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How Jimmy Carter's 1978 law sparked the craft beer revolution across America

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Published  December 30, 2024 6:00pm CST
Houston
FOX 26 Houston

Carter law paved the way for craft beer

As people raise a toast to the memory of Jimmy Carter, they have the former president to thank for craft beer.

The Brief

    • Jimmy Carter's 1978 law legalized homebrewing, igniting the rise of craft breweries across the U.S.
    • Many of today's craft brewers, like Melissa and Steve Mendez of Project Halo Brewing, trace their passion back to that pivotal moment.
    • The craft beer revolution, which began with homebrewers, grew from 100 breweries in 1978 to nearly 10,000 today, transforming the American beer landscape.

HOUSTON - As people raise a toast to the memory of Jimmy Carter, those with a 'craft beer' in hand have the former president to thank for the beverage. A 1978 law, signed by Carter, that contained a variety of provisions, also included language that legalized home-brewing.

Suddenly, an activity that had been illegal since Prohibition led to the creation of craft breweries across the country.

SUGGESTED: Jimmy Carter funeral plans, schedule of events announced

Melissa and Steve Mendez opened Project Halo Brewing in Fulshear a few years ago. The retired Army Green Beret runs the business while Melissa is the brew master who found her passion, home-brewing. 

"Still, to this day, when I make a new beer that I've never made before, or a new style, when I taste it, I get very excited, because what I worked out in my head, recipe-wise, actually worked out," she says.

That passion is not unique. When the 1978 law was signed, there were just a hundred breweries across the country. Now, there are roughly 10,000, mostly craft brewers. 90% of them got their start, sometimes illegally, at home. 

In downtown Houston, Saint Arnold founder Brock Wagner was a beneficiary of the new-found freedom. 

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"I actually started (brewing) in my dorm room. My RA at Rice taught me how to do it, so I'm using my Rice degree, but maybe not they thought I was going to college for," he told us in 2019.

Thanks to Jimmy Carter, who turned away from most alcohol personally, the path from homebrewing to beer-business was forged in a way that may have been unimaginable, at the time, but is invaluable, today. 

"Thanks to Jimmy Carter, we're where we're at, right?" says Mendez. "We have this craft brewery, I was able to homebrew, it's pretty crazy thinking you couldn't do that."

While home brewing was federally legalized in 1978, states had their say as well. It wasn't until 2013, when Mississippi and Alabama were the last of the 50 states to legalize it, and opened the door to some creative brewing that is toasting President Carter.

The Source: FOX 26 Business Reporter Tom Zizka explains why home brewers and craft beer makers are raising a toast to President Jimmy Carter following his passing. 

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