(Photo credit: The LBJ Presidential Library)
Though he was often associated with peanuts, for some, former President Jimmy Carter’s name evokes thoughts of hops.
On October 14, 1978, President Carter signed bill H.R. 1337, which contained Amendment 5354 sponsored by Senator Alan Cranston (D-CA) and Representative William Steiger (R-WI). That amendment created an exemption from taxation of beer brewed at home for personal or family use. Essentially, it lifted regulations imposed by Prohibition laws over 50 years previous.
Some states were quick to adopt federal legalization as their state’s policy on home beermaking, while others developed their own language. It wasn’t until 2013—nearly 100 years after Prohibition made homebrewing illegal—that making beer at home became legal in all 50 states, with Mississippi and Alabama both establishing homebrew legality in that year.
After the enactment of H.R. 1337, homebrewing experienced steady growth as more people discovered the joy and satisfaction of making beer at home and set the stage for the first generation of modern small brewery owners.
Today, the American Homebrewers Association and other homebrew organizations continue to pursue fair usage homebrew laws across the country. Even with homebrewing being legal in all 50 states, some states still have legislation that makes it difficult to be a homebrewer. Antiquated laws that restrict transporting and sharing homebrew are at the forefront of homebrew legislation initiatives these days.
Cheers, and thank you to an American homebrew hero, President Jimmy Carter. His legacy will live on in every batch of beer brewed.
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