Beer is the oldest and one of the most popular alcoholic beverage. It is ranked third as overall most common drink next to water and tea. To express gratitude to people who made beer, a celebration has been made which is called Beer Day.
National Beer Day is celebrated every year on April 7 in the United States. On the sixth of April, the day prior to the National Beer Day is known as the New Beer’s Eve.
National Beer Day is celebrated in the United States to mark the day the Cullen-Harrison Act was enacted. The Cullen-Harrison Act is an act that legalizes selling beer and wine with an alcohol content of 3.2 % by weight. The 3.2 % low alcohol content was thought to be too low to be intoxicating. The Act was signed into law by former president Franklin D. Roosevelt on March 22, 1933, ending the prohibition. The law went into effect on seventh of April in the states.
Roosevelt made a famous remark upon signing the legislation. He said, “I think this would be a good time for a beer.” With that remarkable statement and having the act in effect, beer drinkers celebrated and were so happy to be able to buy beer again. Other people joined in as well for celebrating the legalization of sales of beer and wine, and with this, the National Beer Day was born.
People gathered outside of breweries across the country in response to the special day. On the first National Beer Day celebration, about 1.5 million barrels of beer were consumed.
The International Beer Day on the other hand, was founded by Jesse Avshalomov in 2007 in Santa Cruz, California. From 2007 to 2012, it was celebrated every fifth of August, however, it is hard for people to celebrate together as the date may fall on weekdays so they changed the date from the fifth of August to the first Friday of August in 2013.
The International Beer Day began as a celebration at Avshalomov’s own local bar. The event was expanded to be a worldwide event and other celebrations are planned throughout the United States as well as to the other parts of the world. Since then, it has developed from a local celebration in the United States to a worldwide celebration. It spans to 207 cities, 80 countries, and 6 continents.
The National and International Beer Day are not celebrated just to have a good reason to drink beer. These special events have three purposes. First, is to gather with friends and enjoy the beer. Second, is to celebrate those people who are responsible for brewing and serving beer. And the last is to unite the world in the center of beer by celebrating together the beers of all nations in one day.
Participants from all over the world are encouraged to give one another the “gift of beer” by buying drinks for each other. The day is also celebrated to express gratitude towards brewers, bartenders, and other beer technicians.
In the spirit of the holiday, participants are also suggested to have a sample of beer from another culture and step out of their domestically or locally brewed beer comfort zone. Popular forms of events around the world in the special day have made such as tapping of new or rare beers, all-day happy hours, beer flights, trivia nights, binge drinking, beer pong, and other games, beer and food pairings, and beer gear giveaways.
People enjoy drinking beer because it is also a way of relieving stress and taking time to relax. Having a National and International Beer Day gives us an excuse to drink and unwind for a while. And if you would like, take a happy hour anytime you please even if it is not beer day because no one will stop you. Others might actually join you in the fun and don’t forget to thank the brewers or Roosevelt for the great drink you have. Cheers!