Bullets and Booze: How WWII Changed America's Drinks

[@joegordon5117]

An old uncle told us once about being on shore leave during WWII. Tiring of beer shortages, he and his shipmates had been told that some village pubs in the West Country part of England still had the locally made "scrumpy" cider. To their delight this was true, but as he commented, they didn't listen to the locals warning them that proper scrumpy is very, very strong! They felt like they hade been clobbered by a battleship the next morning, but at least they had a damned good drinking session on that shore leave!

[@jontalbot1]

It’s delicious as well, proper craft product so dangerously easy to drink

[@david9783]

I've been clobbered by so many battleships that I had to (GASP!) stop drinking. That's all we did in Germany. Bitburger shone brightest!

[@scottbivins4758]

So in short it was worth it.

[@TupDigital]

Love it; I've never heard of scrumpy! But ive had many a battleship sized hangover.

[@laserbeam002]

I've never been a big beer fan, but, Once when I was about 18 or 19 I had a job working outside all day in the hot sun, dirt and dust. I got off work one day with my clothes wet with sweat and covered with the dirt and dust. I stopped by a local country store and bought two beers that were ice cold as they had been setting in water and ice. I went to a nearby river and took off my shoes and socks and waded into the cold water and sat down leaning against some rocks. I popped the beer open and I swear I have never enjoyed an ice cold beer more than I did those two. I sat in the river for about an hour. I usually could get kind of high off just one beer but honestly those two beers had no effect on me whatsoever. I'll never forget how refreshing those ice cold beers were.

[@peterrollinsonlorimer]

your description is giving me a massive thirst.

[@byronmartin3978]

this is a better story for an advertisement than a group of horses pulling a wagon or girls in bikinis.

[@FashionableObserver]

You are an amazing storyteller. And I think you may have given a beer company their next commercial (and have inspired me to crack open a cold one right now!)❤

[@danieltoft2116]

Those two beers and your feet in the water were leveling you out.

[@gustavoramirez3268]

I'm 71 and still enjoy those two beers in the river, the lake, the beach and any other amusing place.

[@jerrywood4508]

I've watched a lot of videos about wartime rationing, but this is the first one to explain what went on in the alcohol industry. Thanks for giving me an insight into how the war changed our country.

[@chrischapman6229]

Great photo of an Aussie pub at 9:22. Tooheys pilsener lager was probably around 4.7%. No wonder the Americans loved R+R in Australia.

[@JimCoder]

An old WWII vet told me he and his buddies were stationed in the Pacific on an island with no drinking water. The ever-resourceful military solved this problem by sending an enormous shipment of beer. Hey, sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do! 😄 We miss you, Marty.

[@timothyhays1817]

I grew up in a dry town that finally issued a liquor license 50 years after the end of probation. It took a couple more for a bar to open. I guess all the local members of the wctu had passed.

[@danielhammond3012]

Sounds like Radcliff, KY first it went moist then wet when the choice was finally voted on it passed overwhemingly, much to the howls of the people who always had booze in their basement anyway.

[@jghogg6570]

I grew up in a small dry Texas town as did my wife. My hometown finally allowed beer and wine sales just about 10 years ago. I didn't know until I happen to drive through while home visiting family in the area shortly after the change.... I was literally shocked to see beer in the convenience store! My wife's hometown just allowed beer and wine sales three years ago and it killed a small little township as a result - the township consisted of one store and one house that sprang up as a result of demand .... from those that lived in the surrounding dry towns! Neither still allow hard liquor sales!

[@TheLionAndTheLamb777]

My town was dry till around 2019.

[@camwinston5248]

Yes,but the op comment is just partially the reason, what generally happens with these towns is the bootleggers and Sunday sellers on the county lines stop getting away with it, the church people finally actually wake up to what's going on, the lobbying from the surrounding wet towns to keep you dry is stopped and last but more importantly the corrupt judges and police chiefs stop getting payoffs or pass away or voted out..and finally enough people get tired of having all the ills of alcohol in a dry county..the trash,wrecks, dui etc and none of the revenue staying home, it going to the wet towns, and realize the business and tax base they are losing. But yep it usually takes a younger generation to bring it about. Been many a millionaire made in these little corrupt dry towns for just a few at the expense of the whole community. Been bootleggers and judges standing up there together with the church folk before, railing against the evils of alcohol and going wet all the while getting rich and saying vote for me to keep your town dry. Facts.

[@ulfosterberg9116]

I don't sound like they 'passed'. Rather, they fuxked of to hell.

[@angusmacdonald7187]

My dad was USN WWII. When he signed up for the war he was 16 (they didn't check too close the day after Pearl Harbor). At that point he couldn't get a beer in his home state, but in the Navy he became a confirmed beer drinker. Later in the war he followed his heritage and took to whisky. And since he was mainly working on supply ships, he was able to find his drinks pretty easily.

