So -- Where Was I?

For those of you who are now totally confused by the media's coverage of yesterday's events: no, April 7 was NOT the 75th anniversary of the end of Prohibition. Please -- take my word for it. I know what I'm talking about. I may not know much, but I am dead certain of that one thing.

Anyway, where was I before I started all this countdown stuff?

Well, here's one thing I missed: My pal Jay Brooks issued a call for a new national "day": You know: like Boss's Day, Mother's Day, Kiss Your Therapist Day. Jay suggests designating July 18 as "International Brewer's Day." You can read the details at his blog. It's at the end of that entry. I second the motion.

And picking up on the more general topic of that blog entry by Jay: "Beer People": What's not to love about beer people? I've yet to meet one I didn't like. In no particular order, here are links to just a few of the websites run by people who love beer -- and who, in my opinion, exemplify all that's good not just about "beer people" but about people in general:

Jay's blog of course. You just won't meet a nicer guy.

There's Stan's blog -- currently running "slow" because he and his family are traveling more-or-less around the world. TRULY a swell guy, James Spencer In it for the love of the beer, my favorite brothers Groucho and CHUD Mr. Cool himself, Rick Lyke The fabulous Carolyn Smagalski One of the nicest guys on the planet, Bryce Eddings Historian, food guy, and beer guy Bob Skilnik.

Everybody at the Brewers Association The inimitable Lew Bryson Stephen Beaumont. I don't know him, but god he's good-looking.... Alan from Ontario. I don't know him either, but he's very smart and so he's also probably good-looking. (Smart = sexy.) (You knew that, right?) Russ from Maine -- who boggles my mind because he manages to keep up such a great blog.

Hmmmm....... I just realized that this list could go on and on and on. And I've got a book to write (I've only cranked out 7,000 words. That means I've got about 100,000 to go. Must. Get. Busy.) To be continued.

Seventy-Five Years Ago: The Day Hope Arrived In A Glass

Celebrating April 7, the 75th Anniversary of the Return of Legal Beer

April 7, 1933. Sirens blared. The beer trucks rolled. People danced in the streets and crowded into taverns to raise a glass in honor of legal beer.

It was the day hope arrived in a glass.

I've written a piece about that day. It's in today's Los Angeles Times under the title "The day the beer flowed again."

I hope you'll take a look.

I hope you'll listen to the recording of the speech Gus Busch gave that day.

Perhaps you'll share a beer with your family and friends, or join one of the special events hosted by bars and breweries around the country.

But no matter where you are, or who you're with, take a moment to honor the day hope arrived in a glass.

Thanks for taking time these past few weeks to share this countdown with me.

Now go! Have a beer!

Seventy-Five Years Ago: New Beer Eve

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

April 6, 1933: By mid-afternoon, thousands of people surrounded the Anheuser-Busch brewery in St. Louis. A string of 1,500 trucks crawled along Arsenal Street, entering the brewery on 7th Street, where workers loaded each with kegs and crates, and then rolling back out on to Broadway to await the midnight signal.

Up in Wisconsin, the general manager of Fox Head-Waukesha Brewing, who had once worked for Barnum and Bailey Circus, knew something about organizing parades of large objects. Instead of acrobats, he had 40,000 cases of beer; instead of elephants he had dozens of trucks that would haul the beer. The drivers would spend the evening napping in their cabs. At 12:01 a.m. on the 7th, a hired bugler would sound reveille to waken them. (There was no chance the drivers would take off early: they'd turn their ignition keys over to federal inspectors, who would hand them back at midnight.)

And so it went around the country in the towns and cities lucky enough to have functioning breweries. Huge crowds gathering to watch (and hoping for free samples). Trucks lining the streets for a mile or more. Tavern patrons sipping coffee, chatting, and dancing to radio or live music while they waited.

New Beer Eve, some people called it. An adult's version of Christmas, with the Fourth of July and New Year's Eve thrown in for good measure. The moment wouldn't last forever, of course. In another day, maybe two, bartenders would sweep up the confetti and stack the empty bottles. They'd swab down the bar and wheel away drained kegs. Party goers would crawl home to nurse their hangovers and sleep before returning to the grind of daily life: worrying about bills, fixing dinner, changing kids' diapers.

But on April 6th, Americans reveled in the moment -- one sweetened by the knowledge that brewers were hiring workers and paying millions in tax revenues into federal, state, and municipal treasuries. On April 6, help -- and hope -- were on the way.

Seventy-Five Years Ago: It's Our Party, Pal, Not Yours

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

April 5, 1933: Meet Jake Ruppert, Master Party Pooper. Ruppert owned one of the nation’s largest brewing companies, Ruppert Brewing located in New York City. (He also owned the New York Yankees. He’s the guy who snatched Babe Ruth from Boston.)

