Among homebrewers, President Jimmy Carter is best known for signing H.R 1337, which contained an amendment sponsored by Senator Alan Cranston creating an exemption from taxation for beer brewed at home for personal or family use.

The exemption was passed on October 14, 1978, and not long after Charlie Papazian and Charlie Matzen officially launched the American Homebrewers Association, marked by the first issue of Zymurgy. Come February 1, 1979, homebrewing was officially recognized as federally legal, and the rest is homebrew history!

So raise your glass in the name of homebrew solidarity, and don’t forget to have one more for Jimmy.

For more information on this historic event, take a look at this past article.