[@Spittin_Chiglets]

One more piece of history that validates the greatest generation lived thru the Depression and WW2 ....amazing!

[@jeanne-marie8196]

Thanks for the history of alcohol after prohibition lesson! Held my attention throughout

[@TheHistoryGuyChannel]

Thank you!

[@augustuswayne9676]

"Nothing so sad as a pub with no beer ." If you know , you know .

[@chrischapman6229]

"But there's-a nothing so lonesome, morbid or drear Than to stand in the bar of a pub with no beer" Slim Dusty

[@augustuswayne9676]

@chrischapman6229 you know it .

[@peterrollinsonlorimer]

Unless there be whiskey.

[@brainkill7034]

Nothing so sad as a pub that isn’t allowed to be open because you might get a respiratory illness there, as opposed to a restaurant or any other commercial outlet. If you know, you know.

[@HM2SGT]

We will never get over the belief that we can legislate away things that we find personally offensive... _this is for your own good, want it or not, need it or not, like it or not!_

[@teresacorrigan3076]

Until the drug addicted are littering our streets. Wrecking business areas. Using resources like hospitals.

[@Noneofyourbusiness2000]

50 percent of people agree with you and 50 percent don't. Can you guess what makes them different?

[@HM2SGT]

@@Noneofyourbusiness2000 Supercilious rectitude? Earnest & sincere, well intended but tragically naïve & grotesquely optimistic good intentions completely divorced from rational reality?

[@teresacorrigan3076]

@ moderate substance use? Success in life?

[@phredphlintstone6455]

​@@teresacorrigan3076 how do you measure success?

[@ralphbalfoort2909]

My older friends in Syracuse, NY, would tell of the soldiers coming home in the 40s wanting the lager that they had enjoyed in the service, not the ales that Syracuse was known for. And one o my fellow basic training soldiers in '68 had no problem getting sloshed on two glasses of 3.2.

[@hobgoblinhollow4966]

'Gimmie ciggies, hamburgers, and beer this war will either end quickly or we will draw the party out!'

[@HM2SGT]

*I remember when I first got to Texas in 1998 & I tried to order a drink on the menu in a chain restaurant in the city & county of Bastrop. The waiter politely enquired whether I had a permit. **_That's right! For a small fee I could drink in the dry county. Nice racket!_** So, as usual, there are always exceptions- which is the apotheosis of ridiculousness & pointlessness, exceptions to rules make rules absolutely useless!*

[@HM2SGT]

@@lisasdfwhightechworld9946 Gotta disagree with you- after transporting scores of patients and a dozen corpses, I don't think taking precautions against transmitting a disease that has a death toll in the 8 million category is even remotely ridiculous.

[@KarenUntz]

Mask didn't keep out the rona, too tiny! Went right through the mask. You needed real masks like they wear in hot zones.

[@philipliethen519]

@@lisasdfwhightechworld9946I disagree. Amidst a pandemic, if the simple act of everyone wearing a mask reduces the spread of disease even slightly, if only because of the constant tangible reminder of its presence by ubiquitous masking, made many people more cautious, via distancing, increased hand washing, etc.

[@philipliethen519]

@@KarenUntzI searched this & found there is objective basis to understand this not to be true. But assuming you are correct, is it your belief that doing nothing is the better option, even if masking raises vigilance to the risk raises cautionary behavior?

[@philipliethen519]

But your story contradicts your conclusion! 😀 “Exception to the rule” WAS a source of revenue for the county!

[@riverjackson6419]

THG is fun to watch. Obscure topics , presented in an entertaining and informative format. Thank you.

[@knickydymondz33]

Ida should have been put on the front lines, I guarantee she'd be having a smoke and a drink after the first day.

[@clark9992]

"To alcohol! The cause of, and cure to, all of life's problems." Homer J Simpson

[@frequentlycynical642]

Or, "No great love story started with a salad."

[@patmancrowley8509]

I appreciate what you do, Lance. Thank you.

[@richardross7219]

Good video. Even in the 1970s, we still had the 3.2 crap on base. Beer is better in bottles. In 1967, a friend offered my father(A WWII vet of 2 1/2 years overseas) a light beer. Dad said "its like making love in the bottom of a canoe, frigging close to water". That was one of the only two times my Dad used the "F" word. He preferred Ballantine Ale. Good Luck, Rick

[@maxpayne2574]

My WW2 vet father called beer horse piss.

