Monday is National Beer Day in the Hudson Valley!

Monday, April 7th is National Beer Day.  It's the day we celebrate when beer first became legal again before the official repeal of prohibition.  The Cullen-Harrison act, signed by the President, and Hudson Valley resident Franklin D. Roosevelt, allowed Americans to once again legally purchase beer in the United States as long as the alcohol content was under 4%abv.  Because Prohibition didn't officially end until December 5th of the same year, April 7th is a date that's exclusively special to beer drinkers across the country.

The 13 years of prohibition hit the beer industry in America hard.  Before it was illegal to make or sell alcohol, there were hundreds of small craft breweries across the country making fresh, local beer.  Very few of these breweries were able to survive shuttering their doors for over a decade, and after prohibition only a few of the larger breweries actually opened back up.  Because these breweries needed to appeal to the masses, they focused on just a few simple beer styles and abandoned some of the old world craftsmanship and diversity that our forefathers enjoyed.  In just a few decades,  America had all but forgotten about our proud brewing past.

Today, that has all changed.  A rebirth of craft beer has been underway since the late 80's and now there seems to be a new local brewery opening up every week.  Here in the Hudson Valley we're surrounded by great local brewers who are making craft beer in small batches and reintroducing styles of ale that were almost lost to history.

The Boris and Robyn Show will be sampling some great local beer and giving out tickets to TAP-NY, the premiere New York beer festival that celebrates beers of NY State on April 26th and 27th.  So raise a pint of local beer and celebrate with us as we recognize National Beer Day in the Hudson Valley.  Here's just a small list of great local brewers with some fresh beer waiting for you to toast with this week:

Mill House Brewing Company in Poughkeepsie

Newburgh Brewing in Newburgh

Keegan Ales in Kingston

Sloop Brewing in Poughkeepsie

Rushing Duck in Chester

Hyde Park Brewing Company in Hyde Park

Gilded Otter in New Paltz

Captain Lawrence Brewing Company in Elmsford

The Peekskill Brewery in Peekskill

Cave Mountain Brewing in Windham

And the list keeps growing... look out for the Gardiner Brewing Company coming soon!