WHAT IS NATIONAL BEER DAY?
National Beer Day in the United States was designated as such in celebration of the passage of the Cullen-Harrison Act. What is the Cullen-Harrison Act you ask, well it was the bill named for it’s sponsors, Pat Harrison and Thomas H. Cullen enacted on March 21, 1933 and signed by FDR the following day which legalized the sale of beer with an alcohol content of 3.2%. It also allowed the sale of wine with a similarly low alcohol content, but that’s not what we are celebrating on April 7th. This bill went into effect on April 7, 1933. After signing this favorite legislation, President Roosevelt is quoted as saying, “I think this would be a good time for a beer.”
Of course, nothing is that easy and the Cullen Harrison Act required states to pass their own similar legislation in order to legalize the sale of low alcohol content beverages in their respective states. This bill effectively ended Prohibition which had been in place since 1922. Crowds gathered outside local breweries and bars to celebrate the return of 3.2 beers.
Today, we are able to enjoy many more beers with alcohol percentages not even thought of by Congress, and we can enjoy them at our favorite breweries, bars, restaurants, and in our homes. Therefore, we recommend you take today and go to your favorite brewery or pub. Grab a local craft beer and raise a toast to President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Mr. Harrison and Mr. Cullen.
To Download the Shore Craft Beer APP!
WHAT IS SHORE CRAFT BEER DOING TO CELEBRATE NATIONAL BEER DAY – or Local Craft Beer Month as we like to say?
Shore Craft Beer is celebrating National Beer Day on April 7th with a renewed focus on the breweries here on the Eastern Shore and in Maryland. We are planning the Beer on the Beach festival for June 4th on the beach behind Ocean City’s popular boardwalk at Caroline Street. This celebration of craft beer will launch the 3rd annual Jellyfish Festival. There is no better way to try local craft beer than to get your tickets today for unlimited tastings of over 30 different local craft beers from breweries on the Eastern Shore and across Maryland. In addition, you will be able to get unlimited samples of Hoop Tea, mead, and hard cider and seltzer.
Shore Craft Beer is taking National Beer Day and using it to turn April into Local Craft Beer month, in our own minds, at least. During this month, Shore Craft Beer will be
- updating our Shore Craft Beer App
- updating the challenges and prizes you can win
- updating the Shore Craft Beer website
- getting tickets up for our Octoberfest Shore Craft Beer Fest in Sunset Park in Ocean City on October 29th, and
- bringing you information on the breweries who will be joining us for these festivals.
- working on the Shore Craft Beer Cruises in Ocean City in partnership with the OC Bay Hopper.
Author: Ann McGinnis Hillyer
Ann's father was in the Corps of Engineers so she was born in Africa and moved all over the world and the United States growing up. After graduating cum laude from Duke University, she started her marketing career at an airline based out of Dulles International Airport. She furthered this career in both the for-profit and non-profit worlds before helping launch StateVentures, LLC, the publisher of OceanCity.com, Annapolis.com, and other state and regional geodomains. Here, she focuses on tourism and tourism marketing through a broad media mix including online, print, and social media efforts. While at the airline, she worked with Jim Koch and the Boston Beer Company, brewers of Sam Adams beer. This love of craft beer and the craft beer industry as well as her interest in tourism, led to the founding of ShoreCraftBeer.com and the effort to make the Shore a craft beer destination.
