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Welcome to the revolution. North Carolina is the craft beer state of the South.

Right now, as you read this, there are 42 breweries operating across the state with at least a half-dozen expecting to open by year’s end. In the big cities of Tobacco Road. And in far-flung places such as Farmville and Holly Springs and Jarvisburg, a pinprick of a place in northeast North Carolina where the idea of a craft beer pub was born.

Why? Well, that’s anybody’s guess.

Hang on any bar stool and you’ll hear a dozen reasons: the changing laws, the increasing interest, the supportive retailers, the growing number of festivals, and the natural tie-in to the homegrown food movement.

And of course, the brewers themselves. They’re making good beer here.

You’ll also hear barroom proclamations about North Carolina becoming more hip and hear how Beer Advocate magazine picked Asheville over Portland, Ore., earlier this year as the No. 1 beer destination in the country.

Imagine that. Asheville — a city once called backward by one of its own favorite sons, Thomas Wolfe — now has nine breweries.

It ain’t just Miller Time in North Carolina anymore.

“Beer Y’all’’ will tell you that. It’s a new documentary about North Carolina beer. Catch it tonight at The Garage in Winston-Salem.

Or park yourself near one long aisle at Bestway, a small grocery near UNCG, and watch the beer lovers come.

They gawk, take pictures and shout hosannas in cyberspace about The Wall of Beer, a spot of 650 beer selections, including 36 from North Carolina with names like Big Boss and Carolina Brewery.

Then, there’s Saturday night. At least 5,000 people converged near Natty Greene’s at the corner of McGee and South Elm to help the brewery celebrate its fifth anniversary.

Sure, they came to see mandolin maniac Sam Bush. And yeah, they came for a free party. But they also came to celebrate the brewery started by Kayne Fisher and Chris Lester, two college buddies from UNCG who created a beer they branded as “Taste The South.’’

At 9 p.m., right before Bush started, Fisher and Lester took the stage to toast the crowd. And when Fisher yelled, “We can’t see everybody’s beers!’’ all you saw was a sea of plastic cups hoisted high.

Yep, taste the South.

A change in the law helped. Four years ago, legislators overturned a law that dated back to 1935, the era of Prohibition, and allowed brewers to make beers that could exceed 6 percent alcohol content.

That change happened because thousands of people never involved or even interested in politics jumped aboard to help push what became known as “Pop the Cap.’’

And last August, brewmasters formed the N.C. Brewers Guild to help craft brew pubs go the way of the N.C. wineries: lobby, collaborate and get the word out about North Carolina’s homegrown brew.

Now, there are no numbers about economic impact. But just listen to someone like Sean Wilson.

He helped steer the “Pop the Cap’’ movement, and he holds two master’s degrees from Duke, one in business administration, the other in public policy.

But today, he’s getting ready to drive a truck, haul kegs and sell a beer made with sweet potatoes. In six months, he’ll open his own brewery in Durham. The name: Fullsteam.

“There’s sort of this worldliness about North Carolina now,’’ he says of the state’s craft beer explosion. “It’s like the little quirky tilt of your head that a dog makes when you talk about it. Sure, it’s building business and bringing in tourism dollars, but it’s also one of those fun little surprises.”

Yes, it is. So, welcome to the revolution.

Contact Jeri Rowe at 373-7374 or jeri.rowe@news-record.com