Dennis McCann: A toast to the end of the days of no toasts

Originally published Dec. 4, 2008

When we talk about the late-year holidays Thanksgiving and Christmas come first to mind, and maybe some would throw in Pearl Harbor Day. But hey, speaking of getting bombed, there is another holiday, which, until I saw an ad in one newspaper this week, had somehow escaped me entirely.

It turns out that Dec. 5 is celebrated by some as Repeal Day (http://www.repealday.org/), the anniversary of the official end of that failed experiment known as Prohibition. It was on Dec. 5, 1933, that Utah ratified the 21st amendment, giving the country a three quarters majority of states in favor of restoring America’s right to drink.

And on that night, did America ever drink. Of course, it had a 13-year thirst going, not counting all the illegal hooch and homemade gin that had been produced in back-hills stills and home bathtubs. There were lots of places in Wisconsin where Prohibition had been but a speed bump on the way to a good hangover – are you listening, Hurley? – but even so it was good news that the state’s iconic brewing industry could once again operate above ground. By some accounts that meant thousands of brewery workers were affected by the repeal.

For obvious reasons Prohibition was tough on what was one of the state’s largest industries. Between 1920, when the 18th amendment to the Constitution turned the land legally dry, and the 1933 repeal, it was illegal to manufacture or sell any beverage with more than 0.5 percent alcohol. For true beer lovers that amounts to a thin drink that might as well be called Why Bother Lager. And for a city like Milwaukee, known worldwide for such names and products as Schlitz, Pabst, Blatz, Miller and more, Prohibition meant more unemployment as much as it did less enjoyment.

It was the same statewide at smaller breweries, as many as 400 in all. Some, like Gray’s Brewing Co. in my hometown of Janesville, turned to making soda pop; I grew up drinking Gray’s soda and didn’t make the connection to beer until much later. Gray’s only recently turned to making craft beers again, and they do a nice job of it. Still, the ban on brewing lasted long enough that for many brewers it was too late to go back into business when Prohibition ended. Fewer than half of the pre-1920s breweries resumed production, and even that number dwindled through the years until the trend toward micro brewing brought a resurgence in small breweries in the past decade or so.

So, I guess the point is that it’s time for your last-minute Repeal Day shopping. As backers of the holiday point out, “There are no outfits to buy, costumes to rent, rivers to dye green. Simply celebrate the day by stopping by your local bar, tavern, saloon, winery, distillery or brew house and having a drink…Just do it because you can.”

Heck, the constitution demands it. As my people would say, Slainte!