Tipping Point
Though small breweries have a long history in the U.S., the 1970s marked a turning point for independent and regional brewers, as much as it did for the notion of American beer. Within the decade, consumers began to transition away from consumption of traditional beer styles, and toward that of effervescent, low-calorie lagers, often referred to as “light beer.” The shift was, in large part, perpetuated by highly effective and widely visible marketing campaigns engineered by the country’s large, industrial-sized breweries, including Anheuser-Busch, Miller, and Coors.
Changing consumer tastes resulted in a huge decline in the number of independent brew houses and a spate of brewery consolidation. By the end of the 1970s, there were only 44 breweries in the U.S. with expectations that the number would eventually drop into the single digits. (A quick fast-forward, just for comparison’s sake: at last count, there are nearly 2,000 American breweries in operation today.)
Spurred by a lack of bold and flavorful options in the marketplace, a growing number of individuals began to embrace homebrewing, even though the craft (hint, hint) was, at the time, an illegal one. By the end of the decade, however, grassroots lobbying efforts to repeal federal restrictions on home-brewed beer and wine finally succeeded. In 1978, U.S President Jimmy Carter signed into law a bill that allowed for the production of 100 gallons for a single adult, and 200 gallons for a household with two or more adults.
The new law had a significant impact in reviving disappearing beer styles and brewing traditions, and opened the door to a few small breweries, including The New Albion Brewery in Sonoma, Calif., and the Boston Beer Company, maker of Samuel Adams. These breweries became the foundation for a new so-called “craft beer” industry, which crept into the 1980s and quietly made its mark via the popularity and growth of higher quality beers accompanied by a steady rise in regional distribution.
The renewal of small breweries also gave rise to a number of industry and trade organizations established to support the growth of craft beer through the development of knowledge sharing programs, sales and marketing support, and government relations boards. These organizations included the Association of Brewers (which also included the American Homebrewers Association and the Institute for Brewing and Fermentation Studies) and the Brewers’ Association of America.
In 2005, the two groups merged to form the Brewers Association (BA), a member-funded and operated trade association whose mission statement is “to promote and protect small and independent American brewers, their craft beers and the community of brewing enthusiasts.” In addition to supporting the overall promotion of craft beer, the BA plays a key role in defining industry terminology and the designation of craft brewery segments.