This week is the annual American Craft Beer Week (May 11-17), a national celebration highlighting the culture and contributions of craft beer.

 

America's small and independent craft brewers want the week to inspire beer enthusiasts to declare their independence by supporting breweries that produce fewer than 2 million barrels of beer a year and are independently owned. In the works are special brewery tours, beer and food pairing events, special release craft beers and festivals all across the U.S. The Declaration of Beer Independence is available on the program web site and the American Craft Beer Week fan page on Facebook, which has more than 7,000 fans thus far.

Changed to a weeklong event in 2006, the inaugural American Craft Beer Week was recognized by the U.S. Congress with House Resolution 753 (PDF file). The week has continued to grow with interest and support from beer enthusiasts and the media. In 2007, more than 150 brewers registered their community celebrations.