Every day is the day to appreciate beer, but especially the brew made right here in the good ol' US of A. And while now is a wonderful time to be a beer drinker in America thanks to the craft beer boom, our history as a beer making and drinking country is old and complex.
Did you know for example that Americans - Native Americans - were making beer here long before Europeans arrived? And did you know that just a few decades ago all US beer was made by just 83 breweries?
It's a great history. We've come a long way from our founding to where we are now. So crack open a cold one, sit back and read a brief timeline of the history of American Beer. (much thanks to the beerhistory.com for a lot of research that we added to).
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1200s | Pueblo Indians in the American Southwest brewing corn-based ale. |
1593 |
Columbus records and entry saying the “Indians” he met were drinking a beer-like drink made from corn. |
1587 | Virginia colonists brew corn-based ale. |
1607 | First shipment of beer arrives in the Virginia colony from England. |
1609 | American "Help Wanted" advertisements appear in London seeking brewers for the Virginia Colony. |
1612 | Dutch explorers Adrian Block & Hans Christiansen establish the first known brewery in the New World on the southern tip of New Amsterdam (Manhattan). |
1620 |
Pilgrims arrive in Plymouth in the Colony of Massachusetts aboard the Mayflower. They were originally supposed to settle just north of what is now New York City, but because beer was in short supply they were forced to stop at the first land available.
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1621 | Samoset walks into the Pilgrim’s camp, says hello and asks for beer. |
1637 | First brewery in the Massachusetts Bay Colony. |
1639 | Brewery built in Providence, Rhode Island. |
1670 | First license to brew beer in New Hampshire. |
1683 |
First brewery in Pennsylvania colonies. |
1683 | First brewery in Philadelphia. |
1738 | First brewery in Georgia. |
1765 |
The British Army builds the first brewery west of the Allegheny Mountains at Fort Pitt (Pittsburgh, PA). |
1765 | First brewery outside the 13 colonies in what is now Illinois. |
1775 |
Congress gives ration of one quart of Spruce Beer or Cider to each soldier per day during Revolutionary War. |
1789 | George Washington presents his "buy American" policy indicating he will only drink porter made in America. |
1789 | Massachusetts passes an Act encouraging the manufacture and consumption of beer and ale. |
1810 | 132 operating breweries produce 185,000 barrels of beer. Population of the country is 7 million. |
1810 |
First brewery in St. Louis, Missouri. |
1819 | A steam engine built by Thomas Holloway is installed in the brewery of Frances Perot in Philadelphia. This is the first engine to be used in beer production in America. |
1819 | First brewery in Rochester, New York. |
1829 | David G. Yuengling opens a brewery in the Pennsylvania coal town of Pottsville. Still owned and operated by the Yuengling family. |
1830 | First brewery in Buffalo, New York. |
1833 | First commercial brewery in Chicago. |
1837 |
First brewery in Indiana. |
1840 |
Lager beer is introduced into the US through Philadelphia by brewer John Wagner.
