International Beer Day

Celebrated annually on the first Friday of August, International Beer Day (IBD) was conceived in 2007 by Jesse Avshalomov at a bar in Santa Cruz, California and has since become truly international with folk around the world embracing a day that celebrates beer.

August was chosen for its summer weather and distance from other beer celebrations - although we note that the day prior (first Thursday of August) is India Pale Ale Day and the next day (first Saturday in August) is International Mead Day.

For most, this is just a good excuse to drink more beer, but International Beer Day has three declared purposes:

• To enjoy beer whilst gathered with friends.
• To celebrate the fine art of the brewer and those who serve beer.
• To unite the world by celebrating the wonder of beers from all countries of the globe. To quote the organisers, "There aren't a lot of things the whole world agrees on, but enjoying beer is one of them, so let's all raise a pint this Friday: to Beer, a drink that brings the world together."

In the spirit of our cocktail of the day, may we suggest, like us, that you combine a passion for beer and cocktails with on of these:

Anything Else
With: Light white rum, Italian bitter red liqueur, lemon juice, honey syrup, and IPA beer.
We say: IPA helps make this a zippy, refreshing cocktail.

Bitches Brew
With: Byrrh aromatised wine, genever, vodka, and IPA beer.
We say: Cue up the Miles Davis album of the same name before making...

Czechmate
With: Vodka, Lemon juice, Becherovka, sugar syrup, and pilsner lager.
We say: A 2015 cocktail created by Jim Meehan to serve in Prague.

Flip the Script
With: Irish whiskey, stout, maple syrup, egg (white & yolk), and bitters.
We say: Something of a bite-sized meal in itself. Tasty...

Reality Check
With: A 2013 cocktail created by Simone Caporale at London's Artesian bar.
We say: Fresh raspberries, vodka, Becherovka, lime juice, pilsner lager, sugar syrup, and aromatic bitters.

Swedish Ale Punch
With: Bourbon, Swedish punsch, pink grapefruit juice, and British ale.
We say: Cereal notes in the beer are fortified by bourbon while fresh grapefruit amplifies hop notes.

Beer on the rocks
With: Byrrh aromatised wine and British ale.
We say: Just two equal parts ingredients create this aperitif cocktail.

Kopstoot
With: Genever, Belgium or Dutch ale.
We say: Tot a cocktail but a chilled 'headbutt' that will caress your palate.

More beer cocktails