Friday April 6th is a special day for beer loving Americans across our great land.  It marks the eve of the 79th anniversary of the end of prohibition in 1933.  Well, sort of anyway...

Franklin Delano Roosevelt helped pass the Cullen-Harrison act just days after being elected president.  This historically significant law allowed beverages to contain up to 3.2% alcohol by volume.  For the first time in 13 years alcoholic beverages were allowed to be produced and consumed in the United States! 

The new law enabled American breweries to get back to brewing and created thousands of jobs in the process.  It has been estimated that about 1.5 million barrels of beer were sold on the first day alone!  Its horrible to think about people dancing in the streets over 3.2% beer but it was definitely a step in the right direction and cause for celebration.  The massive amount of beer production and sales in 1933 are historically credited with stimulating America's depressed economy and played a major role in helping bounce back from the Great Depression.

Liquor was still against the law though.  It wouldn't be until several months later that the 21st amendment would officially bring the prohibition era to a close.