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National Beer Days – 5 Best Celebrations You Won’t Want to Miss

Ryan Marshall
Last Updated: February 23rd, 2023

There are many different beer-related holidays that take place every year, and many bars, pubs, and restaurants celebrate all of them with themed parties and beer specials.

Whether your favorite type of beer is a crisp lager or a full-bodied pale ale, there is no shortage of National beer days for every beer style! Let’s take a look at the best celebrations you will find for beer drinkers.

National American Craft Beer Week

national american craft beer week

National American Craft Beer Week takes place on May 16th and the 22nd of every year, and it celebrates some of the most unique and interesting types of beer in the United States. Many small and independent breweries celebrate this holiday yearly.

Craft beer has become increasingly popular over the past couple of decades, as the preferences of many beer enthusiasts have shifted from lighter styles of beer to full-bodied ales and many other interesting beer styles.

The team over at CraftBeer.com has a helpful guide that is dedicated to helping you find a certified independent craft brewery near you. It is important to support small and independent breweries, and many of them rely on this annual holiday for revenue.

One of the largest and most successful certified independent craft breweries is Stone Brewing Company, which is based out of San Diego, California. They are known throughout the beer world for strong and aggressive ales with distinct strong hops.

Each year during National American Craft Beer Week, Stone Brewery in San Diego and their “World Bistro & Gardens” taproom and restaurant in Escondido feature some of the most unique and interesting small-batch beers that they have produced.

The most popular beer produced by the Stone Brewing Company is their namesake Stone IPA. It features strong and aggressive hops that are immediately present on the palate, and each sip ends with a clean and crisp finish of a quality west coast IPA.

Craft breweries across the United States from large to small all celebrate this week every year, so be sure to check in with your favorite local brewery to see if they offer any beer specials or are hosting fun special events.

New Beer’s Eve

new beer's eve

New Beer’s Eve takes place every year on April 6th, and it is essentially a “pre-game” to National Beer Day, which takes place on the following day. Much like how New Year’s Eve is more celebrated than New Year’s Day, New Beer’s Eve has become a massive celebration.

While the following day marks National Beer Day on April 7th, the real party, in the eyes of many beer enthusiasts, begins the night before on the 6th. This lesser-known holiday is gaining exposure every single year and has been growing in popularity exponentially.

There are many different bars and restaurants across the country that celebrate New Beer’s Eve, and craft breweries across the state of Utah have embraced the holiday with open arms by throwing large annual celebrations.

While National Beer Day is often celebrated with large-scale outdoor parties that take place during the daytime, New Beer’s eve is more of a nighttime holiday and many celebrations go all the way past midnight like New Year’s eve parties.

Be sure to check with your local pubs, restaurants, and craft breweries to see if they are hosting any type of celebrations this New Beer’s Eve, as many people believe that these are some of the best celebrations of each year.

National Beer Day

national beer day cheers

National Beer Day is one of the biggest and most popular beer-themed holidays in the United States, and it takes place annually on April 7th. It celebrates the anniversary of the re-legalization of the sale of beer after the period of American Prohibition.

The prohibition period in the United States took place between the years of 1920 and 1933, where for 13 years the sale of any “intoxicating liquors” was forbidden across the country. This applied to any type of alcoholic beverage, including beer, wine, and liquor.

This was one of the most controversial and interesting periods in United States history, where the practice of “bootlegging” became extremely common. Bootleggers were producers of homemade alcohol that would smuggle and sell their products with great success.

Bootleggers of alcohol were known to drive some of the fastest and most high-performance automobiles of the time, as it was sometimes necessary for them to outrun the authorities while smuggling and selling alcohol illegally, which led to the advent of NASCAR.

On March 21st of 1933, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed the Cullen-Harrison act, which made the sale of beer legal in the United States for the first time in 13 years. It was reported that people crowded the streets outside of bars nationwide to celebrate.

A number of different cities across the nation today have embraced the tradition of celebrating National Beer Day by throwing large parties and offering discounts on many different styles of beer.

The Boca Raton area near Miami, Florida is home to a number of different high-quality craft breweries that celebrate this beer holiday every year. There are over half a dozen craft breweries in the area that host some type of National Beer Day celebration.

National IPA Day

national ipa day

National IPA day celebrates one of the strongest and most bitter styles of beer on the first Thursday of August of each year. The abbreviation “IPA” stands for India Pale Ale, and its roots can be traced back hundreds of years to trade between India and the British Empire.

When the British Empire was trading with India and other faraway places, they required a beer that was full of enough hops to preserve the beer and keep it from turning during long overseas journeys that took weeks to months.

While the original representations of India Pale Ale were produced out of necessity, today IPA is brewed for taste and character and is considered by many serious beer enthusiasts as the pinnacle of craft beer styles.

India Pale Ale is one of the strongest-tasting and most diverse types of beer, as there are hundreds of different types of hops that have become popular in IPA production. It is important to keep in mind that this style of beer is not for everyone, and it takes some time to develop a palate for IPA.

National IPA day has been celebrated since the year 2011, and it is one of the most popular and widely celebrated beer holidays across American craft breweries. Many breweries produce special small-batch styles of IPA specifically for IPA day each year.

International Beer and Pizza Day

international beer and pizza day

International Beer and Pizza Day takes place on October 9th of every year, and it brings together one of the most popular foods on earth with one of the world’s favorite beverages for a unique holiday that has been embraced by many since its creation in the year 2016.

It is no secret that pizza and beer make for a fantastic combination, and the iconic duo is celebrated every year by craft breweries and pizza restaurants alike. Many people also choose to celebrate at home by inviting friends over, as pizza and beer make for a great party every time.

There are certain parts of the country, most notably Southern California, where the cultures of craft beer and quality pizza are intertwined. While sports bars are the location of choice nationwide on football Sundays, local pizza restaurants stay busy serving pitchers across San Diego and Riverside counties.

There are two primary themes when it comes to how the majority of people across the United States celebrate International Beer and Pizza day, and they are completely opposite in terms of approach and style.

The first way that beer and pizza enthusiasts choose to celebrate this annual holiday is by seeking out the best possible pizza they can find locally, and pairing it with one of their favorite high-quality beers. This is a great way to celebrate the best of what both beer and pizza have to offer.

The second way that people choose to celebrate International Beer and Pizza Day is a bit more “tongue in cheek.” Many people choose to pick up a case of their favorite cheap, lower-quality beer and pair it with an equally affordable pizza that is not considered to be of high quality.

Many people believe that this second approach celebrates the essence of what beer and pizza are all about. For many people, beer and pizza represent a way to have a great time and enjoy life on a budget, and sometimes the cheapest representations of each can be the best.

National Beer Days – Conclusion

Celebrating one of the many national beer-themed holidays across the United States is a great way to liven up times of the year that need a bit of spicing up.

National beer days are a great way to celebrate some of the most interesting styles of beer in the world while supporting local and independent craft breweries.

About The Author

Ryan Marshall

Ryan is a full time freelance writer who can most often be found on the disc golf course or local coffee shop when not behind a keyboard. He is an avid traveler and lover of all things sports and outdoors. Ryan is also a certified level one sommelier, and is endlessly curious about the world of high end beverages. Writing about wine, coffee, and other specialty beverages has given him a chance to take a deeper dive into his research, and he loves helping people find the perfect drink for their palates and preferences!

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