Today August 2, 2012 is IPA Day! Join beer enthusiasts across the land in a collective toast to one of craft beer’s most beloved styles: India Pale Ale!
Founded in 2011 by Ashley Routson (aka The Beer Wench) and Ryan Ross of Karl Strauss, IPA Day is 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. IPA Day makes way for all breweries, bloggers, businesses and consumers to connect and share their love of craft beer. It is an opportunity for the entire craft beer culture to combine forces and advocate craft beer through increased education and global awareness.
Now, some of you are thinking, Why the IPA? Please keep in mind that, although you and your friends might drink craft beer, craft beer only makes up 5% of the overall beer market meaning that everyone in the world does NOT, in fact, drink craft beer, or IPA for that matter. This is an opportunity to change that!
This style represents the pinnacle of brewing innovation with its broad spectrum of diverse brands, subcategories, and regional flavor variations—making it the perfect style to spur craft beer’s social voice. At the 2012 World Beer Cup®, the most-entered category was the American-Style India Pale Ale with 150 entries. The second most entered was its close cousin, the Imperial India Pale Ale (93 entries). Its popularity and accessibility makes the IPA the best overall style for brewers, retailers and consumers to collectively celebrate.
The history of IPA Day started just last year, hundreds of craft breweries and bars joined forces to launch the first IPA Day. Events, tastings, dinners and other IPA Day celebrations were hosted all over the world. 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 Portland, Seattle, New York, Chicago, San Diego, and Raleigh. Mentions of #IPADay spread across six continents—truly making it the most extensive craft beer celebration the world has experienced to date.
So what’s the goal of this year’s IPA Day? To make it even bigger of course! Getting involved is easy; the only requirements are an appreciation for great beer and the will to spread the word. Anyone can participate by enjoying an IPA with friends, making some noise online with the #IPADay hashtag, and showing the world that craft beer is more than a trend. HBKers that still have some (or for some strange reason) have yet to enjoy your ”Infuriating IPA” –there’s no better day than today to crack open one of those bad boys and better yet share it with others. So get out there and 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. Let’s set the goal of converting at least one person, nay the whole world of drinkers, to IPA lovers!
Share and submit your favorite IPA-based cooking or cocktail recipes or for more information on IPA Day visit IPADay.org.
Now a word from The Beer Wench:
How to Participate in IPA Day
1. Organize or attend an IPA Day event at a local brewery, brewpub, restaurant, bar, bottle shop, home or office. Check out the CraftBeer.com Event Calendar to find or submit an IPA Day event near you! (If submitting an event, please 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, Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest, Google+, and other social media platforms with the #IPADay hashtag.
3. See what other people are saying on Twitter by searching #IPADay. Follow the conversation closely by adding a #IPADay search column on your Tweetdeck.
And remember, just have fun. After all, that’s what IPA Day is all about — having fun with craft beer!
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