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1844 | Jacob Best starts a brewery in Milwaukee which later becomes the Pabst Brewing Co. |
1849 | August Krug starts a brewery in Milwaukee that becomes the Schlitz Brewery. |
1849 | California's first brewery opens in San Francisco. |
1850 | Iowa's first brewery established. |
1850 | 431 breweries in the country produce 750,000 barrels of beer (31 gallons per barrel). The population is 23 million. |
1852 | George Schneider starts a brewery in St. Louis, Missouri that becomes Anheuser-Busch. |
1852 | Henry Saxer starts City Brewery in Portland, Oregon Territory later owned by Henry Weinhard. |
1855 | First brewery founded in Texas. |
1859 |
First brewery in Colorado. |
1860 | 1269 breweries produce over one million barrels of beer for a population of 31 million. New York and Pennsylvania account for 85% of the production. |
1862 | Idaho's first brewery. |
1862 | First tax on a barrel of beer. Internal Revenue Act taxes beer at the rate of one dollar per barrel to help finance the government during the Civil War. |
1863 | First brewery in Montana Territory. |
1866 | First brewery in the Arizona Territory in Tucson. |
1867 | 3700 breweries in operation in America producing 6 million barrels of beer. |
1869 | Best Brewing Co. enters Milwaukee with the purchase of Charles T. Melms' Brewery. Later become Pabst. |
1884 | Lone Star Brewing Co. established in San Antonio, Texas by Adolphus Busch and Otto Koehler. |
1892 | Crown cap invented by William Painter allowing beer bottles to be sealed cheaply and easily. |
1898 | Beer barrel tax raised to $2.00 during Spanish American War. Beer sales decline. |
1898 | First brewery in Hawaii. |
1910 | Number of breweries overall drops to around 1500. |
1919 | 18th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution ratified on January 16 calling for national prohibition to take effect one year from the date of ratification. |
1921 | 300 million gallons of "near beer" produced. |
1929 | It is estimated that 22 million barrels (31 gallons per barrel) of illegal beer is brewed annually. That is nearly the same amount of legal beer sold in 1919. |
1932 | Day long beer parade is organized in New York City by the city’s mayor. An estimated crowd of 100,000 turn out. |
1933 | On April 7, 1933 the legalization of beer takes effect via the 21st Amendment repealing the 18th. |
1933 | 31 brewers back in operation by June. |
1934 | 756 brewers back in operation. |
1935 | Canned beer introduced by American Can Company and Krueger Brewing Co. of Newark, New Jersey on June 24. |
1935 |
Schlitz introduces cone top can produced by Continental Can Company. |
1940 | Beer production at level of pre prohibition years with half the number of breweries in operation as in 1910. |
1940 | Barrel tax raised from $5.00 to $6.00. |
1941 | All brewers' associations united under the United States Brewers' Association. |
1943 | Brewers are required to allocate 15% of their production for military use. |
1944 | Barrel tax raised to $8.00. |
1950 | 407 breweries in operation. |
1951 | Barrel tax raised to $9.00 |
1954 | First l6oz can introduced by Schlitz. |
1959 | Aluminum can introduced by Coors of Golden, Colorado. |
1961 | 230 breweries in operation. Only 140 are independently run. |
1962 | Tab top can introduced by Pittsburgh Brewing Company. |
1965 | "Ring Pull" can introduced. |
1969 | Canned beer outsells bottled beer for the first time. |
1969 | Fritz Maytag takes ownership of the Anchor Brewing Co. in San Francisco, CA. |
1971 | Philip Morris Co. acquires Miller Brewing Co. |
1976 | The New Albion Brewery is opened, known as America's first "Micro Brewery", or "Craft Brewery". |
1978 | Jimmy Carter signs HR 1337 making home brewing legal. |
1982 | Yakima Brewing and Malting Co., Inc., is allowed to sell its beer at its own bar on premises and the Brew Pub is born. |
1983 | In January, 51 brewing concerns are operating a total of 80 breweries. |
1983 | The top six breweries (Anheuser-Busch, Miller, Heileman, Stroh, Coors, and Pabst) control 92% of U. S. beer production. |
1984 | 44 Brewing concerns are operating a total of 83 breweries. |
1990 |
The Sierra Nevada Brewery in Chico, CA becomes the first start up micro brewery to break out of that classification (considered 25,000 bbl or less) by producing 31,000 bbls. of beer.
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1991 | Congress raises beer tax from $9.00 to $18.00, a study found this cost 60,000 jobs. |
1994 | It becomes legal to put the alcohol content of beer on containers. |
1995 | Approximately 500 breweries are operating in the United States, and they are estimated to increase at a ratio of 3 or 4 per week. |
2000 | The US passes 1500 breweries for the first time since 1910. |
2017 | The US currently has over 3500 breweries in operation. |