Seventy-Five Years Ago: Gearing up for the Big Night

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

City officials and beermakers around the country began announcing their plans for the evening of April 6 and wee hours of April 7. The national centerpiece would be a live radio broadcast from Chicago, St. Louis, and Milwaukee, beginning at 11:30 pm and hosted by the Columbia Broadcasting System.

Remember, in 1933 commercial television had not yet arrived, so people gathered around their radios the way we congregate now in front of our flat screens. And programming focused on sounds rather than images. In this case, there would be the usual round of speeches and music.

But the program would also feature: --- the roar of three aircraft departing from the St. Louis airport. Each would carry a case of beer. Two planes were headed to Washington, carrying beer in two cargos, one for President Roosevelt, one for Vice President Garner. The third plane was destined for New York and former governor and presidential candidate Al Smith, a fervent supporter of ending Prohibition. --- the sound of trains loaded with beer pulling out of Chicago railyards --- the hiss and swoosh of the first beer tap being pulled at a Miluwakee tavern --- general merrymaking and mayhem from taverns and hotel bars in the three host cities.

Several people were schedule to speak during the broadcast, including Gus Busch, Jr., son of Anheuser-Busch president August Busch, Sr. and general manager of the A-B brewery. As I noted the other day, you can hear his speech here -- but why not wait until the witching hour itself? Just after midnight on April 7!

Seventy-Five Years Ago: Roll Out the Barrel! Um, Okay -- But Which Kind?

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

No matter how good the news, we humans will find some way to squabble over the details. Milwaukee beermakers, labor unions, and the Wisconsin state legislature spent the last few days before Legal Beer arguing over the legality of metal kegs.

On March 31, one house of the legislature adopted a bill that banned the use of metal kegs. Brewers protested, explaining that the ban would force them to cancel contracts with the Wisconsin companies already hired to fabricate the metal containers.

Worse yet, said Fred Pabst, Jr., of Pabst Brewing Company, the lumber for old-style wooden barrels would have to be imported from "Arkansas and some of the other dry states" -- meaning states that had long supported Prohibition. Pshaw, said members of organized labor, which supported the ban on metal kegs. We want to drink beer "out of wooden barrels, as in the olden days."

This tempest in a teapot -- er, barrel -- raged on for a few more days. But the story had a happy ending: on April 5, the legislature passed a new bill that allowed brewers to use the metal containers. Beer might be back, but the "olden days" were gone for good.

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Sources: Milwaukee Sentinel, April 4, 1933, p. 1; and April 6, 1933, pp. 1 and 17.

Seventy-Five Years Ago: Celebrating Beer's Return on the Internet and Beyond

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

Today, a slight detour from my daily rundown of anniversary factoids in order to alert you to annivesary-related material located at other websites. In a previous post, I noted that a state-by-state list of celebration events can be found at the Brewers Association website.

But here are a couple of other places to visit: Check out the website hosted by The National Beer Wholesalers Association. Scroll down to their notice of the 75th anniversary and you'll find a video titled "Mr. Beer Guy," honoring -- of course -- the guys who deliver the beer.

Then hop over to the Anheuser-Busch website for some terrific historical material. Start here to see a collection of photos relating to the event. The small video screen on that page contains more photos and a recording of Gus Busch's address to the nation just after midnight on April 7, 1933, when he told Americans that "happy days are here again." A larger version of the video/audio also at YouTube. It's a bit easier to see and hear. Click here for that version.

Seventy-Five Years Ago: Hey, Bub, Watch Where Yer Goin'!

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

On March, 30, 1933, the New Jersey Commissioner of Motor Vehicles issued a warning to motorists in his state. Enjoy the legal beer that's coming, he said, but watch the wheel while you're at it. "Theoretically, 3.2 beer is non-intoxicating," he explained. (*1)

"It is conceivable, however, that an excess of consumption of it by certain individuals might result in an adverse effect upon the mental alertness and skill with which they operate their automobiles."

For which I hereby award him a posthumous prize for Most Convoluted Use of the English Language By A Minor Bureaucrat While Issuing a Useless Press Release.

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*1: See my blog entry for March 22 for a brief explanation of the "non-intoxicating" point. Source: "Warns Beer-Drinking Drivers Not to Endanger Other Traffic," New York Times, March 31, 1933, p. 2.

Seventy-Five Years Ago: Planning Your Own Celebration

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

Beer Day is coming up fast -- time to plan your own celebration. One way to do that is by visiting the Brewers Association web site. (The BA is the industry trade group for small and craft brewers.) There you'll find a page devoted to the anniversary. The page includes a press release discussing the event and significant dates in beer history.

But the most important feature is the "select a state" menu. Click on it to find the location, date, and time of anniversary events near you. As always, a tip o' the mug to the wonderful folks at the Brewers Association.

Seventy-Five Years Ago: Beer = Money

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

People who supported Prohibition (the "drys") had lobbied against the return of beer by accusing the "wets" of over-estimating the economic impact of legal beer. The wets enjoyed the last laugh -- and did so all the way to the bank: By March 28, the brewers in just one city, Milwaukee, had processed $4 million dollars in orders. (That's about $62 milllion in 2006 dollars.) And they'd already paid more than $50,000 in federal taxes ($777,0000 in 2006 dollars).