The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1928-12-13
BEER MAMA IS
C|TY'S LATEST:
trade BOOMS
Home Brew Sales in Many
Apartments Reported
on Huge Scale.
THRIVE IN MIDDLEWEST
Malt and Hop Flats by
Thousands Flourish,
Survey Shows.

New York may have its hoSteSSeS,
Chicago it's barmaids, and Kansas
City its malt queens, but Indianap-
oils, not to be outdone in the gentle
art of modern "booze histing," has
the beer flats latest creation, the
beer mama"
How many hundreds of such Spe-
cies OF the fair sex are listed in the
city directory as clerks, stenogra-
pliers, and whatnot cannot be esti-
mated, for the mamas are "herc
today, gone tomorrow"
Regally they preside IN apart
mentS, many of them beautifully
furnished and appointed; invit-
ingly they pop the caps off home
brew bottles and pour the amber
fluid, with a fine disdain for foam
ing "suds."
The beer fiat is an institution
peculiar to the middlewest. 1t is
a haven for the increasing number
who defy Mr.. Volstead and the
eighteenth amendment, a survey by
the United Press shows.
Flourish in Other Cities
Chicago, Milwaukee, st. Paul, st.
Louis, Kansas City, Indianapolis
and points between are filled with
them. The beer fiat has, in a short
span of years, become much more
popular than the speakeasy Of early
postwar days.
Here is the way it works from the
standpoint of the drinker:
You come home tired after a hard
day. Dinner is over and you de-
velop that restless feeling that calls
for drink. You know a good
Speak-eaSy in the business district
and an excellent roadhouse on the
other side of town, but they are too
far away.
The "beer fiat" is handler, so you
go there. 1t is likely to be just
across the street from your home or
apartment, no matter what neigh
borhood you live in. To all outside
appearances, it merely is an ordi-
nary apartment.
1CS Easy to Get In
After the first visit the proprietor
knows you and gaining admittance
is an easy matter. You can drink
beer as long as you like at twenty
five or fifty cents a mug or bottle.
Here is the way it works from the
standpoint of the proprietor:
He probably is a man Of moder-
ate means. He may be employed as
tailor or laborer by day, but at
night he runs his beer fat" His
wife and family live with him in
the apartment, thus saving the rent
he would have to pay for separate
establishment if he undertook to
operate a Speakeasy.
Most Chicago "beer flats" keep a
barrel of beer on ice in the kitchen.
They use the living room and din
ing room for patrons and serve on
bridge tables. The wife helps carry
in the stems and often opens the
place for business in the afternoon
before her husband comes home.
The patronage is made up chief
ly OF friends or residents Of the
block where the fiat is located.
Some of the more elaborate places
issue small metal checks for identi-
f1cation.
Few Places Raided
Raids are rare, as prohibition en-
forcement officers in the cities of
the midwest are busy shutting off
the source of beer, the big syndi-
Gates. Also they have learned not
to raid private homes unless they
are certain that their evidence is
alright.
The prohibition Office at Chicago
estimates that there are 5000 beer
flats" in Chicago.
In st. Paul they outnumber
Speakeasies two to one. The esti-
mated number of beer flats" in
that city, said to be conservative,
is $50.
In Kansas City most of the "beer
flats" in that city serve the beer in
bottles which are stored in cup
boards Much of the bottled prod
uct is homemade.
In st. Louis there are said to be
$4,000 places where liquor can be
bought. Beer flats" predominant
over speakeasies by ratio of about
Is to 1.