19th-century origins
German immigration brought lager-style brewing to the United States in the mid-1800s. By 1873 there were over 4,000 American breweries — the all-time peak. Most were small, regional, and tied to ethnic neighborhoods.
Anchor's predecessor begins in San Francisco
German immigrants Ernst Baruth and Otto Schinkel start brewing on Pacific Avenue between Larkin and Hyde, selling steam beer — a uniquely Californian style developed during the Gold Rush, fermented with lager yeast at warmer ale temperatures because of the city's mild climate.
Peak American brewery count: 4,131
The all-time historical maximum number of American breweries. Most are small German-immigrant operations producing lagers for local markets. The post-Civil War period was the high-water mark of pre-industrial brewing.
Anchor Brewing officially named
The San Francisco brewery takes the Anchor name. The brewery survives the 1906 earthquake and continues operating as a regional steam beer producer through several ownership changes.
Prohibition and after
National Prohibition catastrophically reset American brewing. Of the breweries that survived through repeal, most consolidated into a handful of national giants. A drafting error left homebrewing illegal even after wine was re-legalized in 1933 — a 45-year mistake.
Watershed18th Amendment ratified
Banning the manufacture, sale, and transportation of alcohol nationwide. Most American breweries close or pivot to producing soft drinks, malt extract (often sold to homebrewers), or ice. National Prohibition takes effect January 17, 1920.
Watershed21st Amendment repeals Prohibition
But the legislation accidentally re-legalizes home wine production while leaving home beer brewing illegal. This drafting oversight — never explicitly intentional — keeps homebrewing federally banned for another 45 years and shapes the entire trajectory of American beer.
Post-Prohibition consolidation
The brewery count never recovers. Mass advertising, refrigerated rail distribution, and economies of scale favor large brewers. Anheuser-Busch, Schlitz, Pabst, Miller, and Coors become national. By the early 1960s, fewer than 100 American breweries operate.
The Dark Age
For a generation, American beer is essentially monolithic: pale yellow industrial lager. Style diversity collapses. Imports are exotic. The notion that beer could be flavorful is largely forgotten by mainstream drinkers. Anchor Brewing limps along in San Francisco, increasingly unprofitable.
Anchor changes hands again
Lawrence Steese buys the failing brewery and moves it to Eighth Street between Bryant and Brannan. By 1964, the bank balance is reportedly $128. The brewery is producing inconsistent, sometimes-sour steam beer for an ever-shrinking number of San Francisco bars.
Fewer than 100 American breweries
The bottom of the Dark Age. The five largest brewers control over 50% of US production. Most cities no longer have a local brewery. American beer reaches its stylistic nadir.
The spark
A washing-machine heir, a former Navy engineer, and a Georgia president walk into a bar. The 14 years between Fritz Maytag rescuing Anchor and Jimmy Carter signing H.R. 1337 transform brewing from a dying industry into one with a generational comeback path.
WatershedFritz Maytag buys Anchor Brewing
The 27-year-old Maytag, a graduate-school dropout and heir to the appliance fortune, purchases a 51% stake for a few thousand dollars. He had walked into the brewery to see his favorite beer's last days; he walked out an owner. Anchor's revival under Maytag is now widely considered the founding event of the modern American craft beer movement. He assumes full ownership in 1969.
Anchor Porter launches
The first American porter brewed after Prohibition. At the time, Maytag has said, it was "the only dark beer in America." Anchor begins building a portfolio of styles beyond Steam, treating beer as something with multiple expressions worth taking seriously.
IPA OriginAnchor Liberty Ale
Brewed to commemorate Paul Revere's ride 200 years earlier. Liberty Ale is widely considered the progenitor of the American IPA — assertively hopped with American Cascade hops, a quarter-century before "IPA" became the dominant American craft style. The same year, Anchor Christmas Ale establishes the seasonal-release model.
WatershedNew Albion Brewing founded
Jack McAuliffe, a former Navy engineer who had developed a taste for British ales while stationed in Scotland, founds the New Albion Brewing Company in Sonoma, California with partners Suzy Stern and Jane Zimmerman. Built from welded 55-gallon Coca-Cola syrup drums and dairy equipment, New Albion is recognized as the first American microbrewery of the modern era. McAuliffe died July 15, 2025, at age 80.
New Albion brews its first batch
Pale ale, porter, and stout — all bottle-conditioned for five weeks. Producing only about 450 barrels per year at peak, New Albion proves that small American brewing of flavorful styles is possible, even though it isn't yet profitable.
