Kansas and 3.2 percent beer: a slightly buzzed history

Currently, five states have 3.2 beer: Minnesota, Oklahoma, Colorado, Utah and Kansas. While Utah loves its weak brine, Colorado is close to eliminating the stuff and Kansas may soon follow. The house will vote on a bill to raise the definition of a cereal malt beverage from a weak-ass 3.2 percent to a manly four percent as defined by this bill. (Warning! PDF and boring legalese.) 

If the bill doesn’t pass it will have nothing to do with temperance or the evils of alcohol but with money, because there’s no reason for 3.2 percent beer to exist anymore.

So why did Kansas serve it in the first place — and why does it still? Let’s take a trip down memory lane.