An American Revolution

Craft Beer Week celebrates beer independence.

Comments (0) By Jonathan Shikes Thursday, May 7 2009

Have you declared your independence? If not, this is the week to do it. From May 11 through May 17, hundreds of microbreweries around the country will celebrate American Craft Beer Week with brewery tours, special keg tappings, food pairings, patio pourings and other events. In addition, the industry’s main trade group, the Boulder-based Brewers Association, is asking craft-beer lovers to sign a Declaration of Beer Independence on the trade association’s Facebook page (“I declare that these are historic times for beer with today’s beer lover having inalienable rights, among these life, liberty and the pursuit of hops and malt…”). “For today’s beer lover, there are many choices, and the more choices the better,” says association spokeswoman Julia Herz. “Life would be a lot less interesting if those choices were not out there…and less fun.” Herz hopes 10,000 people will sign the declaration by May 17.

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Some of the local events include special tappings all week at Great Divide Brewing, 2201 Arapahoe Street, and at the Breckenridge Brewery, 471 Kalamath Street, both in Denver; founders’ night on May 12 at the Boulder Beer Company and a Craft Beer Week Party on May 15 at Twisted Pine Brewing, both in Boulder; a May 13 cherry tree planting and tapping of Bailey’s Cherry Stout at Odell Brewing in Fort Collins; and a homebrew competition with live music on May 17 at Left Hand Brewing in Longmont. For more information about American Craft Beer Week and a list of other events, log on to www.americancraftbeerweek.org.
May 11-17, 2009