Cheers! It’s National Beer Day!
Before you write off National Beer Day as just another national insert-holiday-name-here-day, this is actually legitimate. National Beer Day marks the day Prohibition ended in the U.S. on April 7,1933.
Now that’s something to drink to.
In honor of the day meant for glorify all things beer, here's a look at five things you can do to celebrate:
1. Support your local craft brewery.
Before Prohibition began in 1920, there were craft breweries across the nation, Don DiFrisco, owner of the soon-to-open Hell N Blazes Brewing Co. in downtown Melbourne, Fla.
“Prohibition is what killed the craft brewing industry. It killed all but the largest breweries," DiFrisco says.
It’s taken more than 80 years, but the craft brewing industry is definitely on the rebound.
2. Let's make some beer bread. Like a little carbs with your carbs? Baking homemade bread doesn’t get much easier than this.
Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees.
In a large mixing bowl, combine 3 cups of self-rising flour, 2 tablespoons of sugar and one 12-ounce can or bottle of beer. (11 ounces will work, too, if you can’t resist taking a swallow to get you through the baking process.) Mix the ingredients together, then knead the dough for 2-3 minutes. Don’t worry about getting it completely smooth. This makes a rustic, crusty bread. But you do want it to form a nice, cohesive mound of dough that you can shape into a loaf.
Melt a stick of butter, and pour it into a loaf pan. Carefully swish the butter around in the pan until the bottom and an inch or so of the sides are coated with butter. Transfer the dough to the pan and bake for about 30 minutes, until the bread is brown and crusty on top.
Let the bread sit for 2-3 minutes before removing it from the pan. That will give it time to soak up any excess butter. Otherwise, you’ll dump out the butter when you tip the pan to remove the bread. Not only is that a waste of butter, it’s also a burn hazard.
Slice, and enjoy.
3. Maybe you don't like the way beer tastes. Make a (root) beer float.
Several breweries have started putting the “beer” back into root beer. You can now find hard root beer at many retail outlets.
Yes, it tastes just like the root beer you remember from childhood. Only this stuff contains alcohol. Buy a six-pack of the hard stuff for the adults in your household, and a six-pack of the soft stuff for the under-21 crowd. That way everyone can celebrate National Beer Day together, with a scoop of ice cream to boot.
4. Take flight. Not sure what beer to order on National Beer Day? Beer-intensive watering holes typically offer flights of beer that let customers try tastes of different brews.
5. Still at a loss? Take a look at what people in your neck of the woods are drinking.
Budweiser’s Let’s Grab a Beer campaign conducted a national survey to find out what beer people like to drink across the United States. Here's a look:
Contributing: Mary Bowerman
