#IPADay

Official logo of IPA Day 2012

This is a public service announcement, regarding one of the most important beer holidays of the year.

Thursday, August 2nd, 2012 is the second annual IPA Day! Oh yeah… it’s actually a thing; an opportunity to join beer enthusiasts across the globe in a collective toast to one of craft beer’s most iconic styles: India Pale Ale!

IPA Day was founded last year by beer evangelists and social media personalities Ashley Routson and Ryan Ross as a universal movement created to unite the voices of craft beer enthusiasts, bloggers, and brewers worldwide, using social media as the common arena for connecting the conversation.

All of the hop-heads (myself included) rejoiced last year and this year, it will be even bigger!

It is not the pet project of a corporate marketing machine or even one brewery, but rather an opportunity for the whole beer universe to connect and share their love of craft beer. It is an opportunity for the brewers and consumers, the bloggers and advocates, the obsessed nerds and the casual fans to combine forces and advocate craft beer through increased education and global awareness.

Beautiful Hop Cones

But why celebrate the IPA?

Because it’s awesome!!! That’s why. It may sound biased coming from a confessed hop-head, but this renowned style represents the acme of brewing innovation, with its broad range of different brands, subdivisions, and regional flavor deviances—making it the perfect style to electrify craft beer’s social voice.

The American India Pale Ale was the most-entered category at the 2012 World Beer Cup, with 150 entries. The second most entered was also an IPA (the Imperial India Pale Ale) with 93 entries. Its popularity and availability makes the IPA the most inclusive style for brewers, stores and beer drinkers to collectively celebrate.

The (very short) history of IPA Day

Last year, multiple craft breweries and bars united to launch the first ever IPA Day. Super-fans and thirsty patrons alike enjoyed IPA Day-centric events, tastings, dinners and other celebrations all over the world. According to CraftBeer.com, roughly 10,000 tweets were sent over a 24-hour period using the official #IPADay hashtag—with thousands of tweets sent in the weeks leading up to and following the event. The official hashtag trended in six major U.S. metropolises, including New York, Chicago, San Diego, Portland, Seattle and Raleigh. Mentions of #IPADay spread across six continents—truly making it the most extensive craft beer celebration the world has experienced to date.

The finished product

The goal of those who are at the helm is to make this year’s IPA Day even more viral than last year’s. It’s easy to get involved; all you need is an appreciation for great beer and the will to spread the word. Anyone can participate by enjoying an IPA, alone or with friends, making some noise online with the #IPADay hashtag, and showing the world that craft beer is more than just a trend.

Other things you can do

1. Organize an IPA Day event at your brewery, brewpub, restaurant, bar, bottle shop, home or office. Post your events to the CraftBeer.com Event Calendar. Check out Tips on Submitting an Event before getting started.

2. On August 2, share your photos, videos, blog posts, tasting notes, recipes, and thoughts on IPA with the world. Be sure to tag your posts on Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, or what-have-you with the #IPADay hashtag.

3. See what other people are saying on Twitter by searching #IPADay.

4. Become a craft beer steward in your community. Encourage non-craft beer drinkers to take a break from their normal beverage routine and join the collective toast on August 2nd. Set the goal of converting at least one person, if not the whole world of drinkers, to IPA lovers!

For more information on IPA Day, or suggestions on what you can do to help us celebrate, check out the official IPA Day site at http://ipaday.org/. Get with your local beer dudes and dudettes and make some noise.

Looks like a bottle of medicine... perhaps it is medicine

Also, check out a very interesting read on the first IPAs ever at http://zythophile.wordpress.com/2010/03/29/the-first-ever-reference-to-ipa/. Fascinating stuff!

Here’s to craft-brewed happiness… Cheers!