MAY 14th - Beer for Your Ancestors



On this day in 1932 the people of New York City had a parade. Not an earth shattering development, as New York had parades before and has had them since. But this was a parade for the noblest of reasons--for beer. The We Want Want Beer parade. 150K strong, organized by Mayor Jimmy Walker, all because beer was, and still is, awesome, and they were tired of it being illegal. I’ve expounded on Prohibition (June 9th, Oct. 28th) as well as the virtues of beer (July 24th, Feb. 3, Feb. 23rd) before, and I understand Puritan values and women’s suffrage and the Volstead Act and everything that went into deciding to ban alcohol, but can we all agree that it was an awful idea. When the mayor of the biggest city in the country is organizing a parade/protest because he wants some beer, I think it’s safe to say the country needed some damn beer. Because again, beer is awesome. Jimmy Walker knew that. So did 150K New Yorkers in 1932. I adequately demonstrated how beer has been behind every great invention since the invention of beer, but it also produced other added benefits. Helping white people dance is a well-known one for instance. Coping with that annoying friend who wants to tell you about the amazing mating rituals of the dung beetle. That’s what beer is for. It also tastes good, after you get used to it. And we are entering a golden age of beer--microbreweries have increased the supply tremendously. Ales, Stouts, Lagers, Porters, Malts, Ambers, Blondes, Lights, Pilsners, Bocks, Dunkels, Shandys, Wheat Beers, beers infused with fruit, beers from a small town in Anywhere, USA to a foreign beer brewed in ancient golden casks belonging to former royalty. So much beer. The people of 1932 would be so damn excited. And probably a little drunk. And that’s okay. Fat, drunk, and stupid is no way to go through life, but it can make for a hell of a weekend. So remember to give yourself a break every now and again, and enjoy a tall one. New Yorkers of 1932 fought for you to have that right. You wouldn’t want to disappoint your ancestors.



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