Most early American microbreweries went out of business soon after January 1920 when Congress enacted the 18th Amendment to the Constitution, which prohibited "the manufacture, sale, or transportation of intoxicating liquors." Prohibition lasted until April 1933 when Congress ratified the 21st Amendment, which repealed Prohibition.

It has been presumed that after 13 years, many of the early American brewmasters had either taken on other trades and didn't return to brewing or had passed away. In any event, the art of brewing beer in America suffered as the skill was not passed on in those families.