Evening star., 1938-06-22
CHEESE DEMAND
CLIMBS STEADILY
Larger Consumption Linked
With Return of Beer
Five Years Ago.
BY J. G. DONLEY.
|peeia1 Dispatch to The Star,

Special Dispatch to The Star.
NEW YORK, June 22.-Americans
are eating more cheese. and there Is
every logical reason for linking that
fact to the return of beer. When beer
again became a legal beverage five
years ago, the dairy interests expected
1t to stimulate appetites for cheese,
bologna and long list of similar It'd
bits. But stimulation Of cheese con-
sumption has gone far ahead of what
any one then thought probable.
It is notable that. in the first four
months Of this year, cheese was the
only manufactured dairy product to
show an increase over the like period
a year ago. 1t marked up gain of
81 per cent. sufi1cient to bring a
small xpturn in the total for all man
ufactured dairy products.
Since 1882. the last year of prohibi-
ton, there has been an increase of 80
per cent in production of domestic
cheese, as revealed in the recent re-
port on milk utilization by the De-
partment of Agriculture. In the latest
year for which complete Government
figures are available. 1896, cheese pro-
duction rose to 100000 pounds,
as compared with 1888 ,0O0, 900 pounds
IN 1882. But the most striking indi-
cation Of the effect of beers return
upon cheese production is shown by
the jump to 5,469, 100000 pounds in
1888. the first year when beer was
again legally available.
Estimates Exceeded.
Perhaps the reason why the stimu-
lation Of cheese consumption has been
greater than either the dairy interests
or the brewers expected is that pro-
hibition encouraged home consump-
tion of alcoholic beverages, and that
habit remained after the cause was
removed. For many years before pro-
hibition, brewing records showed that
about rs per cent of all beer was keg,
or draught, beer. In those days. beer
was largely consumed at the corner
bar. But there were no bars when
beer came back, for it was legalized
seven months before whisky and othsr
liquors made their comeback
Beer returned via the bottled bever-
age, and for time the bottle was the
big medium of distribution. With the
return Of bars. however the propor-
ton OF draught beer returned in 1884
to the IS per cent ratio. But, as beer
consumption increased and the can
came along to help out the Job of
psckaging, the ratio of draught beer
TO total consumption began to de-
cline and at latest accounts, it was
between so and SIS per cent.
Direct Affinity Seen.
There is a traditionally direct af-
Unity between beer and cheese. But
the brewers go somewhat further and
claim for beer considerable credit in
the stimulation of restaurant receipts
and the sales volume of food products
since beer returned. However. the
improvement u our general economic
status between 1882 and 1897 PLAYED
q large part in the uptrend in food
and restaurant sales and also in the
gains made by beer itself.
Beer has been a little swifter on
its upward climb from the years of
prohibition than early estimates indi-
Gated. In April. 1888, when the brew
ers went back to work, it was esti-
mated that it would be six years be-
fore 250,000,000 barrels would be
brewed. But that mark was passed
last month. according to the United
Brewers Industrial Foundation, in
only little more than five years.
Copyright, 1e3S.)