I'm certain most of you have read about this already, perhaps on Jay Brooks' blog or in The Session a few months back - consider this a reminder. Next Friday, July 18, is the first annual International Brewers Day, a good time for beer enthusiasts around the world to celebrate those who make the beers we love. Of course, the easiest way to do this would be to honor your local brewer with a visit, kind words over a cold pint, but there's a lot more options out there.
Email may be the quickest method, as well as the most impersonal. Consider finding your favorite brewery's website and click the contact link. Typically there'll be some way to email the brewery (info@, beer@, brewmaster@). Send a quick email saying thanks, or whatever it is you want to say. Jay actually has an idea for hugging as many brewers as you can. While at first blush this sounds cheesy, why the heck not? Peter, Scott, Brian - you don't mind a man hug, do you?
There's so many ways to convey your appreciation - find the method that works best for you. I'm trying to figure out the best way to do this, myself. I'll be certain to let you know what I figure out.
I love this idea and hope it takes hold. If the word gets out this year - if we all do our part - I think Jay is right to believe this could grow into something grand (the official site mentions the idea of "meet the brewer" days around the world - that sounds superb!). If you do participate, I'm certain Jay would love to hear what you did, where and who with - I'm not giving out his email address or anything, but I'm sure he'll have a blog entry on this - post there. Oh, pictures - bring your camera. Personally, I'd love to see and hear about the most outrageous display of appreciation from a beer enthusiast to a brewer.
Prizes?
In fact, I'll mail out two copies of the American Brew DVD as prizes to get you thinking. The first DVD is for the most creative expression of appreciation I hear about. The second DVD is for the person with the most brewer hugs. I know. This isn't fair for all of you who don't live near a number of breweries. These are not PBN prizes, you won't need to email or post here to be considered. However, you will have to make a posting somewhere - I suggest www.brewersday.org.
Sorry, but the DVDs will only be mailed in the US and Canada.
So with that, I urge you to put your thinking caps on and do something/anything to show your appreciation for a brewer near (or far from) you.