WatershedCarter signs H.R. 1337
President Jimmy Carter signs the bill that finally — 45 years after the repeal of Prohibition — re-legalizes home beer brewing federally. The Cranston-Steiger amendment to a transportation tax bill exempts up to 100 gallons per adult per year (200 per household) from federal excise tax. The law takes effect February 1, 1979.
American Homebrewers Association founded
Charlie Papazian and Charlie Matzen launch the AHA in Boulder, Colorado, with the first issue of Zymurgy magazine. Papazian's The Complete Joy of Homebrewing (1984) becomes the bible of the homebrew movement and trains a generation of future commercial craft brewers.
The foundation
Newly-legal homebrewers begin going commercial. Most fail. A few — Sierra Nevada, Boston Beer, Bell's, Goose Island — establish models that would survive for decades. The decade ends with maybe 50 craft breweries in operation. The first Great American Beer Festival happens.
WatershedSierra Nevada brews its first batch
Ken Grossman and Paul Camusi brew a stout — chosen because dark beer would mask any flaws in their cobbled-together brewhouse — in a 3,000 sq ft warehouse in Chico, California. Built largely from scrap dairy equipment with $50,000 borrowed from family and friends. Sierra Nevada would become the most influential brewery of the modern era.
StyleSierra Nevada Pale Ale released
It took 11 attempts to nail the recipe. The signature whole-cone Cascade hop profile becomes the template for what "American craft beer" tastes like to a generation. Initially rejected by many drinkers as "too bitter," it eventually becomes the second-best-selling craft beer in the United States. Sierra Nevada Celebration, an early American IPA, debuts as a winter seasonal the same year.
First Great American Beer Festival
The AHA debuts the GABF at the Harvest House in Boulder, Colorado, as part of its fourth annual conference. 47 beers from 24 breweries are poured. The event would grow into the largest American craft beer festival, drawing 40,000+ attendees by the 2020s.
New Albion brews its final batch
The pioneering microbrewery shuts down after six years, defeated by undercapitalization and the impossibility of finding investors who understood the model. "The most important failed brewery in the industry's history," historian Maureen Ogle would later call it. The Boston Beer Company would acquire the trademark in 1993 and revive the recipe with McAuliffe in 2012.
California legalizes brewpubs
Assembly Bill 3610, lobbied for by Maytag and McAuliffe, allows establishments to brew and serve alcohol on the same premises. This unlocks the brewpub model that would seed the next two decades of craft brewing. Mendocino Brewing buys New Albion's equipment and hires McAuliffe as brewmaster.
Boston Beer Company founded
Jim Koch launches what becomes Samuel Adams from his kitchen, contract-brewing initially. Sam Adams Boston Lager would grow into the largest American-owned craft brewery for decades. Koch's contract-brewing model is controversial but brings flavorful beer to wide distribution before most craft breweries have the capacity to do so.
Bell's Brewery founded
Larry Bell starts brewing in a 15-gallon soup kettle in Kalamazoo, Michigan, at age 27. Bell's Two Hearted Ale and Hopslam would become craft beer canon. Bell's joined an emerging Midwest craft scene that would later include Founders, Three Floyds, Goose Island, and Surly.
Goose Island, Brooklyn, Deschutes, Great Lakes all founded
An extraordinary cohort year. Goose Island opens as a brewpub in Lincoln Park, Chicago (John Hall). Brooklyn Brewery launches in Williamsburg (Steve Hindy, formerly an AP foreign correspondent). Deschutes opens in Bend, Oregon. Great Lakes Brewing opens in Cleveland. Each becomes regional canon.
Sierra Nevada moves to its current Chico facility
The brewery imports a copper brewhouse from Germany and moves into a 100-barrel system. Distribution expands beyond California. By the end of the decade, there are roughly 100 craft breweries operating in the United States.
The expansion
The 1990s are the first real growth decade for craft. The brewery count grows from ~100 to over 1,500. Many fail; many endure. Goose Island accidentally invents barrel-aged stouts. The "extreme beer" movement begins. Russian River, Stone, Firestone Walker, and Founders all open within a four-year window.
New Belgium Brewing founded
Jeff Lebesch and Kim Jordan open in Fort Collins, Colorado, after Lebesch's Belgian cycling trip introduced him to the country's beer culture. Fat Tire Amber Ale becomes one of the first widely-distributed Belgian-influenced ales in America.
