Prohibition ended April 7, 1933, and brewer Anheuser-Busch is among those celebrating the 75th anniversary of the end of America's 14-year social experiment in enforced sobriety, CNN reported April 7.

"The whole industry of beer has gotten together to say this date is definitely historic," said Julia Herz, a spokeswoman for the Brewers Association. The Anheuser-Busch celebration includes a party, historical exhibits, and an appearance by the company's famous Clydesdale horses.

Michael Scippa, advocacy director of the Marin Institute, took a dimmer view of the festivities, saying that beer is the most popular alcoholic beverage for underage drinkers. However, he said, "We're not neo-Prohibitionists or teetotalers. We're not trying to tell adults what to do."

Back in 1933, huge crowds gathered on April 6 to await the end of Prohibition. "There was dancing in the streets and lines outside brewery doors ... It was a big date, for sure," Herz said. However, not all states permitted alcohol sales at the end of federal prohibition, and remnants of the law remain in states where alcohol can only be sold in state stores and the amount of alcohol in beer is limited by state laws.

Historians point out that only low-alcohol "near beer" was permitted for sale on April 7, while full-strength beer and liquor remained banned until December 1933. "I know everyone gets excited about it, but you were offered a watered-down version of beer. That's all you got," said beer expert and author Bob Skilnik. "It probably wasn't a very satisfying drink. If you wanted to have a shot [of hard liquor] on the side, you still had to wait until December 5th for that to happen."

However, Skilnik said that reopening the breweries provided an economic boost shortly after President Franklin D. Roosevelt took office, and states reeling from the Depression quickly learned that they could boost their revenues by taxing alcohol.