When you sit down to have a beer, is it mass-produced by one of the huge brewing companies, such as Anheuser-Busch, Miller or Coors, or is it a hand-crafted boutique brew, cooked up by a small brew-house or, even better, a home brew?
Well, if you are quenching your afternoon thirst with a craft beer, do you know who you have to thank for it? Think late 1970s. Think about the name “Carter.”
No, not Billy Carter. His somewhat more-successful brother, Jimmy. Yes, that Jimmy. President Jimmy Carter made your delicious, complex IPA, porter, hefeweizen or stout possible, and to a great extent, forced the big breweries to at least try to put out something better than swill.
Says Tom Phipott:
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. . . what Carter actually did was deregulate the home-brew market—he made it legal to sell malt, hops, and yeast to home brewers. That, I believe as a significant move, because the US craft-beer industry was largely started by enthusiastic home brewers who went pro.”
So, the next time to raise a frothy, mug of your favorite tasty beverage, give ol’ JC some props. “Satisfactorily done, Mr. President!”
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