The United States Brewers' Association was a

trade organization A trade association, also known as an industry trade group, business association, sector association or industry body, is an organization founded and funded by businesses that operate in a specific industry. An industry trade association partic ...

that existed from 1862 to 1986.

Founding

The impetus for its founding was provided by the institution of federal taxation during the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...

. A group of New York brewers, all German immigrants, gathered in New York City in Pythagoras Hall on August 21, 1862, three weeks after the new tax legislation became effective; representatives from thirty-seven breweries attended. After a few more informal meetings, they called for a national meeting on November 12, at which time Frederick Lauer of Pennsylvania was elected president and a committee was appointed to lobby for modification of the tax legislation.

Growth

In 1863, American-born members were added, and the organization reached out to ale brewers to coordinate efforts. The focus was on taxation; the issues of competition, price, and temperance were not considered as important. The group's first victory, in 1863, was convincing the government to refund a tax on lager. It wasn’t until the fourth convention, in October 1864, that the name United States Brewers' Association was adopted: the previous name was the Lager-Beer Brewers Association. In 1865 it created a commission to travel to Europe to "obtain full and accurate information of the Excise Laws of Europe appertaining to malt liquors"; the findings of the commission enabled the brewers to help determine U.S. taxation policy by showing that low rates of taxation encouraged consumption and brought in more revenue. The USBA got along well with top officials of the Bureau of Internal Revenue, who often attended its conventions, and saw its relationship with the government as one of reciprocal duties and obligations. The approach was effective; between 1864 and 1898 the tax on malt beverages remained constant while that on distilled liquors was raised three times.

Temperance challenge

At its 1867 convention in Chicago, the USBA passed a resolution to challenge the emerging

Prohibition Party The Prohibition Party (PRO) is a political party in the United States known for its historic opposition to the sale or consumption of alcoholic beverages and as an integral part of the temperance movement. It is the oldest existing third party ...

and its advocates. The resolution stated: “we will use all means to stay the progress of this fanatical party, and to secure our individual rights as citizens, and that we will sustain no candidate, of whatever party, in any election, who is any way disposed towards the total abstinence cause.”

Popularity

In 1898, to help fund the

Spanish–American War , partof = the Philippine Revolution, the decolonization of the Americas, and the Cuban War of Independence , image = Collage infobox for Spanish-American War.jpg , image_size = 300px , caption = (clock ...

, Congress finally raised the tax on beer by $1 a barrel; once again, a lobbying campaign was successful, and in 1902 the increase was abolished. The brewers were optimistic that beer was becoming the national drink and that "morality follows in the wake of malt liquors." The brewers supported the

Pure Food and Drug Act The Pure Food and Drug Act of 1906, also known as Dr. Wiley's Law, was the first of a series of significant consumer protection laws which was enacted by Congress in the 20th century and led to the creation of the Food and Drug Administration. ...

of 1906, and at the 1908 Convention, USBA president Julius Liebmann praised the merits of beer as compared to other drinks: "...of all alcoholic beverages beer is the mildest, averaging only about three and one-half per cent of alcohol."

Twentieth century

However, the forces of

Prohibition Prohibition is the act or practice of forbidding something by law; more particularly the term refers to the banning of the manufacture, storage (whether in barrels or in bottles), transportation, sale, possession, and consumption of alcoholic ...

had won a significant victory in 1901 when the sale of alcohol was banned on army bases, and they set their sights on a national ban. One element in their favor was the imposition of a national

income tax An income tax is a tax imposed on individuals or entities (taxpayers) in respect of the income or profits earned by them (commonly called taxable income). Income tax generally is computed as the product of a tax rate times the taxable income. Tax ...

according to the Sixteenth Amendment of 1913, which decreased government reliance on excise taxes for funding; in the same year, the passage of the

Webb–Kenyon Act The Webb–Kenyon Act was a 1913 law of the United States that regulated the interstate transport of alcoholic beverages. It was meant to provide federal support for the prohibition efforts of individual states in the face of charges that state reg ...

banning the transportation of alcohol into dry states added to the impetus of Prohibition. During World War I, the income tax replaced liquor taxes as the primary source of federal revenue, and new legislation controlled the use of grains for alcohol. The USBA concentrated on lightening curbs on barley use, avoiding cooperation with the distilled-liquor industry, which it saw as its rival and the main cause of the Prohibition movement. The 56th convention was in Cleveland on November 18, 1916, under the presidency of Gustave Pabst. Within the year the U.S. Congress had adopted the resolution for the Eighteenth Amendment, and

took effect nationwide in 1920; the 57th convention was not until September 27, 1933, in Chicago.

Prohibition

During the early years of Prohibition, the USBA was headed by Christian W. Feigenspan. After his resignation in 1925 (in protest against negotiations with the

Anti-Saloon League The Anti-Saloon League (now known as the ''American Council on Addiction and Alcohol Problems'') is an organization of the temperance movement that lobbied for prohibition in the United States in the early 20th century. Founded in 1893 in Oberl ...

Jacob Ruppert Jacob Ruppert Jr. (August 5, 1867 – January 13, 1939) was an American brewer, businessman, National Guard colonel and politician who served for four terms representing New York in the United States House of Representatives from 1899 to 1907. ...

became president, succeeded in 1941 by Rudy Schaefer (owner of

Schaefer Beer Schaefer Beer is a brand of American beer first produced in New York City during 1842 by the F. & M. Schaefer Brewing Company.The Shaefer Beer Stor The company relocated to Brooklyn in the early 20th century. It went public in 1968 with a $1 ...

) and then by Herbert J. Charles, under whose presidency, in 1944, the USBA merged with the United Brewers Industrial Foundation to create the United States Brewers Foundation. Later presidents were Edward V. Lahey, Norman Klug and Henry King; the last was Donald Shea.

Reorganization

In 1986, the Board of the USBA voted to re-organize the trade association, and re-incorporated with a new board and membership structure that welcomed beer importers and supply-chain industries, such as barley- and hops-growers, as well as bottle- and can-manufacturers. The new organization is called The

Beer Institute Beer Institute is a national trade association, headquartered in Washington, D.C. representing companies which produce and import beer sold in the United States. Beer Institute was organized in 1986 from the United States Brewers' Association The ...

, and continues to represent the American brewing and beer importing industry today from offices in Washington, D.C. The most recent Chairman of the Beer Institute was Tom Long, CEO of MillerCoors. Other brewery and beer importer members of the Beer Institute include

Anheuser-Busch InBev Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV, commonly known as AB InBev, is an American-Belgian multinational drink and brewing company based in Leuven, Belgium. AB InBev has a global functional management office in New York City, and regional headquarters ...

, HEINEKEN USA, Crown Imports, Brooklyn Brewery, Boston Beer Co., Dogfish Head Craft Brewery, Deschutes Brewery Inc., and others.

Publications

* United States Brewers' Association, ''Documentary History of the United States Brewers' Association with a Sketch of Ancient Brewers' Guilds: Modern Brewers' Associations, Scientific Stations and Schools, Publications, Laws and Statistics Relating to Brewing Throughout the World, Part 1'', 189
Documentary History of the U.S. Brewers' Association with a Sketch of Ancient Brewers' Gilds: Modern Brewers' Associations, Scientific Stations and Schools, Publications, Laws and Statistics Relating to Brewing Throughout the World ..

References

External links

* {{cite journal , url=https://catalog.hathitrust.org/Record/000501973 , title=1909-1921: The Year Book of the United States Brewers' Association , location=New York , journal=U.s.b.a. Year Book , year=1909 , publisher=United States Brewers' Association Food industry trade groups