(TDB) - Ken Grossman, the owner of famed craft beer company Sierra Nevada, explains how his hobby and passion for home brew turned him into a billionaire.

Grossman bottled his first beer way back in 1980 but has since seen his company rise to become the third biggest craft brewery in the US as well as being the seventh largest producer in the country, according to ABC10.

And now Forbes states that Grossman’s personal wealth stands at an impressive $1.1 billion.

Starting when he did, Grossman explains that he had a desire to see something else on the market that differed from the big beer that dominated the market.

“In 1980, there were roughly 45 companies making beer,” Grossman says. “It was pretty much the low point in the U.S. brewing industry after prohibition.”

ABC10 goes on to explain that there are now more breweries in the U.S. than ever before, and annual craft beer retail sales are worth about $22.3 billion, or roughly 12% of the market. The number of breweries operating in the U.S. grew 15% in 2015, with 620 opening and 68 closing, according to the Brewers Association.

Sierra Nevada upped their output last year, brewing nearly 200 different beers, though some of which were only small batch draught-only releases, and saw sales rise by 17.3%.