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April 7th is National Beer Day and although we’re just now shaking off the damage from last year’s celebration, we’ve committed to it yet again.
And here’s why…
A Day Entirely Dedicated To Drinking
Drinking is very much a part of many national holidays. But unlike Christmas, New Year’s, the 4th of July (and even Halloween) where drinking is part of the celebration, National Beer Day is all about the drink.
And unlike other ‘weak-kneed’ beer day spin-offs like IPA Day or Lager Day, National Beer Day isn’t style specific.
You can pretty much ‘power-pound’ anything you want, as long as it’s a beer.
National Beer Day Is Actually Something Real
National Beer Day is more than just a shameless marketing ploy (like International Stout Day or Cinco de Mayo in the US). It actually has some legitimate historical cred.
Celebrated every year on April 7th, National Beer Day celebrates the exact day back in 1933 when people could legally buy, sell, and drink beer after 13 years of brutal repression better known as the Prohibition.
National Beer Day remembers the Cullen–Harrison Act, which although signed into law by President Franklin D. Roosevelt on March 22, 1933, didn’t actually go into effect on April 7th for some bureaucratic reason.
Upon signing that history-changing legislation, Roosevelt famously remarked, “I think this would be a good time for a beer.” And many historians have suggested that the president continued celebrating for days, only to eventually pass out and be dragged off the White House lawn.
And Roosevelt wasn’t alone…
After more than a decade of federally-imposed abstinence (which also gave birth to organized crime gangsters like Al Capone), the law’s passage was met with an almost bacchanalian fervor.
Americans stood united in barrooms from coast to coast and 1.5 million barrels of beer consumed which should stand as an inspiration for all of us today!
National Beer Day Today
National Beer Day’s modern day origins can be traced back to 2009. And to Justin Smith of Richmond, Virginia, who started a Facebook page, which was then noticed by Colorado Beer Examiner Eli Shayotovich, who clearly desperate for content, continued to beat the drum.
Justin’s idea was further endorsed when the popular beer drinking app, Untappd, created its own National Beer Day badge rewarding celebrants who checked a beer into the app on April 7th.
Ever since then National Beer Day has grown as a thing. It tend to trend wildly on Twitter on April 7th using the hashtag #NationalBeerDay. So if you’ve absolutely nothing else better to do with your life – there’s always that.
Bottom Line
In spite of many vacations in rehab, American Craft Beer has long been an active supporter of National Beer Day.
And we can’t help but view April 7th as one of the nation’s most important drinking holidays (right up there with Groundhog Day). And because it specifically celebrates beer, America’s most beloved drink… we hope that you’ll join us again this year.