In 1933, Ruppert was president of the United States Brewers Association, the brewing industry’s trade and lobbying organization. And on April 5, 1933, in his role as USBA president, he ordered brewers to hold back on beer deliveries until 6 a.m. on April 7. Not 12:01 a.m., as everyone expected, but 6 a.m.

Never mind that dozens of cities had planned celebrations that would begin before or at midnight. Never mind the big live radio broadcast that would air the first legal “glug" at 12:01. Never mind the airplanes scheduled to depart from several airports at 12:01, loaded with beer for President Roosevelt. Never mind the people camping out at local taverns, ready to grab the first glasses the bartenders passed over the bar.

Never mind all that. Ruppert said no dice. You gotta wait till 6 a.m. Why? Because he feared that midnight beer deliveries would provoke a “carnival" atmosphere, causing merrymakers to lapse into “untoward celebration."

To which August A. “Gus" Busch, Jr. of Anheuser-Busch replied “Huh?" Well, okay, what he actually said was that he could not “imagine" Ruppert issuing such an order without consulting his brother brewers, or the USBA’s vice-president, Rudolph Huber, (who also happened to be VP of Aheuser-Busch). And since Ruppert hadn’t contacted Gus or anyone else at A-B -- well, as far as he, Gus Busch, was concerned, the party was on. He would roll out the barrels at 12:01 a.m. Brewers in Chicago, Milwaukee, and Philadelphia issued similar announcements.

To which the nation heaved a sigh of relief -- and got back to the business of staking out barstools.

_____________________________________

Source: “Jake Ruppert Warns Against Beer ‘Carnival’" in Milwaukee Sentinel, April 6, 1933, p. 3.

Seventy-Five Years Ago: You: Celebrate. You? Back Off!

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

April 4, 1933: City leaders and beermakers picked up the pace. B-Day was coming up fast. Time to finalize arrangements, hire truck drivers, and track down extra bartenders.

In Chicago, brewers and hotel owners finally agreed on the terms of that city's events. Hotel owners had asked brewers to hold off on deliveries until 7 a.m. on the 7th. (What? They thought people needed a good night's sleep -- preferably at a hotel -- before they began drinking??) After considerable debate, the hotel owners finally conceded: if brewers began delivering at midnight, the hotels would start pouring.

At least people in Illinois could expect the taps to flow. A whopping 29 of the 48 states were still dithering over details and had not yet passed the legislation needed to allow local beer sales on April 7.

Maybe that was just as well. The vast majority of the states didn't have any breweries, and the few hundred beermakers who planned to have trucks rolling on the 7th didn't have enough beer even for their local markets

. (For the record, the happy states were: Arizona, California, Colorado, Delaware, Illlinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Maryland, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Washington, and Wisconsin, with the District of Columbia thrown in for good measure.)

(So if you live now in one of those other no-fun states? No parties for you come Monday! You'll have to wait for your state's "real" anniversary........)

Seventy-Five Years Ago: Let's Give It A Taste, Shall We?

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

April 3, 1933: Wisconsin newspaper reporter Lionel C. Moise sat down in front of a microphone at a radio station in Milwaukee. (Remember: it's 1933; no commercial television yet. You want mass media? You got radio.) Live, and on the air -- and for the "edification" of the nation's youth who had suffered the misfortune of reaching adulthood "during the arid years" -- Moise was ready to describe and assess the "stimulation and flavor" of the "new" 3.2% beer versus old, pre-prohibition lager.

Like any good reporter, Moise had done his homework. He'd signed on as a temporary assistant brewmaster at a local brewery so that he could "scientifically" test the beer's content. He also downed "sufficient cubic centimeters to equal" six 8-ounce glasses of beer, after which hard labor he stopped to "ponder the result." Now he was ready to share his findings with a radio audience.

It's not clear if Moise enhanced the broadcast by sipping, smacking, and swallowing his way through a re-enactment of his previous research -- but he did render a verdict. 3.2% beer, Moise announced, "is all that has been promised -- and more." "It is agreeably surprising," containing both the flavor and "stimulation" of lagers brewed during the "pre-drought days." "Two quarts," he added, "made me pleasantly light, but not giddy." To which the no-doubt envious audience added: "Nice work if you can get it."

_____________________________

Sources: Milwaukee Sentinel, "Layman's Beer Verdict Heard on Radio Today," April 3, 1933, p. 1 and "Radio World 'Tastes' Brew," April 4, 1933, p. 3.