In the 1970s, there were very few big brewing companies in the US. Those companies primarily made light lagers. People who wanted something else either paid for expensive imported beers, or they learned to make their own. Home brewing became very popular. Eventually, home brewing turned into craft brewing. Many craft breweries can trace their ancestry back to those hobbyists. They proved it was easy to make a beer that they liked, and they didn’t have to stick with those bland lagers that are put out by the large brewing companies.
By the end of the 1970s, there were important changes being made. In 1976, a tax differential was won for breweries that made less than 2 million dollars a year. The differential was for the first 60,000 barrels produced by those companies. In 1978, the American Home Brewers Association was formed and started publishing a magazine, which, among other things, publicized the new laws pertaining to home brewing.
In the 1980s, the Association of Brewers was created. This group was designed to help the microbreweries and all the craft brewers that were coming into existence. While there weren’t very many of them yet, through the 90s the craft beer movement continued to grow. Microbreweries were now making craft beer and selling it through grocery stores and local bars. In fact, some of the breweries owned their own bars or pubs so they had a built-in sales outlet. Many of these breweries are still local or regional, although the internet has made it easier for people all over the country, and indeed the world, to enjoy these beers.
By 2009, there were almost 1600 American craft brewery companies. These companies produced about 9 million barrels of beer. These beers have won over a lot of people because the beers are more flavorful. A craft brewery is able to make special beers, like seasonal or experimental beers. They are able to dabble in more flavors than a large company, and can quickly add these new beers to their production.
These breweries are only getting more popular. From their humble start as a hobby, craft breweries are now a multi-million dollar business, producing millions of gallons of beer and millions of happy customers and fans.
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