Craft brewing in the US is big business and many of these small, independent breweries started out as homebrewing operations, thanks to the legalization of homebrewing in 1978.

October 14 is the day we recognize the homebrewer and celebrate the ingenuity of those experimenting with new flavors in brewing.

Ready to try your hand at homebrewing? Here’s some websites to check out.

The Brewers Association is a not-for-profit association for brewers with more than 4,000 US brewery members and 46,000 members of the American Homebrewers Association.

American Homebrewers Association offers recipes, community forums, information on brewers rights, and events, for an annual fee.

Adventures in Homebrewing is a supply company that offers information in beer making, grain homebrewing, winemaking, liquor making, and soda making. They also offer kegging equipment.

For more fun tips and quirky history about all things drinking and brewing, pick up The Field Guide to Drinking in America.