Beer History Storyline
Homebrewing
Follow homebrewing from legal reform and influential books to competitions, online communities, digital tools, and professional brewery founders.
Chronological milestones
Sources and further references are available on each individual event page.
1900
Japan Prohibits Unlicensed Household Alcohol Brewing
1916
Colonial Korea’s Liquor Tax Ordinance Restricts Home Brewing
November 11, 1954
Ken Grossman Is Born
1969
Odd Nordland Publishes a National Study of Norwegian Farmhouse Brewing
1970
Fred Eckhardt Publishes A Treatise on Lager Beers
October 1976
Jack McAuliffe, Suzy Denison, and Jane Zimmerman Found New Albion Brewing Company
October 14, 1978
Jimmy Carter Signs the Federal Homebrewing Exemption
December 7, 1978
American Homebrewers Association Is Founded
May 5, 1979
First National Homebrew Competition Is Held
November 15, 1980
Sierra Nevada Pale Ale Sparks The American Hop Revolution
September 1984
Charlie Papazian Publishes The Complete Joy of Homebrewing
May 31, 1985
The BJCP Holds Its First Beer-Judging Exam
1995
South Korea Ends the Crackdown on Alcohol Brewed for Household Use
1997
The BJCP Publishes Its First Formal Style Guidelines
2003
Speidel Introduces the Braumeister
2004
HomebrewTalk Is Founded
2005
Brew in a Bag Popularizes All-Grain Homebrewing
2012
KOMPAAN Launches Its First Commercial Beer
July 1, 2013
Homebrewing Becomes Legal in All 50 US States
February 2014
Brülosophy Is Founded
June 21, 2014
Nova Runda Launches Its First Commercial Beer in Zagreb
August 25, 2014
Grainfather Is Introduced
September 2014
Zmajska Releases Its First Pale Ale and Porter
2015
Georg Fürst And Lukasz Wiacek Begin Homebrewing Together
October 1, 2015
Noctem Artisans Brasseurs Opens in Quebec City
2016
Eremita Braukunst Begins Selling Beer
February 25, 2016
BrewDog Publishes Its Brewing Archive as DIY Dog
2017
Tough Love Begins as a Homebrewing Project
2017
Totenhopfen Goes From Homebrewing To Commercial Brewing
2017
Tap B Is Founded in Split
May 2017
Hoppy Road Begins Brewing in Maxéville
November 17, 2017
Brasserie du Bas-Canada Opens in Gatineau
2018
Brewfather Is Launched
March 8, 2019
First Heimbrau Convention Is Held at Schloss Romrod
April 12, 2019
Home Brew Bayreuth Is First Held
June 2019
Maskeron Makes Its Commercial Debut with Aloha
2022
Brewderschaft Trier Is Founded
August 9, 2023
Brautag Podcast Launches
April 18, 2026
Christian Tille Wins Home Brew Bayreuth 2026