Huh? Yes, believe it or not we have former president Jimmy Carter to thank for the rise of craft beer in America. In the pre-Carter days there was little or no access to home brewing supplies, very little knowledge base for do-it-yourselfers to draw from, and far less 
experimentation with home brewing, making it effectively impossible to gain entry to the beer market for non-corporate brewers.
Carter’s deregulation essentially stripped away all these barriers to entry, making it possible for a number of people who would otherwise not have entered the market to do so. Did deregulation of brewpubs also help lead to the craft beer explosion? Certainly. 90% of craft beers began as home brews. Without Carter’s deregulation, the brewpubs themselves would never have taken off. 90% of the craft brews we now have would never have existed.
Thanks Jimmy!! Hope to see you Saturday morning May 26th at Beer Breakfast at The Ale & The Witch.