Medical Beer: A Key Role In American Culture

From as early as George Washington’s reign to the enactment of the Eighteenth Amendment, beer played a key role in American lifestyle and history as it incited national uproar and sparked fiery controversy over “medical beer.” Because alcohol was a way of life and often viewed as a source of enjoyment, opponents of the Eighteenth Amendment remained steadfast to tradition and “us[ed] their ingenuity to acquire any and all available alcohol.” The loosely structured Eighteenth Amendment only prohibited the manufacture, sale, and transport of alcohol used for pleasure, which led many to believe that the amendment excluded alcohol prescribed by doctors. With the issue of “medical beer” gaining the attention of elite government officials and members