American Craft Beer Week is coming up! May 11-17, 2009 has been set aside for a national celebration highlighting the culture and contributions of craft beer. It’s being hosted by hundreds of small and independent brewers who hope to inspire beer enthusiasts to declare their independence by supporting independently owned breweries that produce fewer than 2 million barrels of beer a year.

Thanks to the innovation and passion of America’s craft brewers who have taken beer styles to the next level, the U.S. has become known as the best beer nation in the world. Not to mention, small and independent craft brewers provide nearly 100,000 jobs, and in 2008 the total taxable barrels of beer produced by craft brewers was 8,596,971.

Additionally, many craft brewers go to incredible lengths and great costs to lessen their impact on their surrounding environment and community. Representing 4.0 percent by volume and 6.3 percent in dollars of the overall beer market, consumer interest in the craft sector continues to grow, but not without challenges. According to the Brewers Association, the cost of operating a small brewery has increased over 39% November 2007 to November 2008.

Today’s craft brewers face many challenges including the following:

• Access to ingredients and raw materials
• Increased pricing for materials and supplies
• Access to market (competition for shelf space at the retail level)

In 2006, the inaugural American Craft Beer Week was recognized by the U.S. Congress with House Resolution 753. Since then, the week has continued to attract interest and support from beer enthusiasts and media with more than 180 breweries formally participating in 2008.

For 2009, special brewery tours, beer and food pairing events, special release craft beers and festivals all across the U.S. are in the works. They’ve even got a Declaration of Beer Independence!

An American Craft Beer Week Facebook fan page has been created for the event and according to Julia Herz, a spokesperson for the Brewers Association, there is a goal of having 10,000 people on Facebook declare their beer independence.

Participating breweries are also encouraging beer enthusiasts to sign it and local breweries and restaurants will also post a copy of the Declaration, so that patrons can show their support.

For a full list of brewery celebrations by state, visit americancraftbeerweek.org.

TAGS [ CRAFT BEER | AMERICAN CRAFT BEER WEEK | BEER INDEPENDENCE | MICROBREWS ]

Every Dyngus Day tens of thousands of people make their way to Buffalo, NY to celebrate spring, show their Polish pride and partake in the largest organized post-Lenten celebration in the world. Held the Monday after Easter, it’s a party centered holiday!

After the restrictive nature of Lent, you need to let loose and Dyngus Day is just the way to do it! With many events starting mid-morning with a large buffet of traditional Easter foods (kielbasa, ham, fresh breads, eggs) there’s sure to be tons of polka music, dancing into the early morning hours and lots of drinking. Single men and women can head out with hopes of finding love, as part of the Dyngus Day tradition is to engage in organized flirting by sprinkling water on and tapping one another with pussy willow branches. The best part is, everyone is Polish on Dyngus Day!

This video gives you into the holiday and the celebration:

If you’re not lucky enough to be in Buffalo today, you won’t be able to take advantage of our parade and an entire historic Polonia district full of packed pubs. The good news is, you can always head to your local tavern, throw some polka on the jukebox and try some Sobieski Polish Vodka or a Tyskie, the official beer of Dyngus Day! A Polish pilsner brewed in the town of Tychy in Southern Poland, Tyskie is light in color, with a rich, full flavor, prominent hops for a strong, bitter palate, and a hearty 5.7 percent alcohol content. No wonder the parties have a reputation of getting a bit crazy!

If you are in Buffalo, get off of our blog and go party! There’s an entire schedule of events, here.

TAGS [ DYNGUS DAY | BUFFALO DYNGUS DAY ]

This April, Guinness will release a new stout that will celebrate Arthur Guinness signing a 9,000 year lease on the St. James’s Gate Brewery in Dublin. The new brew will arrive in the US on April 24th.

This will be the first new stout imported by Guinness into the US since 1960 when they introduced Guinness Draught. The new stout will only be available for a limited time and will be different than Guinness Draught. From the MSNBC article and others I have read, it sounds like this new stout will be more like a traditional stout than Guinness’s pub draught that uses nitrogen and widgets to produce its unique head.

Have not had it yet but my guess is that it will be more like Guinness Extra Stout with a bit more alcohol and naturally carbonated head. Can’t wait to give it a try.

TAGS [ GUINNESS | NEW GUINNESS STOUT | GUINNESS ANNIVERSARY ]