Date DisputedFirst Bourbon County Brand Stout
At a beer-and-bourbon dinner at the LaSalle Grill in South Bend, Indiana on October 5, 1994, Goose Island brewmaster Greg Hall meets Jim Beam's Booker Noe. Hall acquires used bourbon barrels and ages an imperial stout in them. Goose Island officially dates the first batch to 1992, but extensive reporting by Josh Noel and others has established that the first BCBS keg was almost certainly tapped in 1995. Either way, it kicked off the entire bourbon-barrel-aged stout category.
Founders, Allagash, Dogfish Head, AleSmith all open
Another exceptional cohort. Founders Brewing opens in Grand Rapids (nearly bankrupts before Breakfast Stout and KBS rescue it). Allagash opens in Portland, Maine, focusing on Belgian styles. Dogfish Head launches in Delaware. AleSmith opens in San Diego.
Stone, Firestone Walker, Tröegs, Victory all open
Stone in Escondido, California pioneers the West Coast IPA grammar with aggressive bittering. Firestone Walker in Paso Robles develops its barley wine and barrel programs. Tröegs in Pennsylvania and Victory (also PA) round out a remarkable Mid-Atlantic year.
Russian River Brewing launches independently
Vinnie Cilurzo and Natalie Cilurzo take over the Korbel-owned brand. Pliny the Elder Double IPA debuts in 2000, defining the style. Pliny the Younger triple IPA, released two weeks per year starting 2005, becomes one of American craft's most prized cult beers.
The renaissance
Craft beer becomes culturally legible to mainstream America. Beer Advocate (founded 1996) and RateBeer (2000) drive online beer geek culture. A Vermont brewer makes a hazy, unfiltered double IPA. The "extreme" era takes hold. A Belgian-Brazilian conglomerate prepares to make its move.
The Alchemist Pub & Brewery opens
John and Jen Kimmich open a 60-seat brewpub on the corner of South Main and Elm in Waterbury, Vermont. John had trained under Greg Noonan at Vermont Pub & Brewery starting 1994. The pub's tagline becomes "Waterbeery" among locals.
StyleHeady Topper first brewed
John Kimmich brews the first version of Heady Topper at The Alchemist pub — an 8% ABV double IPA, deliberately unfiltered, with overwhelming hop aromatics. Initial response is bewilderment. Within five years it would become the highest-rated beer on Beer Advocate. Within fifteen years it would be credited with sparking the entire New England IPA category.
Bourbon County Stout first bottled
Goose Island puts BCBS in bottles for the first time, having previously only released it on draft. The bottled vintages become the foundation of the cult barrel-aged stout collecting culture that would dominate the 2010s. The Brewers Association is also formed this year through the merger of the Association of Brewers and the Brewers' Association of America (founded 1942).
Fritz Maytag sells Anchor Brewing
After 45 years, Maytag sells Anchor to the Griffin Group, an investor pair (Keith Greggor and Tony Foglio) better known for building Skyy Vodka. "I didn't like being part of a parade," Maytag would say. "We had been the only craft brewery in the world by our standards for years and years, so it was a strange feeling to be a part of a movement instead of a pioneer."
Hill Farmstead, Jester King, Crooked Stave, Revolution all open
An exceptional year for opening dates. Hill Farmstead in Greensboro Bend, Vermont. Jester King in Austin, Texas. Crooked Stave in Denver. Revolution Brewing in Chicago. Each becomes a defining brewery of its style and region.
The boom
Brewery count quadruples in nine years, from 2,400 to over 8,300. Hazy IPAs explode out of Vermont and conquer the country. Anheuser-Busch InBev acquires Goose Island and seven more craft breweries. Three Floyds Dark Lord Day, Bourbon County Black Friday, and Pliny the Younger become national pilgrimage events.
M&AAB-InBev acquires Goose Island
Anheuser-Busch InBev pays $38.8 million for Goose Island ($22.5M for the founders' 58%, $16.3M for the Craft Brewers Alliance's 42%). The first major American craft brewery acquisition by a global brewer. AB-InBev would go on to acquire 10 Barrel (2014), Elysian (2015), Golden Road (2015), Breckenridge (2016), Devils Backbone (2016), Karbach (2016), Wicked Weed (2017), and Platform (2019), reshaping craft beer M&A.
Tropical Storm Irene destroys The Alchemist pub — Heady Topper canning begins
Irene floods Waterbury, Vermont on a Sunday night. The Kimmichs' first canning run of Heady Topper — at the cannery they had opened just days earlier — happens that Tuesday. "That could've been the end of the Alchemist right there," John Kimmich later said. "Heady was all we had." Cans go out two days after the flood. The "DRINK FROM THE CAN" tallboy becomes a cultural icon.
