Did you know that today is International Beer Day? Since 2007, the first Friday of August has been established as the anniversary of this drink that we are passionate about. But do you know the origin of this celebration?

As you can see, this tradition is quite new. But if there are days to celebrate absolutely everything (such as Zombie Pride Day on February 4 or World Omelette Day on March 9 ) … how could we not have a date dedicated to our favorite drink?

We don't have much information about how this day came about, apart from the fact that it was born in a meeting between friends (Jesse Avshalom, Evan Hamilton, Arron Araki and Richard Hernández) in a bar in Santa Cruz, California, United States.

The idea caught on and a little later it was the California Brewers Association that decided to mark August 5, 2007 on the calendar as the first day dedicated to beer. In 2008, and thanks to internet diffusion, International Beer Day became a reality. Avshalomov was interviewed by the National Public Radio of the United States and told how they managed to establish this holiday in the calendar of important days worldwide.

Little by little, the holiday gained importance around several American communities. A few months later, the project to inscribe it as an international day took shape and was adopted by beer companies in different countries.

The initial date that was chosen was August 6, but after a survey on its official website, in 2012 it was decided that it would be the first Friday of August. It is currently celebrated all over the world, including 207 cities, 50 countries and 6 continents. And it's on the rise.

How to celebrate International Beer Day?

It's quite an easy day to celebrate 😊 But in addition, the founders set some very clear goals:

• Get together with friends and enjoy the delight that is beer.

• Celebrating the dedicated men and women who brew and serve our beer.

• Unite the world in celebrating beers from all nations and cultures on this extraordinary day

The first two points are very simple. At Beer Sapiens we love craft beers in the company of good friends. And so by the way, fulfill the second point, because we support the small national breweries that, with so much love and dedication, are in charge of making the craft beers that you can find in our store.

And what about the third point? To fulfill this, we believe that it is a good idea to learn a little more about beer in other cultures. We tell you everything-

Curiosities of beer in other countries

1 - In ancient Babylon, beer was considered sacred. Therefore, if the recipe went wrong, it was a divine message and the culprit was drowned in the beer barrel. For this reason, if something went wrong in the brewing and the beer was of poor quality, they would drown the culprit in the beer keg.

2 - The oldest brewery in the world is located in Germany, it is the Benedictine monastery of Weihenstepahn, which was founded in the year 725.

3 - In the Czech Republic, in bars, the waiters constantly refill your glass of beer.You have to cover them with the coaster so they stop doing it... if that's what you want 😊 It's the country that consumes the most beer in the world for a reason

4 - And speaking of beer consumption per capita, you will never guess which is the country outside of Europe where beer is most liked: Namibia! The African country holds the record for more than 85 liters of beer per person per year. And they have dropped quite a bit… in 2010 it was the second most consuming country in the world (behind the unbeatable Czech Republic)

• This curiosity is sure to leave you speechless: Japanese sake is technically beer. Like a beer, Sake is the product of a fermentation process, although in this case this process is much more complex (in fact it is one of the most complex that exists).

Did you know all this data? We hope they give you lots of talk, enjoying some good craft beers with your friends... Happy International Beer Day!

Sources: internationalbeerday.com, Wikipedia.com, inelcomercio.pe