My next historical deep dive should come out this month, about a fascinating (and gigantic) college kegger that was born in all this churn and, as we'll see, didn't manage to survive it.

Stay tuned!

/end

#beer #beerhistory #history

So when the feds came calling in 1984 (not without reason, IMO), they weren't imposing some unprecedented high drinking age so much as capping off a decade-long well of fluctuation.

Not all states were happy about it, of course (I see you, Wisconsin), but 21's got deeper roots than highway funding. #beer #beerhistory #history

So by the late 70s, states were already ticking up their drinking ages here and there. They didn't all snap back to 21, though. Many flirted with hybrid models or ticked up to 19 to try and target high school drinking. But very few, you'll see, stayed at 18. #beer #beerhistory #history

Young Americans were generally happy about this, but their parents and grandparents (plus some older Boomers who changed tunes once they aged out of their party years) weren't.

But it wasn't just moral panic. By the mid-70s, alcohol was a factor in a majority of traffic deaths, moreso among youth. #beer #beerhistory #history

If those maps make you think these laws were controversial...well, they were. A drinking age of 18 meant high schoolers could drink, and more easily buy for underage classmates. 'Beer bashes' and keggers were on the rise, spurred on by shameless brewery marketing departments. #beer #beerhistory #history

From 1971-1975, a majority of states lowered their drinking ages to some extent, often to 18 (the green states are 19).

The changes were a bit more fluid that this image suggests. Montana, for example, lowered to 19 in 1971, then again to 18 in '73. #beer #beerhistory #history

The pithy answer is the Vietnam War. The real answer is that the political agitation of American youth between student activism, counterculture, and antiwar sentiment got strong enough to manifest in legislatures.

The 26th amendment lowered the voting age to 18 in 1971, and drinking ages followed. #beer #beerhistory #history

If it comes up, people often mention (or grumble) that the fed government used states' dependence on highway funds to force a nationwide drinking age of 21.

But 21 was actually the typical age until about 1969. States in red are 21, blue is 18, stripes are hybrid, and orange is 20. So what changed? #beer #beerhistory #history

The US minimum drinking age is still 21, and maybe you've heard that's because the federal government "encouraged" states to raise it in the 80s.

That's true, but did you know that most states had only lowered their drinking age to begin with in the 1970s? 🧵

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/U.S._history_of_alcohol_minimum_purchase_age_by_state #beer #beerhistory #history

Promoting glass beer bottles in the 1960s. That music is infectious.

https://repository.duke.edu/dc/adviews/dmbb33707 #beer #beerhistory

Munich-based Hackerbräu, 1925.

#beer #Germany #beerhistory

@akrennmair look what arrived early! Quite a tome, compared to your previous entries; Well done, sir.

#beer #BeerHistory #BeerWriting

I just published my new book, "Bavarian Brewing in the 19th Century: A Reference Guide". It is available on Amazon worldwide, both as paperback and Kindle e-book.
Please note that this is properly nerdy beer stuff.
https://dafteejit.com/ebooks/bavarian-brewing-in-the-19th-century-a-reference-guide/
#beer #beerhistory

Today marks 10 years since the launch of the Oregon Hops and Brewing Archives project at Oregon State University!

This is one of the most valuable beer history preservation projects out there, and is run by an amazing human. Check it out:

https://guides.library.oregonstate.edu/brewingarchives #beerhistory #history #beer

I created a map of historic breweries ~200 years ago in Bamberg, and found the real center of brewing in that city: https://dafteejit.com/2023/07/mapping-historic-breweries-in-bamberg/
#beer #beerhistory #brewinghistory

Precisely 80 years before this, in 1862, wartime taxes during the US Civil War spurred the creation of the United States Brewers Association.

War gets brewers working together, I guess. #beer #beerhistory #craftbeer

Interesting article on the historical Choctaw Beer.
https://drunkard.com/strange-brews-choctaw-beer/

I'll be chatting to Steven Sewell about it on Thursday if anyone want to join live.

#choctaw #oklahoma #beer #beerhistory #beerculture

Got a really interesting chat planned for this Thursday.

A look at Choctaw Beer with Professor Steven Sewell.

"Choc" was a unique beer that even included snuff and poison berries - and became a staple in Oklahoma culture.

#beer #beerchat #beerhistory #oklahoma #choctaw #beerpodcast #podcast

https://www.youtube.com/live/iBdSQBU-mRo

Somebody on Reddit asked about a historic California Common (Steam Beer) recipe, so I wrote down a 1901 description of the style, how to brew it, and what home-brew recipe I'd come up with based on it: https://dafteejit.com/2023/06/a-turn-of-the-twentieth-century-california-steam-beer/ #homebrewing #beerhistory

More beer history.

#beer #beerhistory

https://vinepair.com/taplines-podcast/light-beer-wars-end/