Most people associate Presidents Day with Washington’s honesty or Lincoln’s leadership.
But if you enjoy today’s massive selection of non-alcoholic beer, hazy NA IPAs, craft NA lagers, and alcohol-free stouts, the president you can indirectly thank is Jimmy Carter.
In 1978 he signed a federal tax reform bill that included an amendment removing federal restrictions on homebrewing.
And that small legal change helped reshape American beer, which decades later helped make modern NA beer possible.
The U.S. Beer Scene Before 1978: Basically Three Choices
Before the law changed, American beer culture was extremely limited.
Homebrewing was illegal under federal law, a leftover Prohibition-era restriction. You could make wine at home. You could ferment cider. But brewing beer in your kitchen was not federally permitted.
Commercial beer largely consisted of similar light lagers produced for mass distribution and consistency.
- Light lager
- Similar light lagers with minor variation
- Regional lagers with limited stylistic diversity
There were fewer than 100 breweries in the United States, and most beer emphasized stability and scale over flavor diversity.
Limited experimentation meant limited innovation.
The Carter Law: H.R. 1337
In October 1978, President Carter signed H.R. 1337, a tax reform bill. Included in it was an amendment allowing adults to brew beer at home for personal use under federal law.
The change allowed:
- Up to 100 gallons per year per adult
- Up to 200 gallons per household
- No federal license required for personal production
- No commercial sales permitted
States adopted legalization at different times in the following decades, but the federal barrier was removed.
This enabled hobbyists across the country to begin brewing legally for the first time since Prohibition.
The Explosion That Followed
Once federally permitted, homebrewing expanded rapidly. Enthusiasts began experimenting with styles that were largely unavailable in the U.S. market.
Many future craft brewers started as homebrewers, including founders of companies such as Sierra Nevada and Boston Beer Company.
The American craft beer movement grew from this culture of experimentation and knowledge sharing.
Beer increasingly became a product defined by flavor rather than uniformity.
Why Craft Beer Led to Non-Alcoholic Beer
Modern NA beer improved as brewers learned to design flavor independent of alcohol content.
Earlier non-alcoholic beer often relied on removing alcohol from standard lager, which removed much of the flavor.
Craft brewing introduced grain variety, yeast character, hop aroma, and mouthfeel engineering.
Once flavor could be built structurally, brewers could create beer first and then control alcohol content.
Modern NA brewing uses methods such as controlled fermentation and alcohol removal technology to preserve flavor compounds.
The Direct Line From Carter to Athletic Brewing
The historical progression is indirect but clear:
- 1978 – Federal homebrewing restrictions removed
- 1980s to 2000s – Craft brewing expands and diversifies beer flavor
- 2010s – Improved fermentation and alcohol removal techniques
- 2020s – Non-alcoholic beer quality improves significantly
Without the legalization of homebrewing, the craft brewing movement that prioritized flavor may not have developed in the same way.
That shift in brewing priorities later enabled high quality NA IPA and other styles.
The Irony of It All
The law was not intended to change drinking culture or improve beer quality.
It removed a federal restriction on a hobby.
But allowing experimentation encouraged innovation.
Innovation led to craft brewing growth.
Craft brewing research improved brewing science.
Improved brewing science made modern non-alcoholic beer viable.
Presidents Day, Reconsidered
Washington founded the country. Lincoln preserved it. Carter signed a law that helped enable modern American beer diversity.
So if you crack open an NA stout, pilsner, or IPA today, you are benefiting from decades of brewing development that began when homebrewing became federally permitted.
Sometimes history changes through major speeches.
Sometimes it changes through small regulatory updates.
Happy Presidents Day.
