Repeal-Era States Build the American Three-Tier Distribution System

Beginning in 1933, states rebuilding alcohol regulation after national Prohibition generally separated producers, wholesalers, and retailers through licensing or monopoly-control systems. These arrangements sought to prevent tied houses and concentrated supplier control over retail outlets. There was no single uniform national three-tier statute: each state constructed its own rules under the authority restored by the Twenty-first Amendment. The resulting systems became a defining structure of the American beer market, shaping which breweries could reach retailers and consumers.