Over the years, American home brewing has changed with the times. It used to be illegal to brew beer at home, then America was the top producer of beer worldwide, and now the recession has hit hard forcing many companies to shut shop. Now we all know as times get tough, people turn to the bottle for comfort… but the brutality off the recession has forced many people to reconsider their chosen drinking hole and replace it with a rewarding and extremely tasty hobby that goes by the name of “home beer brewing”.
Over time there has been lot’s of change in the American Home Brewing scene. Once upon a time, greats such as Thomas Jefferson and George Washington participated in brewing their own beer… and they absolutely loved it! Through their guidance, many people were passionate about making their own beer at home.
However, there was a time of prohibition that was devastating to the American population. Prohibition meant that it was illegal to brew your own beer, and heavy fines where placed on people who broke this law… and what a shame that was… some people even went to prison for having a home brewery! Can you imagine a life without beer? Unfortunately the American people had to suffice and deal with prohibition. This then led to shop owners renaming all equipment so it couldn’t be associated with running home brewery and started selling it on the sly to hardcore supporters of brewing beer at home. This was quiet easy because the equipment is fairly standard, including buckets, hosing, pots, pans, and other tidbits. The only problem that did arise was a lack off ingredients, so any beer that was brewed tasted the same, no variation, just BEER! This didn’t stop people from brewing their own beer, but it was frowned upon, and there were serious legal reprocutions if you were caught… this kept the sapping and selling of home brewed to a minimum, with people happy to keep brewing for personal consumption only.
In 1935, the law was improvised a bit. Home wine making was allowed without taxes but to brew beer, the interested party must first secure permits and comply with regulations. But despite the heavy regulations, some beer advocates pooled their efforts to promote home brewing. One of the greats in the field, Charlie Papazian first entered the scenario during this time and taught home brewing classes. However, government maintained that unregulated home brewing was still unlawful as any type of brewing could still be employed by moonshiners.
Jimmy carter was responsible for lifting prohibition and giving home brewers the opportunity to brew beer in their American homes without any problems. Today, there are over 1,463 breweries in the United States, a much improved American home brewing state… this is much to the efforts off Jimmy in 1978… bless his soul!
American Home Brewing is alive and well today, so of-course it’s time to sit down, relax, and enjoy a home brew. For those still not up to speed with home brewing beer, click on the link to find out more!