Happy days were here again at the Franklin Delano Roosevelt Presidential Library and Home’s Wallace Center as the 75th anniversary of the repeal of Prohibition was celebrated in a special event that combined beer tastings from Hudson Valley breweries, a panel discussion on beer and brewing and period entertainment on Sunday afternoon, April 6.
The Volstead Act, as well as the Blue Laws, went out the window as representatives of the Albany Pump Station, Brooklyn Brewery, Hyde Park Brewing Company and Olde Saratoga Brewing Company pumped forth the demon ale and the Culinary Insitute of America served snacks as a part of “A Good Time For Beer: Celebrating FDR and the Return of Beer.”
Actually, what was being feted was the first big step taken by the Roosevelt administration toward ending “The Noble Experiment,” as Jeffrey Urbin, educational specialist at the museum, explained during the panel.
“FDR was a “damp” candidate during his first presidential run in 1932 – not quite ‘dry,’ not quite ‘wet,’ but always crafty,” Urbin told the Wallace Center crowd. “He campaigned on a platform of ending Prohibition nationwide, but localities could still decide otherwise, which is why Oklahoma and certain towns in Connecticut are still dry. What happened in April 1933 was an amendation of the Volstead Act called the Beer-Wine Revenue Act. It legalized the sale of certain spirits with lower alcohol volumes, and got industry back in the business in a legal way that created jobs and generated tax revenues . It was a testing of the waters, and full repeal followed in December.”
“The Act was a part of Roosevelt’s flurry of legislation during his first ‘100 days’ that took on the challenge of the Depression,” Urbin continued. “Legend has it that FDR said at one point amidst the whirl of activity that, ‘This would be a good time for beer,’ and then pushed through the Beer-Wine Revenue Act and the end of the ‘Banking Holiday’ one after another. We got back our banks and our bars within the same 48 hours.”
As to why this state of affairs had to be rectified in the first place, Urbin pointed to many factors in the history of the preceding century that led to what is almost universally viewed as colossal folly – the banning of ardent spirits in the United States, of all places.
“Temperance started before the Civil War,” he said. “It’s been given a bum rap in the popular culture, but the mostly female advocates of prohibition were very serious about what they were doing. They saw that alcohol very often led to violence, ruined lives, etc. World War I, which unleashed a moral fervor in America, pushed Prohibition over the top. But with only 1,500 agents to enforce it, a thirsty nation, and plenty of bootleggers looking to get rich satisfying that thirst, it never had a chance.”
Beer as blood
And to hear the way the other panelists rhapsodized about the pleasures of responsibly enjoyed beer, the thrill of brewing it and how deeply it flows through American history and culture, you can see why.
“Taverns in the 18th century would have brewed their own beer, made their own cider, grown their own food, and given you shelter – it was an integrated approach,” said Jonathan Zearfoss, professor of culinary arts at the Culinary Institute of America for the last 18 years. “There are a lot of possibilities for beer going well with other things, more than with wine. For instance, beer and mustard are great, wine and mustard not so much. Pickles and artichokes don’t go well with wine either. Beer is much friendlier, going well with much more than the hamburgers, hot dogs and pretzels it is usually associated with.”
“Brewing is all about taking an undesirable commodity – barley, which is only fit for pigs, into a highly desirable one – beer,” said Paul McErlane of the Olde Saratoga Brewing Company. “There is evidence that it is even older than its supposed start in ancient Egypt, that it goes back to 9,000 years ago in China. I don’t know how it started, but I’m glad it did.”
All of the participants in the tasting sessions, which preceded then followed the panel, heartily agreed, and gave credit to both FDR and the organizers of “A Good Time For Beer” for an enjoyable afternoon.
“It was fabulous,” said Heather Foulks of West Park. “I enjoyed the panel discussion as much as the tastings. And there was an honesty about the challenges facing small breweries of this kind.”
“I thought it was fun and informative,” said Scott Bain of Albany, speaking of the event. “It had a bit of a political tint to it, in the way it brought awareness and promoted local products and agriculture. But I think FDR, who got his start as a local politician, would have approved of that.”