Prohibition Products

In order for brewers to stay in business they had to get creative. Many began producing carbonated beverages, but one interesting development was Near Beer, the de-alcoholization process of regular beer. Here locally both Goetz and Muehlebach made near beer, as well as soft drinks.

The process of needling also was introduced. Brewers would literally leave room for about 1 oz of space at the top of the bottle. People would buy alcohol at the local druggist and mix it with the beer.

The idea of Bootlegging (making and distributing beer illegally) and the presence of Speakeasies (places to illegally consume alcohol) also became prevelant.