[@richardross7219]

@@maxpayne2574 Some were. My Dad's grandfather had a brewery in NYC and he grew up with beer. So did I, I was taught to enjoy it with a steak, salad, baked potato, and veggies. In my 50s it got more expensive than it was worth. Good Luck, Rick

[@jonthinks6238]

My father arrived in France, and the war was still going on, but by the time he got to Germany it was over. So to do his service. In the occupation army he learned to drink good German beer. He never really bought much beer after the war. But he occasionally bought Coors or d,luce excess (two XXs) because he bought cheap beer.😅

[@patrickwynkoop9442]

They don't make that no more plus pieles n new York pilsner and Meister brau I wish I could still get them beers

[@patrickwynkoop9442]

​​@@maxpayne2574 maybe at his time but it's improved I'm surprised thg didn't talk about how revolutionary troops were issued two pints a day maybe he should make a video about that

[@karlhaug5001]

I enjoyed a beer while watching this episode great job as usual

[@mikehamos]

Fascinating stuff! Thanks for your distillation of your knowledge and understanding!

[@dannyjones3840]

I was in the Marines from 94-14. As a young Marine we had a bunch of enlisted clubs (e-clubs) on base and if you were stationed close to Mexico- as i was at Camp Pendleton- they allowed 18 year olds to drink beer instead of them driving to Mexico and getting killed or dui's in the way back. It was a great way to blow off steam and spend time out of work with your buddies. But then the Marine Corps thought it was a good idea to ditch the e-club and open the "single Marine program". A good program, but no longer is the branch that was founded in a bar- allowed to have them for the young Marines 😔

[@HM2SGT]

Corpsman 80s-90s, remember those happy times with two bit pitcher night at the bowling alley in San Diego, and the fun and games at the E club on naval base Norfolk... tradewinds I think it was?

[@FormerVicePresidentDickVeiny]

We had an e-club in 29 palms as late as 07/08. Only people I ever seen there were the most booty of boots

[@KarenUntz]

Thank you for your service! 😏❤😘

[@RetiredSailor60]

Thanks for your service Devil Dog and Shipmate. Retired OS1. Stationed in San Diego from 1984-89 and Norfolk area 1989-2003.

[@mixererunio1757]

Americans not being allowed to drink at 18 but being allowed to join the army and kill people is one of the most ridiculous thing about USA

[@ClarenceCreekwater]

Cigarettes were provided free in C Rations when I was in Vietnam. Beer at the EM club cost 25 cents. (MPC). I was 18, but at least the Army built a man out of me. Now I'm dying of lung cancer, hoping to be drunk when then end comes.

[@MarinCipollina]

Fort Polk Louisiana was still issuing Viet Nam era C-rations for basic training in early 1975.. Each meal had a mini-pack of 5 cigs.

[@v.e.7236]

THG always gets a thumbs up, regardless. Continuallly great content!

[@JungleJoeVN]

Stop right there at 4:30 because when I was in the USMC, I found that many of my men and myself had become alcoholics during our enlistments and it took a lot of hard self denial for myslef and much more for my men to get the alcoholic out of them. Now I can drink a small amount of wine and be okay, but I am fortunate that I got out of the US completely, away from friends who I could not resist drinking with. I am so glad I am reformed in Vietnam

[@004Black]

This was so fascinating. I suppose the culture of the WWII base era remained in tact into 1979-1984 when I serve in the Coast Guard. We had a small full service bar above the exchange in Juneau Alaska. There weren’t but 50 guardsmen on the cutter and maybe 20 at the life station but we kept that place hopping.

[@jeffbangkok]

The WW 2 vets I worked with drank on the job constantly. When we were called out for snow plow duty we'd stop at the VFW and bring them to work. haha. Good night

[@hokehinson5987]

Yeah worked with 4 WW2 vets...2 of the 4 drank during lunch. 1 came to working smelling of liquor. 1 drank at least 3-5 cheap old Milwaukee or national lites during lunch. The other never drank more than 1.5 during lunch. The 3-5 can guy drank beer like a person drinks water. An retired ex navy Airedale..he was full of stories & limericks. He boasted of drinking enough rum & coke during his 4 years in the pacific to float the USS Missouri in dry dock!! The guy who reported in drunk was also a navy retired vet. The moderate drinker was army European vet. The other also army euro never drank...but smoked like a chimney non- filter lucky strikes! Mac used to say: ' The old navy had ships made of wood and men of iron; today they have ships made of steel and men of wood!' RIP Thomas Grey McMillian. 10:32

[@DavidHBurkart]

Excellent Lance. Thank you Sir!

[@Sublette217]

My grandmother was a member of one of South Carolina’s last WCTU chapters. I used to sing songs from her little WCTU hymnal with gusto, to her mixed bemusement.

