International beer day

Julio Cerezo - Beer Sommelier
Director of Sabeer Beer Academy

There are no activities or products made by humans that have not been assigned a specific day of the year to celebrate their very existence, and beer  could not be the exception. Its social and economic importance cannot fail to be noticed, but the history of beer itself makes it worthy of a special day of celebration since it has been with us for over 10,000 years, as has been proved by the archaeological remains found at different sites around the world.

There are even theories that man became sedentary in order to be able to make beer, growing barley and other cereal crops for this purpose

Without being so audacious, we are able to claim that beer has been pleasing and cheering our palates for many centuries, first as a homemade drink, as was the case of bread, and later on as a product designed and manufactured by master brewers for sale.

In 2007 a group of North American enthusiasts proposed establishing International Beer Day on the first Friday in

August every year, and since then the celebration has spread to a large number of countries with the ultimate goal of promoting the enjoyment of beer in the company of good friends.

The choice of a Friday in summer is appropriate for this beer celebration, at least in most of the northern hemisphere, but it is by no means unanimous.

Owing to the huge variety of brewing styles, which are becoming more readily available to consumers, International Days of one or another type of beer are multiplying, and we can now highlight the following:

• International IPA Day: a festivity leading on to International Beer Day, since it is celebrated on the first Thursday in August each year to pay homage to this intensely hoppy style beer which has revolutionised the brewing world in recent decades. Originally from the United Kingdom, but which almost disappeared in the 20th century, at the end of the century it made a successful come-back thanks to the craft movement that began in California and which managed to conquer the beer world in just a few decades.
• International  Stout Day:  this festivity also has its origins in the United States, although the brewing style has its roots in the British Isles, where the dark malt with hints of coffee, cocoa and liquorice have been and are still behind the delights that stout has brought its fans for over 3 centuries.
• Baltic Porter Day: this style of beer also has its origins in the Anglo-Saxon world, but it came about as a variety native to the Baltic countries thanks to the use of lager yeast combined with the dark malt. Baltic Porter Day, came about in Poland and is held on the first Saturday of January, a winter festivity that is fitting for this strongly flavoured beer with a strong body and high alcohol content.
• Orval Day: not only brewing styles have their special day, but some of the historical beers do too. This is the case of Orvala very singular beer that is still made by the Benedictine monks in the Orval Abbey. In 2022 Orval Day was held on 21st May.

As you can see, there is a wide choice of options to celebrate International Beer Day depending on our preferences, but as we always say when asked which our favourite is: Why choose just one when we can enjoy them all? There are 365 days in a year to enjoy them within moderation, and whenever we have a beer in our hand and somebody to share it with, we can celebrate our very own beer day.

Cheers!