The turning point

Business Week has a potted history of American micros:

The U.S. beer industry probably reached its post-World War II nadir in the late 1960s or early ’70s, at which point Smith’s “invisible hand” started to work its inevitable magic. Slowly at first, then in ever-increasing numbers, small, craft breweries began popping up. Started by people who were passionate about real beer—and who knew the difference—perceived a market opportunity. Many of these early craft breweries were inspired by beers their owners may have tasted in Europe, such as Belgium’s lambics, Britain’s bitter, and Germany’s weissbier, but couldn’t find stateside.

Since then, the microbrewery business has grown and begun, in fact, to thrive. In 1978 there were a total of 42 breweries in the U.S., including industrial breweries. Today there are 1,390 craft breweries, microbreweries, and brew pubs. They produced 6.736 million barrels in 2006, an increase of 31% over 2003, according to industry group the Brewers Assn. While that’s only 3.6% of the 210-million-barrel total production of beer, craft brewing generates 5.5% of the industry’s $5 billion revenue.