Have you ever wondered what a Heavy Music show would be without a good amount of cold refreshing beer? It would be like eating a burger without bacon and cheese! While we as Metaleros tend to disagree and argue about different bands, we all agree that beer is the international drink of choice for the headbangers of the world.
Today is National Beer Day, yes a day devoted to our favorite drink! Whither you are cheap beer drinker and love the taste of Coors Light, Bud Light and PBR. Or you only consume high quality beer because you believe in catching a quality buzz. We can all agree that beer is a key element of the music scene we all love! So how did this awesome Metallic beverage arrive to the United States Of Metal?
As we all know, Milwaukee (beer capital of the world) is synonymous to beer here in the United States and is were the first brewery (The Milwaukee Brewery) was established in the 1850's. But who brought beer into the United States? The Germans of course. When the Germans arrived to Milwaukee in the 1850's, they brought with them the knowledge of how to brew the best beer in the world (whoever argues that German beer is not the best, doesn't know much about beer). Did you know that Milwaukee was once the home to four of the world's largest breweries (Schlitz, Blatz, Pabst, and Miller)? Here is Alice Cooper explaining the meaning behind the name Milwaukee, during his cameo appearance on Wayne's World.
So how did National Beer Day get established?
In 1933 during the prohibition era, President Franklin Roosevelt signed the Cullen-Harrison Act on March 23rd. The law was enacted on April 7th. This law gave the green light for the legal brewing and sale of beer in the United States as long as it was < 3.2% (4% ABV). It is said that numerous amount of people waited in line overnight on April 6th outside Milwaukee breweries just so they could legally buy beer for the first time in over 13 years. And this is why April 7th (today) is National Beer Day and April 6th is called New Beers Eve.
Here is a rundown of which Metal icons have made beer popular within the Heavy Music world:
- Pantera: The Kings Of Metal would often bring cups of beer on stage and throw them to the hungry crowd. They also required for anyone working with them to be an avid drinker, because in Pantera once the show was over, it was party time!
- Metallica (or Alcohollica): They are not only the biggest Heavy Metal band in history, but they used to also be the drunkest band of them all. As we all know James Hetfield took an extended break in 2001 to go through a rehabilitation process.
- Slayer: The most evil band in Heavy Metal supports beer, almost as much as they support religion (yeah right). Guitarist Jeff Hanneman had a guitar built for him with the Heineken logo with a twist involved: the guitar reads Hanneman (instead of Heineken), Anti Christ - Premium Quality.
- Zakk Wylde (Black Label Society): The mountain man of Metal was an avid Beck's drinker and would often have a case or two with him, which he would consume while doing press. He had to cut-down after having his doctors found blood clots in his body.
The list goes and on, but you get the picture. So Heavy National Beer Day and remember to never drink and drive, drinking is fun but don't be stupid! \m/
Related links:
Beer History
National Beer Day on Facebook
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