As we mentioned, Prohibition created a vast illegal market for the production, trafficking, and sale of alcohol. In turn, the economy took a major hit, thanks to lost tax revenue and legal jobs.
Prohibition nearly ruined the country's brewing industry. Anheuser-Busch survived Prohibition by turning to other products, such as ice cream, root beer, malt extract and corn syrup. The city of St. Louis boasted 22 breweries before Prohibition, and a mere nine reopened after it ended.