International Beer Day 2014
The summer is in full swing, beer festival season has well and truly started, and we are pleased to welcome the return of International Beer Day 2014 on Friday 1st August!
In case you haven’t heard of International Beer Day before, 2014 will be the 8th year that beer has been officially celebrated all over the world on the same day.
The IBD team, based in San Francisco, state that the purpose of the day is as follows,
- To gather with friends and enjoy the deliciousness that is beer
- To celebrate the dedicated men and women who brew and serve our beer
- To bring the world together under the united banner of beer, by celebrating the beers of all nations and cultures together on this one remarkable day
It’s a good idea to check with your local pubs and breweries to see what they have got planned for International Beer Day, but if you fancy gathering with your friends and celebrating in your own way, here’s a few ideas to help you celebrate International Beer Day 2014!
5 Things to Do on
International Beer Day
Try a World Beer
This seems like a perfect place to start! On International Beer Day it makes perfect sense to get a bit continental and try some European beers. Belgium is world renowned for being the capital of European beers, so see if you can track down some Chimay or some Duvel and see what all the fuss is about.
You could even go further afield and try to get hold of some beer from the other side of the world and experience what others will be tasting on International Beer Day – apparently beer has been brewed in China for 9,000 years, so that might be a good place to start!
Learn Some Beer Trivia
Pubs seem to be the ideal place to pick up random titbits and trivia. International Beer Day is like the holy grail of fact finding, with people enjoying each other’s company and sharing trivia that doesn’t fit in to everyday conversation, so make sure to take some beer knowledge with you. Here’s a beer fact to get you started – in 1759, Arthur Guinness signed a 9,000 year lease on the St. James’s Gate Brewery, meaning Guinness will be brewed there until the the year 10759!
Cook with Beer
You can’t have a day of beer celebration without throwing some food in to the mix at some point! International Beer Day is the perfect excuse to start getting creative in the kitchen, so why not try these 3 beer recipes to keep you going!
No Knead Beer Bread Beer Butt Chicken Coconut Cake with Pale Ale Lime Cream Cheese Frosting
Bread is a classic starter so let's infuse it with some beer! Remember not to fill up on bread and ruin your meal. Better than it sounds. Honest. Sometimes known as Drunken Chicken or Beer Can Chicken only the Americans could have invented this! That's a lot of different flavours to deal with on one mouthful! A beer dessert? You can't really go wrong!
Become a Beer Sommelier
If you find out you’ve got a knack for telling the difference between a doppelbock and an eisbock, then maybe you should enrol in the London Beer Academy where you can hone your skills and even get a decent qualification out of your passion!
Plan for Oktoberfest 2014
If you’re celebrating International Beer Day, chances are you’ve got Oktoberfest marked in your diary as well. As International Beer Day is winding down, you’ve got almost 2 months to recover before the start of Oktoberfest 2014 in Munich on 20th September. Browse our collection of Beer Festival essentials to get you started.
Written by James Seber
