From breweries to beer gardens, New Orleans is the perfect spot for beer lovers. And, while we’ve shared New Orleans’ affinity for beer in the past, a recent discovery had my interest peaked more than usual. National Beer Day is next week on Tuesday, April 7, but April 6 is considered New Beers Eve. While I’m familiar with New Year’s Eve, I thought a random day in April was an interesting pick for a celebration for beer.
Though not a historian, I love any reason to look to the past and need no reason to celebrate in the present.
The date April 6, 1933 – or the start of New Beers Eve – was the day before The Cullen-Harrison Act officially went into effect following President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s signing of the act into law in March of 1933. The Cullen-Harrison Act was a direct attack on the Volstead Act of 1919, which enabled the 18th Amendment and Prohibition.
Following the start of the Great Depression, the 1932 election of Roosevelt signaled a new hope for those who were forced to abstain the last 13 years (or at least pretended to in public).
The new Congress that joined President Roosevelt went to work immediately to push through the Cullen-Harrison Act, which allowed people to buy and drink low-alcohol content beer and wine in public – a notion that many politicians in 1919 believed were not a part of Volstead until staunch Prohibitionists used the act to widen the ban on booze completely.
On April 6, many patrons lined the streets outside of their local watering holes waiting for the clock to strike midnight and legally buy a beer for the first time in over a decade. On April 7, 19 states turned their taps back on (because they were definitely and completely turned off for 13 years); August A. Busch Jr., Adolphus Busch III and Budweiser brought out their now-famous Clydesdales to deliver the first legal beer in St. Louis; and it is said that Abner-Drury Brewery brought an guarded truck to the White House with a sign that read, “President Roosevelt, The First Beer is For You.” (Though, the President was asleep, he later sent the case that was delivered to the National Press Club.)
The Cullen-Harrison Act was short-lived, as by December 1933 Utah officially ratified the 21st Amendment, bringing the total to 36 states and the three-quarters majority required by the Constitution. But it still marked a significant pivot in our country’s history. Is it the reason Roosevelt is considered on of the great Presidents? Eh, he did have a few other accomplishments under his belt. But it gave the country a little hope amidst a depression, creating a reported 50,000 new jobs immediately, and gave bootleggers a need to pivot (I’m looking at you, Capone).
So, if you celebrate this weekend or make it to 12:01 a.m. on April 7, here are a few places to grab a pint and celebrate New Beers Eve and National Beer Day with your friends.
