CELEBRATING 20 YEARS OF
POP THE CAP
Join us as we raise a glass to 20 years of Pop The Cap—the groundbreaking movement that revolutionized North Carolina’s craft beer industry and unlocked a new era of bold, innovative brews!
What is “Pop The Cap?”
“Pop The Cap” was a grassroots movement started in 2003 by a group of passionate North Carolinians dedicated to transforming the state's beer laws. Their goal was to raise the alcohol by volume (ABV) cap from 6%, a restriction that had been in place since Prohibition. After tireless advocacy, their efforts succeeded in 2005 when Governor Mike Easley signed HB 392 into law, increasing the ABV cap to 15%.
Hear more from “Pop the Cap” organizer and current Fullsteam Brewing owner Sean Lilly Wilson on the history of this milestone in NC beer.
“I get far too much credit for my role in all of this,” said Wilson. “I was just a rabble rouser, and maybe kicked over a small rock that turned into a boulder. It was a key grassroots movement that caught the legislators by storm.”
Sean Lilly Wilson, “Pop the Cap” organizer
Help us continue to protect and advance NC craft beer!
This year marks 20 years since the Pop the Cap initiative, which changed the course of North Carolina’s craft beer industry forever. To celebrate the incredible impact we can make through legislative change, we’re asking for donations to our NC Craft Brewers Political Action Committee (PAC). Your support makes a difference!