Beer in the United States
On January 16, 1919, the Eighteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution was enacted into law, creating the Prohibition era, wherein the production, sale and transportation of alcoholic beverages was made illegal. All legal American brewing came to a halt when prohibition was imposed, though the earlier temperance movement had already reduced the number of breweries significantly. Only a few breweries, mainly the largest, were able to stay in business by manufacturing near beer, malt syrup, or other non-alcohol grain products, in addition to soft drinks such as colas and root beers. Production and shipping of alcohol was largely confined to illegal operations that could deliver compact distilled beverages—smuggled rum and domestic moonshine—more efficiently and reliably than bulkier products such as beer.
Three-tier system (alcohol distribution)
In 1933 the 18th Amendment was repealed by the 21st Amendment. (Previously, the 18th Amendment had outlawed alcohol in the US in 1919 and led to Prohibition in 1920.) Section 2 of the 21st Amendment specifies that the power to control alcohol resides with the states, leaving each state to decide when and how to repeal Prohibition.