“This isn’t one of those fake holidays…No, this is officially sanctioned by congress, as of 2006. Which in my book makes it the equal to the separation of church and state.”
–Steven Colbert, May 18, 2008

May 17-23 2010 marks the 5th annual American Craft Brewers week. Organized by the Brewers Association, the week long event celebrates small and independent craft brewers with charity events, homebrew events, beer tastings, festivals, tours, dinners, and Declaration of Beer Independence signings among other things. Support for the week long celebration is very strong, evident by House Resolution 1297 – which supports the goals and ideals of American Craft Beer Week. To find out what is going in your area, click here. So take this opportunity to celebrate all the greatness that is good beer. Cheers.

WHAT”S TO CELEBRATE?

Beyond good beer, this is a time to celebrate the diversity and entrepreneurial spirit that makes this country great and makes our beer great. It’s that same spirit that that pushes us homebrewers to spend a bunch of money on equipment, drive our wives crazy (love you Cara / Amie), concoct new recipes, make up stupid names for those recipes, and share our homebrews with our friends. It’s also time to celebrate the momentum craft beer has seen over the last few years. It’s great to have the ability to purchase and brew such variety and declare our independence from commercial breweries who seem to brew solely for profit without regard for art and craft. The rise of craft brewing is evident in a few statistics from the American Craft Brewers Association website.

  • Growth of the craft brewing industry in 2009 was 7.2% by volume and 10.3% by dollars compared to growth in 2008 of 5.9% by volume and 10.1% by dollars.
  • Overall, US beer sales were down 2.2% in 2009.
  • Craft brewer retail dollar value in 2009 was an estimated $6.98 billion, up from $6.32 billion in 2008.
  • 1,595 breweries operated for some or all of 2009, the highest total since before Prohibition.

So take pride in what you create and drink. Celebrate your diverse palate. Have a homebrew – or a craft brew.

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