III 

115TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. RES. 567 

Celebrating the 40th anniversary of the American Homebrewers Association. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JUNE 28, 2018 

Mr. CARDIN (for himself, Ms. COLLINS, Mr. WYDEN, Mr. GARDNER, and Mr. 

BENNET) submitted the following resolution; which was considered and 

agreed to 

RESOLUTION 

Celebrating the 40th anniversary of the American 

Homebrewers Association. 

Whereas on October 14, 1978, President Jimmy Carter 

signed into law Public Law 95–458, which legalized 

homebrewing under Federal law effective February 1, 

1979; 

Whereas on December 7, 1978, the following 2 intrepid individuals founded the American Homebrewers Association 

in Boulder, Colorado: 

(1) Charlie Papazian, author of the seminal book on 

homebrewing entitled ‘‘The Complete Joy of 

Homebrewing’’; and 

(2) Charlie Matzen; 

Whereas the mission of the American Homebrewers Association is to promote the community of homebrewers and 


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empower homebrewers to make the best beer in the 

world; 

Whereas because alcohol is predominately regulated by individual States, the American Homebrewers Association 

has worked diligently and successfully from the inception 

of the association until 2013— 

(1) to ensure that homebrewing is a legal activity in 

each State and the District of Columbia; and 

(2) to assist with drafting and advocating for State 

legislation relating to homebrewing across the United 

States; 

Whereas homebrewing added $756,000,000 to the economy of 

the United States in 2017, and created 6,983 full time 

jobs in the United States in 2017; 

Whereas the American Homebrewers Association has more 

than 45,000 members; 

Whereas the American Homebrewers Association represents a 

vibrant community of 1,100,000 homebrewers in the 

United States who brew 1,400,000 barrels of beer each 

year; 

Whereas that community includes President Barack Obama 

and would have included Presidents George Washington, 

Thomas Jefferson, and James Madison; 

Whereas the American Homebrewers Association hosts— 

(1) the National Homebrewers Conference, also 

known as ‘‘Homebrew Con’’, which— 

(A) has as many as 3,000 attendees annually; 

(B) has been taking place for 40 years; and 

(C) will be held this year in Portland, Oregon, 

from June 28 through June 30, and will feature 66 


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informational sessions, 92 speakers, and over 50 

homebrew clubs; 

(2) the National Homebrew Competition, the largest 

beer competition in the world, which has been taking 

place for 40 years and during which 143,240 brews have 

been judged; 

(3) ‘‘Big Brew for National Homebrew Day’’, 

which— 

(A) is held on the first Saturday of each May 

to commemorate the anniversary of the designation 

by Congress in 1988 of May 7 as ‘‘National Homebrew Day’’; and 

(B) includes more than 350 events with 7,500 

participants brewing more than 19,000 gallons of 

beer across the world; 

(4) ‘‘Learn to Homebrew Day’’, which is held the 

first Saturday of each November and was established in 

1999 to encourage homebrewers to introduce friends and 

family to homebrewing; 

(5) rallies across the United States that offer 

homebrewers the chance to connect with commercial craft 

brewers and other beer enthusiasts and homebrewers in 

the area; 

(6) the Great American Beer Festival Pro-Am Competition, which has been taking place for 13 years and involves award-winning American Homebrewers Association 

homebrewers teaming up with Brewers Association member brewers; and 

(7) the Hill Staff Homebrew Competition, which encourages bipartisan participation in celebrating 

homebrewing and the rich history of homebrewing in the 

United States; 


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Whereas the American Homebrewers Association publishes a 

magazine entitled ‘‘Zymurgy’’ 6 times a year that is circulated to 53,000 people per issue; 

Whereas the American Homebrewers Association provides 

support to more than— 

(1) 700 local homebrew supply shops in the United 

States; and 

(2) 1,500 homebrew clubs in the United States and 

around the world; 

Whereas the American Homebrewers Association is a predecessor to, and currently a division of, the Brewers Association, a trade group in the United States that represents and protects small and independent domestic 

brewers, the craft beers made by those brewers, and the 

community of brewing enthusiasts in the United States; 

Whereas in 1982 the American Homebrewers Association 

presented the first Great American Beer Festival, which 

is currently hosted by the Brewers Association and represents the largest collection of United States beer ever 

served; and 

Whereas the American Homebrewers Association and its 

members have contributed to the rise of the craft brewing 

industry, which— 

(1) is now larger than the industry has ever been in 

the history of the United States; and 

(2) consists of more than 6,000 small and independent breweries located across the United States that 

are helping to reinvigorate local economies: Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That the Senate— 


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1 (1) commends the American Homebrewers As2 sociation and joins its members, staff, and other 

3 beer enthusiasts in celebrating the 40th anniversary 

4 of the American Homebrewers Association; 

5 (2) congratulates the American Homebrewers 

6 Association and its members for leading the renais7 sance of craft beer in the United States; and 

8 (3) respectfully requests that the Secretary of 

9 the Senate transmit enrolled copies of this resolution 

10 to the director of the American Homebrewers Asso11 ciation, the president and chief executive officer of 

12 the Brewers Association, and the founder and past 

13 president of the Brewers Association. 

Æ 


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