[@joelgoad6864]

love your channel and history best wishes

[@markmitchell457]

Great video. I love your stuff. Laws are still in flux. The algorithm should love the length of this little story. I went to Bryce Canyon in Utah in 2000. We stayed at Aunt Betty's Best Western motel, which was composed of several temporary buildings used as rooms and a large restaurant. We had been hiking and camping, and wanted a good meal and a drink. An ancient waiter wanted to take our order. We tried to order a pre-dinner drink first, his only reply was "Are you going to eat?". Every time we tried to talk he repeated that. We were finally rescued by a waitress who explained the law. No alcohol unless you order food first. In 2000 the proof of hard alcohol was no where near 80 proof. It was an experience.

[@HM2SGT]

🤷 Laws aren't carved in stone so much as written in the sand. They evolve to meet the demands of society, and almost always accompanied simultaneously by exceptions... eg. The drinking permit dry counties authorize for restaurants to issue- for a small fee of course! 😅😉

[@cynicallydepressed1]

It's Utah... Lucky there was any booze at all. That's why the "locals" still have "sister-wives"... One wife with a sober, angry dude all the time must not work for them.

[@onliwankannoli]

Bryce Canyon is beautiful! I was there four years ago. The owner of the little motel we stayed at was very helpful, telling us the nearest town any businesses were open on Sunday.

[@cynicallydepressed1]

@@onliwankannoli, good times.

[@camwinston5248]

Yep the state of Utah and those Mormons have some really peculiar drink laws..that buying a permit of having to buy a "club membership" to drink in a restaurant or bar being just a start.

[@262marcus]

Scrumpy is very nice, particularly on a warm summers day. Goes down very easily but is deceptively strong.

[@douglassauvageau7262]

I would be interested in an episode exploring U.S. beer preferences over the decades.

[@VespasianJudea]

2:36 I can’t believe Pappy O’Daniel is a real person. I thought he was just the governor on O Brother Where Art Thou? That’s hilarious! I have to tell my father asap. Thanks for this 2:36

[@theItalianshamrock]

Go fight in a war to protect me while I sit at home... oh but you can't have alcohol

[@randyneilson7465]

Excellent episode. It explained a lot about the American drinking culture.

[@dbmail545]

That old WCTU biddy had a point about cigarettes. The hardest addiction that I have ever kicked was to nicotine. Happy All Saint's Day. I'm enjoying my 5.7% ABV dark Yuengling as I watch this.

[@jonnybravo3606]

We can't buy Yuengling out west. Tasty, unavailable.

[@maryd9331]

Happy All Saints Day!

[@peterrollinsonlorimer]

True that. Sometimes even life or death won't get you to quit.

[@hoilst265]

Dark beers are underrated. At 9:22 you see a sign for Tooheys Pilsener - my favourite pub beer down here is Tooheys Old, although back when that photo in the video was taken it was Hunter Old Ale.

[@dougwalker4944]

same ingredients as bread.. delicious and nutritious..

[@douglassauvageau7262]

With a much longer shelf-life.

[@jollyjohnthepirate3168]

Monks in Medieval Europe would fast for long periods of time (depending on which order they belonged to). To keep them going complex and heavy brews were made. They were allowed to drink them every day. So it did become liquid bread.

[@douglassauvageau7262]

@@jollyjohnthepirate3168 I'm searching for the scriptural citation(s) which sanctioned that practice. My cottage-industry sign-shop could produce a few dozen wood placards and find an immediate market.

[@John-mf6ky]

​@@jollyjohnthepirate3168 hell, during medieval Europe and even the colonial period in North America even kids drank beer because of the lack of clean drinking water. Makes some of the weird events history make a little more sense when you figure everyone was half sloshed all the time 😅😅 Granted, they mainly drank a weaker style of beer called "small beer". I guess it could even be sort of porridge like, which sounds interesting to say the least 😅

[@John-mf6ky]

​@@douglassauvageau7262 you can find more info really easily online. I guess they would do a 46 beer fast before Easter. They also mentioned during lent as well. I'm sure the practice varied though depending on time and location.

[@TheDustysix]

A while back an AMPHIB unit had liberty/port call in Rejkavic Iceland. A 6000+ group drank the 120k pop. town dry. In Two Days. USAF had to airlift.

[@alanpowell9886]

Which way? Airlift the soldiers out, or more beer in?

[@TheDustysix]

@@alanpowell9886 Booze, Beer, Chow...Water is 8lbs. Gallon.

[@pauljenks4901]

You mentioned the riots in Australia during WWII and showed an Australian Tootheys billboard. During WWII in the Pacific, U.S. servicemen drank Australian produced beer to American military alcohol specs. The only problem was Australian local beer was still produced with greater alcohol content, so Australian beer was more popular.

