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A Coming of Age Tale
Hear us out: Beer is important. Beer is so important, in fact, it may have been the reason our hunter-gatherer ancestors settled down and invented civilization in the first place. Many archaeologists think the earliest farmers may have settled down primarily so they could grow grain and ferment it into beer, even before anybody got around to inventing bread.


In modern times, beer remains important enough that the United States government officially keeps track of its cost: the Consumer Price Index, maintained by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, has recorded the cost of “beer, ale and other malt beverages at home” every year since the early 1950s. Here's how beer prices have changed over recent American history and how much a six-pack cost the year you turned 21, alongside some notable beer-related happenings.

All inflation adjustments are from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI Inflation Calculator, comparing prices in January of a given year to prices in March 2023.


https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/markets/how-much-a-six-pack-of-beer-cost-the-year-you-turned-21/ss-AA1cilrY?ocid=entnewsntp&pc=U531&cvid=a97629666dbd4590855c8fac8ddde058&ei=116#image=7

I turned 21 in 1983.
A great season for Husker football

1983: $4.04 for a 6-pack - adjusted for inflation today ($12.47)

One story about the Pilgrims on the Mayflower is that they had to make land because they had run out of beer.

I like beer and I'm glad Jimmy changed the rules.

Although honestly, the amount of truly awful homebrew my homebrewing friends have forced me to consume, almost makes me want to reverse my opinion on that...

I wonder if the different legal environment for beer after 1978 encouraged the growth of microbreweries in addition to home-brewing.

Absolutely.  The origin stories of many of the original American microbreweries start with home-brewing clubs and coops and such.

1990s: Beer Prices
In 1991 the federal government doubled the tax rate on beer, leading to a steep and noticeable price increase from the previous year.


1990: $4.96 (equivalent to $11.75 today)

1991: $5.56 ($12.47)

1992: $5.77 ($12.61)

2010s: Beer Prices
Although beer prices in absolute dollars were higher than ever before, in real, inflation-adjusted terms beer was the cheapest it's ever been. In 2018, the National Library of Medicine and National Institutes of Health published a paper investigating “an international analysis of the price and affordability of beer,” concluding that “the increased affordability over time of beer in most countries raises concerns about public health.”


2010: $8.07 (equivalent to $11.24 today)

2011: $8.19 ($11.23)

2012: $8.34 ($11.11)

Like a lot of hobbies, I've had countless friends invest in all the funky stuff you need to home-brew. As Utee referenced, they usually end up spending $250 to ferment some sour water in barely carbonated trash. Most get distracted and move on to another hobby once they realize that vast amounts of cheap beer isn't in their immediate future.

I do have a few friends that stuck with it, kept a book on their successes and failures, realized the importance of going slow, CLEANING ALL YOUR GEAR, and studying others advice, and they eventually created a living drink that could be enjoyed.

Yeah my friend Bald Greg-- who I ran the tailgate with for all those years-- actually got pretty good at it after a few years of not-so-great results.  But once we became friends with Chip at Live Oak and got free high-quality beer any time we wanted it, he pretty much stopped brewing and hit the Easy button.