The hazy IPA explosion begins
Tree House Brewing opens in Massachusetts (2011). Tired Hands opens in Pennsylvania (2011). Monkish opens in Torrance, CA (2012). Trillium opens in Boston (2013). Other Half opens in Brooklyn (2014). The hazy IPA category goes from regional curiosity to national obsession in three years.
Homebrewing legal in all 50 states
Mississippi and Alabama, the last two holdouts, finally legalize homebrewing — 35 years after federal legalization. Boston Beer also revives New Albion Ale this year, with Jack McAuliffe overseeing a faithful re-creation at Sam Adams' Boston brewery. The beer ships nationally in January 2013.
Sierra Nevada opens Mills River, NC
Sierra Nevada's second brewery, in Mills River outside Asheville, helps anchor the Asheville craft scene that becomes one of the densest in America. The plant uses Sierra Nevada's reputation for sustainability and quality to set a new bar for what a regional craft brewery can be.
The Alchemist opens Stowe brewery
The Kimmichs open a new 30-barrel brewhouse and tasting room in Stowe, Vermont. Heady Topper continues to be primarily brewed at the Waterbury cannery; Focal Banger and Crusher are produced in Stowe. The new brewery quietly enables The Alchemist to scale without compromising the Heady recipe.
Sapporo acquires Anchor Brewing for $85 million
The Japanese brewing giant takes over the Griffin Group's Anchor stake. Sapporo would later be widely blamed for the brewery's struggles in the 2020s, particularly a 2021 label redesign that alienated longtime fans.
"Barrel-Aged Stout and Selling Out" published
Josh Noel's book, the first definitive history of the AB-InBev acquisition, becomes essential reading on craft beer M&A. The book's revelations about the disputed origin date of Bourbon County Stout (1992 vs. 1995) prompts public debate that continues today.
The correction
A pandemic, a shifting drinker base, and saturation finally bend the growth curve. For the first time since 2005, more breweries close than open. Anchor Brewing, the original modern American craft brewery, closes — then is sold to a yogurt billionaire — then sits dormant for years. Craft beer enters its most uncertain era since the 1980s.
COVID-19 pandemic + All Together IPA
Taproom closures devastate the brewpub-heavy industry. Other Half releases the open-source "All Together" IPA recipe, brewed by 800+ breweries worldwide to support out-of-work hospitality workers. Becomes annually re-released and a benchmark of pandemic-era craft solidarity.
Anchor Brewing closes
Sapporo USA shuts down America's oldest craft brewery, citing pandemic recovery, inflation, and competitive pressure. National sales had collapsed to fewer than 600 barrels a month from a brewery designed to produce far more. Beer fans line up at the Potrero Hill taproom for final pours of Anchor Steam, Liberty Ale, and Christmas Ale.
Hamdi Ulukaya buys Anchor Brewing
The Chobani CEO, a Turkish-born billionaire, purchases the closed brewery from Sapporo with stated plans to revive the brand and restore traditional branding. As of late 2025, the Potrero Hill brewery and taproom remain dark, with no announced reopening date — a source of growing concern for former employees and craft beer historians.
InflectionFirst decline in operating breweries since 2005
The Brewers Association reports 9,612 active craft breweries at year-end, down from 9,747 the prior year. 501 breweries closed against 434 openings — the first net negative since 2005, when Sierra Nevada was 25 years old and craft beer was still emerging. Production: 23.1 million barrels (-4% YoY). Craft beer holds 13.3% volume market share but 24.7% retail dollar share.
Jack McAuliffe dies at 80
The founder of New Albion Brewing, the brewery that proved American microbrewing was possible, dies at his home in Siloam Springs, Arkansas. McAuliffe had spent the last decade of his life finally accepting recognition for his foundational role in the industry he helped start.
Continued contraction: 9,578 breweries operating
Craft volume falls another 5.1% in 2025. New brewery openings drop to 300 (down from 518 the prior year). Closures: 481. The slowdown in openings signals a shift to a mature, competitive market with fewer untapped opportunities. The Brewers Association calls 2025 "a year of correction with early signals of recovery."
Where we are now
9,500+ craft breweries operate in all 50 states — vastly more than at any point in the early craft era, but down from peak. Hazy IPAs remain the dominant new style, though West Coast IPA is having a quiet revival. Non-alcoholic craft is the fastest-growing segment. The industry is, for the first time, learning what it looks like to be mature.