A new book by economic historian Jason E Taylor examines the rapid resurgence of American breweries after the Great Depression.
During the final stages of Prohibition, the US government allowed the consumption and sale of ‘non-intoxicating’ beer, which was at or below 3.2% alcohol by weight (a lower measure than alcohol by volume).
Beer’s return — permitted with an eye toward job creation during the Great Depression — was one of President Franklin D Roosevelt’s earliest New Deal policies.
Taylor takes us through stories of people, politics, and perseverance, and shows how beer helped spark a sharp recovery in the spring of 1933.
He begins with stories of how the nation’s 1,400 breweries were decimated by the onset of Prohibition in 1920. He then turns to the frothy debates that led Congress to declare 3.2 ABW beer ‘non-intoxicating’, and hence allowable under Prohibition.
While 7th April is now celebrated as National Beer Day, the original 7th April — when legal beer returned after more than 13 years away — brought raucous scenes that make today’s Mardi Gras festivities seem tame by comparison.
The Brew Deal: How Beer Helped Battle the Great Depression is published by Palgrave Macmillan on 9th December at £24.99.
