Cheers! It’s time, once again, to celebrate the end of Prohibition

Grin and beer it: On April 7, 1933, President Franklin D. Roosevelt legalized the sale and consumption of beer in the U.S. after 13 years of Prohibition.

Listen 5:37

Ready your trusty bottle opener: April 7 marks National Beer Day. The holiday celebrates the date President Franklin D. Roosevelt made the sale and consumption of beer legal again in the United States.

Prohibition was fully repealed nearly seven months later on Dec. 5, 1933.

Pennsylvania brewery historian Rich Wagner sat down with NewsWorks Tonight’s Dave Heller to trace beer’s long history in the Keystone State.

Philadelphia’s first brewery opened its doors in 1685, and city dwellers have been quaffing ever since.

In 1840, the iconic light-colored, cold and foamy beer became a staple.

“With the introduction of lager beer, in Philadelphia, that basically caught on beyond the ethnic German population and became what was considered a national beverage,” Wagner said.

Once Americans sampled cold lager, English-style ales were out, and the industry flourished.

You can hear more on Pennsylvania’s beer history above.

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