Happy ‘Repeal Day’
Seventy five years ago, the ‘noble experiment’ ended
Today marks 75 years since Prohibition was officially repealed in the United States with the ratification of the 21st Amendment to the United States Constitution. On December 5, 1933, a ¾ majority of states needed to ratify the 21st Amendment was reached when Utah adopted the 21st Amendment. The 21st Amendment not only officially ended national Prohibition which began with the 18th Amendment in 1919; the 21st Amendment also established the effective, state-based system of alcohol regulation that today works to efficiently provide American consumers with an unparalleled choice and variety of beer.
There are now nearly 13,000 labels of beer to choose from in the US.
The repeal of Prohibition was the end of an infamous era in the United States, when the whole nation seemed to turn its back on the law. When booze became illegal, gangsters took over the booze business, and it became fashionable to break the law. Although President Herbert Hoover famously observed that Prohibition was “an experiment noble in purpose,” prohibiting liquor made drinkers of nearly everyone.