[@TiredOldDad1]

My father was a bombardier in the Pacific theater. Sometimes isolated far away on a distant Island airstrip. From his stories, cans of beer were regularly used like money for trade. Maybe it was more available on these isolated Islands, but Dad wound up with several cases worth because a lot of the troops did not care for the taste which had a slight kerosene flavor to it. Dad didn't care. He drank it anyway. Warm. No refrigerators when you're living in a tent in the Philippines.

[@jayg1438]

Fascinating video! Thanks for covering this topic

[@greggbestgen780]

Lance keep on doing what you do. Love your work!

[@larryhaller738]

Great episode

[@edfurrow2605]

“Beer is proof that god loves us and wants us to be happy”. I understand that Ben Franklin may have said that.

[@jeanne-marie8196]

I never really thought about the effects of WWII, on alcohol. My father, a WWII medic in the Pacific Theatre, came back addicted to American beer. I can’t remember if his early go to brand was Schmitz or Schlitz. We lived in the Northeast. Then it was Rheingold and/or Ballantine. I still remember the commercial jingles, as in: “My beer is Rheingold the dry beer. Think of Rheingold whenever you buy beer. It’s not…etc!” I wonder how my father, and our family lives would have been different, if prohibition was still in effect. Probably, not much as he and his cousin signed up for service while drunk

[@bmcc12]

As a marine, in 1966, 1967 and 1968, I had the opportunity to consume somewhat large quantities of beer. This beer was 3.2% alcohol, and was called near beer by us. It required vast quantities in order to make us happy, but the biggest thing that it produced was urine. I returned from my 13 months of combat in Vietnam at 20 years of age. I could not get a beer at the enlisted men’s club in Camp Pendleton, California because I was not 21 years old. I almost climbed over the bar to strangle the young enlisted man who refused me. Luckily my friends provided me from doing this. I am now nearly 80 years old and still remember, the disgrace of this

[@mr.bianchirider8126]

We called it ‘renting’ the beer. You can guess what ‘paying the mortgage’ was.

[@bmcc12]

@ I love your description! That is what it was.

[@swamprat69er]

I strongly disagree with that policy. You can go and fight and possibly die for your country, but you cannot have a beer at the end of your day. It was the same in Canada when I was 'in'. That archaic rule never stopped me though.

[@chainweaver3361]

History Guy, please don't ever change your outro music, it fits perfectly & don't get no better. 🎵🎼🎶🎼

[@LuoJun2]

I was deployed twice and never got my beer ration. Uncle Sam owes me 24 cases.

[@paulaweaver6508]

This was a very interesting video. It had information i had been aware of together for a clearer picture. Have you thought about having an video about the war office having farmers grow hemp for the WWII war effort? It was grown for use as ropes on naval ships. My grandpa was a naval hemp grower. I find it a interesting subject. Thank you

[@helenel4126]

My late father was a pharmacist’s mate in WWII. Among his stocks of medicines was, of course, alcohol. He told me that the sailors would make drinkable (safe, but of questionable taste) booze with whatever fruit and fruit juices they were able to scrounge from the galley, along with the ethanol.

[@davekisor1486]

When Aqua Velva and Listerine contained alcohol, during WW2 they became a precious commodity.

[@hokehinson5987]

The myth of the grizzled alkie vet in the early cold war on tactical training to load up on aqua velva...grab a few loaves of bread and strain it thru the bread..not sure how that worked but as a national guard soldier from 1980 till 1983 drinking and the selling of beers & liquor by the companies entrepreneurs types was in swing. As the need for the guard to train to R.A. standards increased the high steps put an end to beer & spirits sold & consumed in the field. All the enterprising drunks still hanging on especially in the motor pool section always found a reason to Evac a vehicle or make a run for parts during our 2 week tactical training. Several times witnessed our motor pool sarge in D.T.s being assisted by his covers into Hummv vehicle to make a run to base to tank up. Sadly that drunk stayed a drunk right till his end. We all have addictions. Anger, drinking, smoking are some of the more acceptable in society. We all should take take a good look at ourselves...agree with the narrative war destorys lives even without bullets & munitions....big business loves wars!! None of'em cry as they go to the bank...

[@ikefrye847]

8:30 so *_THAT'S_* why American beer is so pallid!

[@KraftyKreator]

Ugh, another thing to hate about war.

[@PistonAvatarGuy]

The fact that it's so mild probably also makes it easier to drink large amounts of it, resulting in people buying larger quantities.

[@KarenUntz]

Near beer.

[@paulhammons7077]

Sex in a boat. 😅

[@KarenUntz]

@@paulhammons7077 Yup!

[@nbkawtgnobody]

WWll we sacrificed more than we thought 😔! Good Beer.

