If you are a beer drinker, or more specifically, were a beer drinker in the years 1920 to 1933, those years were incredibly sad for you. That was, of course, the period of Prohibition in the United States. All forms of alcohol were verboten.
You faithful readers know that in 1933, the United States government came to their senses and the President signed the bill to end 13 years of Prohibition. As you’re aware, or have figured out by now, the date that Probation ended was April 7. On that date, Americans could legally buy alcohol once again. So the day before, people began lining up to buy their first legal drink since 1920. Since 1933, this day has been referred to as New Beer’s Eve — the day before New Beers Day.
“Legend” has it that at 12:01, April 7, 1933, President Roosevelt said, “I think this would be a good time for a beer.”
And it’s fitting that the president got the first batch. Many stories indicate that Anheuser-Busch delivered beer with their Clydesdale carriage directly to the Commander in Chief. That makes a good story, but I don’t think it’s completely accurate. My extensive research turned up a story from the New York Times from April 7, 1933 — The headline read, “At 12.:04 A.M. today the great drought ended.”
The article reads as follows: “A shiny new beer truck, swifter if less picturesque than the brewers’ big horses of ante-bellum days, shot down Pennsylvania Avenue through a light Spring rain, stopped at the White House and delivered two cases of legal beer, addressed to President Roosevelt. The truck bore a big sign announcing” ‘President Roosevelt, the first real beer is yours!” The President was already in bed, but the Secret Service accepted the delivery for him.
So every year, on April 6, we celebrate New Beer’s Eve — it may be a little subdued this year, but maybe that’s all the more reason we need a day like this. If you think about it, this is the quintessential American holiday. What we’re really celebrating (along with the beer) is the realization that Prohibition was wrong…. and the government and the leadership in the White House realized it and committed to fixing it. And now, once again we didn’t get something right, and once again we’re looking to our leaders to fix it — there’s always hope. Cheers!!
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