At the stroke of midnight, American beer drinkers were no longer breaking the law when they broke open a beer.

1 of 3 Breweries and beer lovers around the country are celebrating the 75th anniversary of the return of beer on April 7, 1933, as the Prohibition era was drawing to a close.

It wasn't quite the end of Prohibition, and it wasn't quite beer, but after 14 thirsty years, it was close enough.

What became available that day was only 3.2 percent alcohol by weight (compared with up to 5 percent in full-strength beer), but still, it was a step up from the virtually alcohol-free "near beer" that had been sold since 1920.


http://www.cnn.com/2008/LIVING/04/07...eve/index.html