Prohibition is an ugly word to connoisseurs of fine beer, wine, whiskey, bourbon and other alcoholic beverages. For over a decade, the United States banned the sale, production, importation and transportation of alcohol to reduce violence and crime it was believed to cause. Thirsty alcohol advocates were forced to move their drinking underground to speakeasy clubs and other illegal drinking hideaways.

Today marks the anniversary of the end of Prohibition. But why is it only National Beer Day? Not National Wine, Whiskey, Scotch, Gin, Vodka or Rum Day?

The answer is moderation. On April 7, 1933, Franklin D. Roosevelt’s new law that allowed people to buy, sell and drink beer again took effect. But there was a caveat: it was only to legalize beer and only suds that were 4% alcohol by volume (ABV) or below. As everyone well knows, 4% is almost like drinking the waste water of the Natty Boh plant.

Nevertheless, people nationwide, excited to hang up their life of crime and alcohol banditry, gathered outside breweries to wet their mouths with the first taste of legal beer since 1920. More than 1.5 million barrels of beer were consumed that first day which inspired this holiday we celebrate today.

So celebrate your freedom to drink and raise a frosty pint of beer today.
Old Line Fine Wine and Bistro stocks hundred of different beers, from light to dark, IPA’s to ciders. Come in and grab one.