Unofficial holiday on April 7
National Beer Day
|
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Observed by
| United States
|
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Type
| Unofficial
|
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Significance
| Celebrates the passage of the
Cullen?Harrison Act
legalizing the sale of some
beer
|
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Date
| April 7
|
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Frequency
| Annual
|
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Related to
| Repeal Day
|
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National Beer Day
is celebrated in the United States every year on April 7, marking the day that the
Cullen?Harrison Act
came into force after having been signed into law by President
Franklin D. Roosevelt
on March 22, 1933. This led to the
Eighteenth Amendment
being repealed on December 5, 1933, with the ratification of the
Twenty-first Amendment
.
[1]
April 6, the day before, is known as
New Beer's Eve
.
[2]
Background
[
edit
]
Prohibition in the United States
on the national level revolved around the
18th Amendment to the Constitution
, which generally banned "intoxicating liquors" but did not define the term. The
Volstead Act
defined intoxicating liquors as any containing more than 0.5% alcohol. The law was amended in 1933 by the
Cullen-Harrison Act
to raise the threshold enough to allow the production of mild beer. The beer could contain up to 3.2% alcohol by weight (or 4.05% by volume) compared to the 0.5% limit because 3.2% was considered too low to produce
intoxication
.
[3]
[4]
Upon signing the legislation, Franklin Roosevelt made his famous remark, "I think this would be a good time for a beer."
[5]
[6]
The law went into effect on April 7 of that year (1933) in states that had enacted their own law allowing such sales.
[7]
People across the country responded by gathering outside breweries, some beginning the night before. On that first day, 1.5 million barrels of beer were consumed, inspiring the future holiday. Today, April 7 is recognized as National Beer Day, and April 6 is known as New Beer's Eve.
[8]
[9]
[10]
[11]
The Cullen-Harrison Act was not the official end of prohibition in the U.S. (that happened on December 5, 1933, when the
21st Amendment
was ratified). As such, April 7 is a beer-specific holiday,
[12]
as opposed to
Repeal Day
, celebrated on December 5.
[13]
Recognition
[
edit
]
National Beer Day was first celebrated in 2009 by Justin Smith of
Richmond
, Virginia.
[14]
[15]
After much prodding from his friend, Mike Connolly, Smith started a Facebook page that Colorado Beer Examiner Eli Shayotovich noticed. Smith's promotion of the new observance day via various social media outlets was rewarded when the beer-drinking app
Untappd
created a badge for National Beer Day that rewarded participants that checked a beer into the app on April 7.
[16]
National Beer Day has since been trending on social media every year on April 7 using the hashtag #NationalBeerDay.
[17]
National Beer Day was officially recognized by Virginia Governor
Terry McAuliffe
in 2017.
[18]
National Beer Day was officially recognized in the Congressional Record by Congressman
Dave Brat
during 2017.
[19]
In 2018, the Virginia General Assembly passed a
joint resolution
recognizing National Beer Day in the Commonwealth of Virginia.
[20]
See also
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
W. Paul Reeve
.
"Prohibition Failed to Stop the Liquor Flow in Utah"
.
Utah History to Go
. Archived from
the original
on October 23, 2013
. Retrieved
November 7,
2013
.
(First published in
History Blazer
, February 1995)
- ^
"New Beer's Eve: Happy days were here again"
. CNN. April 7, 2008
. Retrieved
February 3,
2010
.
- ^
Ogle, Maureen; Historian, Beer.
"The End Is Near For 3.2 Beer"
.
NPR.org
. Retrieved
April 9,
2020
.
- ^
"Low-alcohol beer"
,
Wikipedia
, April 7, 2020
, retrieved
April 9,
2020
- ^
"Post"
.
Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum
. Tumblr
. Retrieved
February 18,
2016
.
- ^
Smith, Jean Edward (2007).
F.D.R.
New York: Random House. pp. 305, 316.
ISBN
978-0812970494
. Retrieved
February 18,
2016
.
- ^
Ogle, Maureen.
"The End Is Near For 3.2 Beer"
.
NPR
. Retrieved
April 9,
2020
.
- ^
"National Beer Day | Beer Travel, sand Brewing Industry Events, Local Parties: Anytown"
. Ratebeer.com
. Retrieved
October 17,
2013
.
- ^
Wolters, Larry (April 2, 1933).
"W-G-N To Report Festivities on New Beer'S Eve"
. Chicago Tribune
. Retrieved
February 4,
2010
.
[
permanent dead link
]
- ^
Rasmussen, Frederick N. (April 13, 2008).
"When Baltimoreans Hailed 'New Beer'S Eve'
"
. Baltimore Sun
. Retrieved
April 19,
2022
.
- ^
Burkhart, Jeff (April 2, 2008).
"Barfly: a toast to the end of a 'noble experiment,' Prohibition"
. Marin Independent Journal
. Retrieved
April 19,
2022
.
- ^
"National Beer Day"
. March 5, 2023
. Retrieved
March 5,
2023
.
- ^
"Prohibition ends"
.
History.com
. Retrieved
May 29,
2019
.
- ^
"*Clink* Cheers! Have a brew in honor of National Beer Day"
.
WRIC
. Archived from
the original
on April 11, 2016
. Retrieved
April 5,
2016
.
- ^
"Meet The Godfather of National Beer Day"
. April 7, 2018.
- ^
"National Beer Day 2011"
.
Untappd ? Drink Socially
.
- ^
"American Craft Beer Celebrates National Beer Day!"
.
American Craft Beer
. April 7, 2017
. Retrieved
April 7,
2020
.
- ^
"Governor ? 2017 National Beer Day"
. Archived from
the original
on April 7, 2017
. Retrieved
April 6,
2017
.
- ^
"Congressional Record"
.
www.congress.gov
. Retrieved
July 17,
2019
.
- ^
"Bill Tracking ? 2018 session > Legislation"
. Lis.virginia.gov
. Retrieved
July 17,
2019
.
Alcohol policy in the United States
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Prohibition
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