Fred Eckhardt Publishes A Treatise on Lager Beers

In 1970, Portland writer and homebrewer Fred Eckhardt published A Treatise on Lager Beers, a compact manual for Americans and Canadians making beer at home. Written when federal law still had not restored an explicit homebrewing exemption, it translated brewing procedure into practical guidance for hobbyists working outside professional breweries. The book circulated through a small but growing homebrewing culture and became an early reference point for the movement that preceded federal legalization in 1978. Eckhardt later expanded his influence as a beer and sake writer, educator, judge, and advocate. The Treatise is best described as an influential early modern American homebrewing book, not as an uncontested first.