You are viewing this article in the AnnArbor.com archives. For the latest breaking news and updates in Ann Arbor and the surrounding area, see MLive.com/ann-arbor
Posted on Wed, Apr 7, 2010 : 2:55 p.m.

Arbor Brewing Company: Cheers, to the (partial) end of the ignoble experiment

By James Dickson

ABC Don Carpenter.JPG

Bartender Don Carpenter pours up a Ladylegger Ale at Arbor Brewing Company. Ladylegger is being served today in honor of Prohibition's partial repeal on Apr. 7, 1933.

James Dickson | AnnArbor.com

April 7 seems an odd time to celebrate the repeal of Prohibition, considering the 21st Amendment ending America's experiment with forced temperance didn't pass until Dec. 5, 1933.

But today is a special day for beer brewers in America, for it represents enactment of the Cullen-Harrison Act, which allowed the sale of beer with low levels of alcohol. Americans had been denied those privileges for the 13 years previous.

Arbor Brewing Company has chosen to honor the 77th anniversary of Cullen-Harrison by offering its brews at a special price. 

Today, while supplies last, Arbor Brewing will serve up its "Ladylegger Ale" for 1933 prices - $.25 each. The downtown microbrew crafted four kegs worth of Ladylegger just for today, bartender Don Carpenter said.

ABC Quarter Beer.JPG

One U.S. quarter is the cost of 12 oz. of Ladylegger Ale

James Dickson | AnnArbor.com

The Ladylegger is a pale ale. Typical of springtime beers, it features lower alcoholic content than the brews ABC features in winter.

The diminished alcoholic content is also a tip of the hat to the history of Cullen-Harrison, which only allowed brewers to sell, and Americans to consume, low-alcohol beer. Even so, the partial repeal on April 7, 1933 sent an unmistakable message that Prohibition's days as the law of the land were numbered.

ABC brews all of its beers on site, and everything aside from the limited-supply Ladylegger is offered at Happy Hour prices for the day.

Barry Aherne, manager of Arbor Brewing, said April 7 holds a special meaning for beer brewers and drinkers, and Prohibition's repeal - both the April date and Dec. 5, which repealed the policy altogether - should be celebrated by Americans the same way St. Patrick's Day is each March.

"If you really think about it, this is a truly American occasion," Aherne said while serving up a Ladylegger. 


James David Dickson can be reached at JamesDickson@AnnArbor.com.

Comments

garrisondyer

Wed, Apr 7, 2010 : 6:37 p.m.

Cheers! :)

Patti Smith

Wed, Apr 7, 2010 : 6:24 p.m.

The beer was delicious! Light, easy drinking with a nice hoppy nose and subtle apricot flavors. I kept my receipt that listed my party & I as consuming 11 beers for $2.75 :) My great-grandma was a bootlegger (after she divorced her husband) and I hope she is smiling down on this.... :)

iceman

Wed, Apr 7, 2010 : 3:13 p.m.

Some of my family is from the south, and was in the moonshine business. I remember my grandfather saying! If the river ran with whiskey I'd be a diving duck! So see you guys at ABC tonight!