Cheers! It's National Beer Day!

Today is National Beer Day! It is a day to celebrate the anniversary of the enactment of the Cullen-Harrison Act. Signed into law by President Franklin D. Roosevelt on March 22, 1933, the Cullen-Harrison Act legalized beer containing up to 3.2% alcohol by volume. The act would lead to the repeal of the 18^th Amendment on December 5, 1933 with the ratification of the 21^st Amendment. Beer is one of the oldest prepared beverages which dates to 9500 BCE by some estimates. It has been recorded in written histories of ancient Iraq and ancient Egypt. Beer has great cultural and social importance to many groups in the United States.

National Beer Day was first created by Justin Smith of Richmond, Virginia and after encouragement from his friend, Mike Connolly, Smith created a Facebook page. The page was noticed by Colorado Beer Examiner Eli Shayotovich and later officially recognized by Virginia governor Terry McAuliffe in 2017. It was first recognized on the Congressional Record of the 115^th Congress on April 7, 2017 by Congressman Dave Brat of Virginia in 2017. The holiday was officially recognized by the Virginia General Assembly with House Joint Resolution 90 in 2018.

When Prohibition was first being passed, many voted for it with the understanding that beer and wine would be allowed. When the Volstead Act greatly lowered the allowed alcohol by volume, it felt a bad taste in their mouths. Beer had been a part of American life for decades as evidence shows that even the Native Americans had a form of beer made from corn, birch sap and water. When the Germans arrived during the Great Migration with their lager which had a longer shelf life, the sale of beer skyrocketed. It seems fitting that beer would be the first alcohol allowed as the country moved toward repealing the 18^th Amendment. The Cullen-Harrison Act is named after its sponsors, Senator Pat Harrison of Mississippi and Representative Thomas H. Cullen of New York. The act redefined what an intoxicating beverage was under the Volstead Act. Alcohol of 3.2% was chosen because it was considered too law to cause intoxication. After signing the act into law, President Roosevelt famously commented, “I think this would be a good time for a beer.” The states had to pass their own similar legislation to legalize the sale of low alcohol beverages.

According to the Beer Institute and National Beer Wholesales Association, beer was a more than $350 million industry in the United States. In 2017, Bud Light was the #1 selling beer with 15.4% of the market. However, many traditional beer sales are on the decline. Why? The answer craft beers. Craft beers and microbrewers have become insanely popular in the United States. According to the Brewers Association, to be considered a craft beer, the beer must be: 1) small with an output of 3% of the market, 2) independent with only 25% of the brewery owned by anyone not identified as a craft brewer, and 3) traditional which a “majority of its total beverage alcohol by volume in beers whose flavor derives from traditional or innovative brewing ingredients in their fermentation.” Craftbeer.com is a great resource about each type of beer as it can be overwhelming when one views the list of possibilities. From pale ales to lagers to stouts and specialty beers, there’s a beer for everyone.

In conclusion, National Beer Day is a day to commemorate the Cullen-Harrison Act being enacted and the beginning of the end of Prohibition. First started in Virginia, the day has started to gain a following as craft beers and microbreweries have become increasingly popular. Beer has become more than just the familiar names and the flavors have expanded to a variety of flavors such as pumpkin. For those who love beer, lift of your glass to celebrate National Beer Day. Cheers!