[@nbkawtgnobody]

😂😂😂

[@spudgunn8695]

The hypocrisy of the temperance movement amazes me. "Train them to fight for liberty." Except for the liberty to get off your head if you want to, it seems!!

[@HM2SGT]

🤷 Sure. Hypocrisy abounds even today. A certain group of people that bulk and fringe loudly about their 'freedumb' when compelled to participate in measures to limit the spread of a deadly disease, but have no problem telling others what they may and may not do with their reproductive freedom up to and including forbidding traveling by car and using a states roads to go to State with less anti-freedom.

[@spudgunn8695]

@HM2SGT says a lot about our species really. Pretty crappy.

[@nord_anon4406]

I take it you're in favour of the total legalisation of all hard drugs, then?

[@spudgunn8695]

@@nord_anon4406 yep. I reckon everyone has the right to oblivion any way they see fit!

[@lookoutforchris]

@@HM2SGTthere’s like 3 or 4 nasty twists in your comment. We all know now that most of the requirements promulgated during the pandemic were political, but based on evidence. The idea that you’re comparing debate over this as a form of irrational freedom seeking is itself pathological. Then you move on to a completely separate issue which has nothing to do with the first and does not involve an individuals rights to their own body, but involves the rights of three people at once. And you ignore that historically all society have limited what people can do with themselves, from drugs to suicide to selling organs or prostitution. You outed yourself here as a demon in that one short comment. Relatively few people will fall for your poison.

[@bavondale]

excellent vid. many points made there

[@tomomiko202]

Great video! Interesting, and informative!

[@RatPfink66]

The "lawnmower" beer era really began in the spring of 1933 when 3.2 beer became legal. Brewers couldn't secure enough barley to meet the huge demand, and began stretching the supply with corn and rice. The government facilitated this to help the depressed farm economy, and this was the beginning of Americans' taste for lighter lagers.

[@lestatangel]

Anybody here remember the Hamm's Bear?

[@johnopalko5223]

🎶 From the land of sky-blue waters ... 🎶 I _loved_ those commercials when I was a little kid. I'd come running from the other room whenever one came on so I could see the bears. 🎶Hamm's, the beer refreshing ... 🎶

[@DSToNe19and83]

As a Minnesotan, yes… matter of fact I still drink it at local bowling alley. Two buck taps for happy hour

[@erickcampisi949]

Yup! I loved the cartoon bear commercials when I was at tot! Made me want beer when I was 4 years old! 😉

[@johnopalko5223]

@@erickcampisi949 Heck, I was already drinking beer at that age thanks to Grandpa. We'd sit watching the ballgame on TV and he'd give me sips of his beer (Hamm's, of course). Throughout my childhood and teenage years, I always had access to alcohol, in reasonable quantities. It was never a mysterious, forbidden thing. As a result, when I grew up, I had very little inclination to drink. In college, when the "reasonable quantities" restriction was removed, I discovered that I really disliked the feeling of being drunk. To this day, I might drink two or three times a year, and never beyond the point of feeling just a bit tiddly.

[@lestatangel]

@@johnopalko5223 Half of a beer will wipe me out lol. This brings the meaning of "cheap date" to a whole new level.

[@bloqk16]

My dad served in the US Army in Europe during WW II. Two things he recalled about liquid consumption: - Where he worked in the US Army division HQ, bottles of Coca Cola were constantly in the hands of officers. - Unbeknownst to many, vanilla extract contains 35 percent alcohol by volume, whereupon US Army cooks working the mess halls and field kitchens would heavily requisition the stuff and get plastered from it.

[@RatPfink66]

"Say Cookie, I could use a vanilla Coke about now." "Right this way Lieutenant, we got 'em ice cold."

[@fastEdCanuck]

Very enlightening episode, thank you.

[@davidbarton6095]

Great video, any time I learn something it's a good day.

[@ScottWaa]

Beer built society. America banning alcohol created a different problem. First we had ice cream boats in WW2, then we had government cheese and cheese caves. Regan was correct on government "help."

[@John-g6x1h]

That answered so many questions I had!

[@mattgeorge90]

Thank you for sharing!

[@wazzabear]

I loved the Australian clip for Tooheys beers. This pub must have been in country NSW

[@HM2SGT]

*"... & **_THAT_** his why today the 82nd Airborne is known as the **_Athletic Alcoholics!"_* _the 82nd is actually known as the 'all-americans', but if the jump boot fits..._ 🤷‍♂️😉

[@goodchessactor]

When I went into the Army in 1968 I had 3.2% beer. However not being a beer drinker I had nothing to compare it to. Other GI's were complaining but I didn't know better so I happily drank my 3.2.

