start looking. Even Wikipedia, which I don't normally recommend, offers a good primer on Malthus.)

Anyway, unless you're living under a rock, you know that demand for food and water have risen to historic highs, thanks to rising population and global affluence. Naturally that raises the question: How will Malthus' theory play out over the next few decades? Was he right? Completely off mark? Has technology altered his fundamental premise?

There's a fascinating article in this morning's Wall Street Journal about relevance, meaning, and importance of Malthusian economics in today's world. If you spend any time pondering stuff like, oh, high food prices, soaring costs for brewing materials, globalization, and other interesting-and-complicated-but-depressing topics, it's worth a look.

Seventy-Five Years Ago: Details, Details, Details

Counting Down to April 7, the Anniversary of the Return of Legal Beer

Beer was on the way but now it was time to wrangle over the details. The United States Attorney General and the Treasury Department squabbled over the definition of "12:01 a.m."

That was the moment on April 7 when beer sales could begin. The Attorney General insisted that 12:01 meant 12:01, whether that was in New York or Los Angeles. Officials at the Treasury Department argued that beer ought to go on sale everywhere at 12:01 Eastern Time -- even though it would only be 9 p.m. on the west coast. (The Attorney General won that debate.)

The mayor of Milwaukee had declared that the city would celebrate the event with a half holiday on April 7. Church officials objected and asked the mayor to delay beer sales and the celebration until the following Monday -- the day after Easter. Apparently beer -- and the jobs it would bring -- would distract people from their religious obligations.

Many people objected to the newly allowed 3.2% alcohol content. Some said it was too high; others declared it too low. Nonsense, said Max Henius, head of the one of the nation's leading beer schools, the Wahl-Henius Institute of Brewing. "Beer of 3.2 percent is the perfect beer." It would "satisfy the popular demand for beer without . . . endangering temperance and sobriety."

"When people want beer," he added, "They want a refreshing drink, not a fiery drug."

Amen.

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Sources: articles in Milwaukee Sentinel, March 23, 1933 and New York Times, March 24, 1933.