History of Craft Beer
This form of brewing was considerably reduced in scale until the 1960s when the culture of grassroots home brewing resurfaced. Of notable contribution was Fritz Maytag the owner of Anchor Brewing Company.Maytag was an enthusiast of homemade beer when word reached him that the Anchor Steam Beer Company was closing down. To Maytag, this meant an end to his favorite brand of which he would not withstand. By 1965, Maytag took ownership of the company and reconstructed its products. Although Maytag was not the proprietor of malt beer, he saved the industry at a time when a homogeneous lager beer market threatened the survival of steam beer.
A decade into Maytag’s operations, an engineer named Jack McAuliffe made his homebrewing skills commercial when he formed the New Albion Brewing Company. McAuliffe not only brewed craft beer but promoted its pairing with food, effectively increasing demand for the product. Although the New Albion Brewing Company only operated from 1976 to 1982, it inspired several others who started similar establishments but at a larger scale.