[@RetiredSailor60]

Good Friday morning History Guy and everyone watching. While deployed on USS Wasp LHD 1, we had 2 beer days at sea. Spent 115 straight days at sea in 2002 while searching for Osama Bin Laden.

[@philipliethen519]

So the US Navy does NOT prohibit alcohol on ships?

[@RetiredSailor60]

@philipliethen519 Only under special circumstances and only beer, no hard liquor.

[@ricksaint2000]

Thank you History Guy

[@ChrisRoth-b9u]

In 1987, I was at the Navy base in Guam when the USS Iowa came in to refuel. Now the Iowa had many old sailors that were reactivated to man the 16 inch guns and the 600 lb steam plants. Although the Iowa was only in port for 4 hours, that didn’t stop the old sailors from getting their beer. I was at the base exchange and there were several tables with old Chief Petty Officers downing beer as fast as they could.

[@maxpayne2574]

The US started military suppling personnel tobacco in 1917. The Army stopped packaging C-rations with cigarettes sometime in 1975. But they used the massive stocks of C rations that contained cigarettes for years to come. Commissaries and PXs still sell government subsidized, untaxed tobacco. The military has created millions of addicts to a deadly substance.

[@robertheinkel6225]

Maybe true in the past, but no longer. Smoking is not allowed in basic training, and banned in all building and most outdoor areas.

[@bariniker1]

In the 90’s the hefty discounted tobacco and alcohol went away. Now it’s about the same cost as off base as State Tax exemption is nearly matched by federal charges.

[@kyledavis4890]

Freedom?

[@JohnLaMonte]

Epic, as always! Thanks again!

[@russwoodward8251]

Great story. Thanks again.

[@Anymouse6980]

Thanks, THG. This one an insightful into the human condition, it’s vagaries, individual and government attempts to control other people’s behavior, and it’s results. 3.2 is why the invited “VIP’s” of a company I worked couldn’t, or wouldn’t, drink real beer made at a local micro-brewery.

[@keithweiss7899]

I started working at the St. Louis Defense Mapping Agency Aerospace Center in 1979. Back then you could buy beer in the little restaurant they had. A few years later it went dry. Too many workers were drinking their lunches!

[@ikefrye847]

#Mudder's Milk # _Firefly_ "All the protein, vitamins and carbs of your grandma's best turkey dinner... plus 15% alcohol." Worked for the Egyptians. It's not so different from the ancestral form of beer they fed to the slaves who built their pyramids. Liquid bread. Kept them from starving, and knocked them out at night, so they wouldn't be inclined to insurrection.

[@magenlin]

I mean yeah except that beer was like 3% ABV

[@jonnybravo3606]

Both, I need a nap after consuming.

[@rodh2168]

Tooheys was / is an Australian brewer. 9:21

[@robertjensen1438]

Everyone freaked out when I told them I got ill from drinking expired booze. I guess it is an awkward time to tell people you're sick from a bad case of Corona.

[@sailordude2094]

I drank beers on my ship as part of a fan tail cookout after being at sea over so many days. It definitely helped my morale! Thanks for the history of how we got here with booze! BTW, there are ways to get more then two beers, lol.

[@bobechs7905]

James Jones described that on the Pacific island where his novel was set when a shipment of after-shave lotion arrived at the PX the company clerk made himself a hero by buying up the entire stock on the spot for the company. It wasn't used for shaving.

[@matternst1442]

Wait, you’re tell me Pappy O’daniel was a real person? Like from O Brother?

[@TheHistoryGuyChannel]

Yes, Wilbert Lee "Pappy" O'Daniel was both a governor of and US Senator from the state of Texas.

[@tomhalla426]

@@TheHistoryGuyChannel And notorious for defeating Lyndon Johnson for Senate, as allegedly the beer lobby wanted him out of the state government, and financed his questionable election.

[@wyominghome4857]

Human ingenuity has a regular habit of making lemonade out of lemons. Thanks for a bit of history I hadn't heard.

[@seantlewis376]

During the First Gulf War, my Army battalion was banned from drinking alcohol. But we were based on an Air Force site, which did allow drinking. I did not drink during the war, but when the war was over, and the ban was lifted, I very much over-indulged. My grandfathers, World War II era, and my father, Korea and Vietnam era, all drank to excess. Along with my PTSD, my adoration for alcohol is still something I deal with.

[@wes6449]

Shlitz. The beer that made Milwaukee famous

[@REBELSCL]

I remember seeing video of Huey helicopters in Vietnam delivering pallets of Schlitz……. The soldiers on the receiving end didn’t even wait to ice it down…. They drank it warm…

[@kyledavis4890]

When Charlie is stalking you just out of sight, giving something time to cool down could be the last thing you do.

