WASHINGTON D.C. – April 7, 2008, marks 75 years of a legal, safe and regulated beer industry in America. 2008 marks the 75th anniversary of the repeal of Prohibition and on Monday, April 7, 1933, before Prohibition was officially repealed in December, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed a law which legalized beer with an alcohol-by-volume percentage of 3.2, thus making beer the first alcohol beverage to legally re-enter the marketplace.

“April 7th is the perfect time to highlight the entrepreneurial spirit and economic contributions America’s beer industry brings to our country. Americans now have access to nearly 13,000 labels of beer – all within the safest alcohol distribution system in the world because of the state-based regulatory system that was established 75 years ago,” said Craig Purser, president of the National Beer Wholesalers Association (NBWA).

The repeal of Prohibition led to the development of an effective state-based regulatory system that continues to protect consumers from tainted or counterfeit alcohol – a problem that was prevalent during the Prohibition era and is still prevalent today in many countries around the world.

Do you know the impact the repeal of Prohibition has had on our economy?

• America’s beer industry – made up of brewers, beer importers, beer distributors, brewer suppliers and retailers – directly and indirectly contributes nearly $190 billion annually to the U.S. economy.

• The beer industry supports more than 1.7 million jobs, provides almost $55 billion in wages, and pays more than $36 billion in federal, state, and local taxes.

Other fun beer facts:

• During Prohibition, the Chicago Tribune estimated that, at its peak, the city’s organized crime syndicates operated some 10,000 speakeasies, with the proceeds from beer alone totaling $3.5 million per week.

• Pabst Beer is now called Pabst Blue Ribbon because it was the first beer to win a blue ribbon at the Chicago World’s Fair in 1893.