According to a report by the Brewers Association, the number of breweries in the United States reached an all-time high in 2015: 4,144 breweries were active in the country. Mark Perry was kind enough to chart the data for us:
What’s really interesting is the explosion of breweries since 1979. What happened in 1979 that caused such rapid growth? Jimmy Carter.
A brief history lesson: in 1920, an Amendment to the Constitution was passed that made alcohol illegal in the United States. In 1933, this Amendment was repealed, but beer brewing remained tightly regulated in the United States, essentially shutting out small brewers in favor of major players such as Budweiser, Coors, and Miller (another lesson: regulation protects big business, not hinders it). In this climate, Big Beer produced only one type of beer: pale larger. Homebrewing during this time period was effectively illegal. While nominally legal, any…
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Utopia, you are standing in it! 
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