[@PJRye]

I recall hearing that in Vietnam, Australian soldiers had a saying that the beer ration was "two cans, per man, per day, .. perhaps". I think the source was Les Hiddins, who had a TV series "The Bush Tucker Man", still accessible on KZbin.

[@immortaltyger1569]

Thanks for that reference to The Bush Tucker Man - I'm watching it now and it's great! Shows parts of Australia that I haven't seen before. Do you know if the Australian Army still sends men out like this into remote parts of Australia?

[@bobair2]

Beer is tasty and much liked by millions of people the world over so never take it away. If you do not like alcoholic drinks then not drink and mind your own business if others drink.

[@HM2SGT]

I don't disagree, but I can understand the reasoning behind their best of intentions nanny meddling. Just imagine if there was some way to compel people to be mature, responsible adults. Food for thought: do you know how long it takes the USA to surpass the total number of drunk driving deaths in Japan? By noon on New Year's Day... *_12 hours._* 🤷

[@davidmoore1248]

Beer is tasty once you get used to it, it isn't naturally delicious. Drink if you are legal to do so, but don't pretend alcohol use doesn't have effects on those who don't drink. The tens of thousands of fatal collisions due to DUI are just one way alcohol ruins lives.

[@michaelwarenycia7588]

@@HM2SGT it's not good intentions to want to be a puritanical authoritarian, no matter how much you flatter yourself about it.

[@JimmyMon666]

@@davidmoore1248 It takes a while to get used to. Mostly because younger people prefer sweeter tastes. By my 30's beer went down smooth as silk. I don't drink much of it any more. I suspect it may be giving me anxiety, and honestly after reading all the cancer warnings of alcohol, it's time to stop anyways.

[@davidmoore1248]

@@michaelwarenycia7588 Recognizing the US has a problem with DUI and the resultant death and carnage it causes is not puritanical or authoritarian, it is the truth. Drink if it is legal for you to do so. Fine, but don't try to brush off the problems caused by alcohol. Thousands are killed every year because of people's poor decisions around the use of alcohol.

[@johnanon6938]

Very interested how things started and ended with alcohol consumption in USA. Reminded me a bit of 8 part tv show Wartime Farm with historians Ruth and Pete in UK that was done a couple decades back. They discussed what some people remembered about WW2, showed what life was like, ate silage bread as made in Nazi Germany at wars end. But they also discussed the rationing and showed how some people bypassed it, including using fermented apples into a mash for the farm's "medicinal" purposes, a slight gray area as long as they did not sell any.

[@christophermahon1851]

This was fascinating.

[@minuteofcan]

I tried traditional bourbon a few days ago. It was very different than what I’ve grown accustomed to.

[@CandaceAustin-bv2wo]

Thank you so much.

[@bronwynecg]

Good morning, professor! 👋🏽 😊

[@shawnharrington9548]

I'll raise a beer to this part of history.

[@frankthetank6558]

I dug up some gallon/half gallon jugs of “grape juice” last week! Crafty/thirsty people were shipping it as fruit juice but by the time it arrived it had fermented!!!

[@cherylbrooks7005]

Always cool stories.

[@DSToNe19and83]

Fun fact, Minnesota is now the only state that 3.2 is made for, even Utah abandoned the idea. 🍻

[@tennesseehomesteader6175]

Like I heard one time "When everything is outlawed everyone will be outlaws". Pass whatever laws they want I'm going to do what I want no one's business except my own if it doesn't affect anyone else. They can take their imposed morality and shove it where the sun don't shine.

[@Tylwaa]

*Beer Machines* Don't know if anyone is as old as me, I'm a Vietnam veteran USN Aviation (female) and beer machines were everywhere on base back then. I think it was just a dime. There were always "Morale Boost" parties or if a pilot buzzed the Tower he'd have to buy the entire squadron beer. That was was way over 50 years ago but beer was certainly popular back then. Coors beer was very popular and pilots would make "hops" to Colorado or wherever to bring in cases of it, not sure if that was legal. The worst thing though wasn't bringing back beer but one time buckets of crawfish from Louisiana! They didn't even think to put a lid on the buckets and the crawfish crawled in to every nook and cranny of that plane! It stunk so bad we had to park the plane at the end of the runway! It took everyone to find those things. Pilot's punishment? Beer for everyone!

[@Reubenhubert]

When I was a teenager in Ohio 3.2% beer was sold as well as the full strength beer. You had to be 21 to buy regular beer, wine, and liquor but 18 to buy 3.2 beer. It was easy for 16 and 17 years old teens to buy 3.2 beer because few stores would ask for an ID unless you were trying to buy regular beer. We got drunk many times on 3.2 beer, we just had to drink twice as much.