American Craft Beer Week®, the annual national beer holiday celebrated since 2006 by millions of beer lovers, breweries, and retailers, will be observed May 11-17. Hosted by CraftBeer.com, a website published by the Brewers Association, this year’s celebration will feel different, but the spirit of supporting craft breweries who have supported their communities and country remains the same.
American Craft Beer Week provides an opportunity for beer lovers to connect safely with each other while supporting – and possibly even saving – local microbreweries, taprooms, brewpubs, and regional craft breweries. These small businesses are undergoing unprecedented challenges due to the global pandemic. U.S. craft breweries are job creators and community gathering places—providing more than 161,000 direct full and part-time jobs1 and hosting nearly 68 million2 unique brewery visitors in 2019 alone. Additionally, craft breweries donated more than $82 million to local charities last year3, approximately $3.10 for every barrel of beer brewed.
“Independent craft breweries are an essential component in the important economic network of growers, distributors, supplier partners, beer lovers, and retailers,” said Julia Herz, publisher of CraftBeer.com and craft beer program director at the Brewers Association. “This American Craft Beer Week, brewers and beer lovers will connect in new ways during these challenging times. From May 11 to May 17, those who commit to giving independent craft beer will make a difference that reaches beyond the beverage to support and save thousands of hometown breweries who are instrumental in giving back to so many local communities and charitable causes.”
Here’s how beer lovers can help:
- Commit to #GiveCraftBeer at AmericanCraftBeerWeek.com: Stand up and be counted by gifting craft beer, gift cards, merchandise, or other food and beverage offerings from a U.S. craft brewery.
- Get Social: Use custom American Craft Beer Week social media posts available here.
- Sign up to become a supporter of independent beer at SupportIndependentBeer.com.
- Find your community: Use #GiveCraftBeer and follow @indiebeer_ for chances to participate all week
- Donate to the Believe in Beer Craft Brewery Relief Fund to help craft breweries and state brewers guilds weather this unprecedented financial storm.
Notes:
12019 Brewers Association 2019 Beer Industry Production Survey
2 Nielsen Craft Beer Insights Poll May 18-26, 2019
3 2019 Brewers Association 2019 Beer Industry Production Survey
Terry Bunch
