While duties, tariffs, and state taxes on beer had been instituted decades earlier, the first large-scale federal tax on beer was created on September 1, 1862. The tax was created to help fund the Union Army for the Civil War. During those four years, officials would collect the $1 per barrel tax in cash.

The first solid proof of beer production comes from the period of the Sumerians around 4,000 BCE. During an archeological excavation in Mesopotamia, a tablet was discovered that showed villagers drinking a beverage from a bowl with straws.

In the United States, Elzinga, Tremblay, and Tremblay (2017) identify 1965, when Fritz Maytag bought the Anchor Brewing Company of San Francisco, as the beginning of the movement.

The Rebellion brewery produces four fresh all-year ales; IPA (India Pale Ale; 3.4% ABV), 'Smuggler' (4.2% ABV), 'Overthrow' (4.3% ABV) and 'Roasted Nuts' (4.6% ABV). These names follow in a tradition of giving beers subversive or rebellious names.