Is International Beer Day Really Necessary?

Wasn’t yesterday National IPA Day? Do we really need this?

At what point do we just admit it…that this whole special beer day thing has gotten out of hand? That nobody cares including us.

Can we all get real for a minute and call these specially branded “beer days” for what they’ve become in 2023? Nothing more than content-generating marketing opportunities that feel increasingly desperate.

And International Beer Day were looking at you.

We admit we’re as guilty as anyone having shamelessly promoted questionable “beer days” like International Gruit Day, National Lager Day and even National Bock Beer Day in the past. So yes, you can call bullshit on us here at American Craft Beer… You wouldn’t be the first.

But with beer news in the August doldrums, we once again find ourselves needlessly flacking another arbitrary beer day. And we’re struggling to make International Beer Day seem important enough for anyone to care…

Truth be told, we wouldn’t have even known that today was International Beer Day if we hadn’t been hit up numerous public relation reps hoping we’d hype their beer’s today, which we didn’t.

So here’s everything that needs to be known about International Beer Day…and trust us there’s not a lot.

First celebrated in 2008 (who knew?), International Beer Day takes place annually on the first Friday in August. Why it’s celebrated on the first Friday of August is anyone’s guess….but whatever.

But at least International Beer Day has a website… (But we noticed it has not been updated this year.)

That makes it appear marginally more legitimate than Barrel Aged Beer Day which was basically a Facebook post that only had the support of The Bruery and Bruery Terreux, both wonderful brewing operations, but still…

And according the International Beer Day website its purpose is as simplistic as it is global – to celebrate every beer (and its professionals) in every country on the planet… At least you can’t fault IBD Day for scale.

So here’s to International Beer Day 2023…Celebrate if you want…but we can’t promise you that be hyping it next year.

Because all these “beer days” don’t matter as much anymore…And maybe they never did.

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