Thanks to the kind people at HashTracking.com, I was able to get my hands on a really solid report on the #IPAday hastag usage on Twitter. Unfortunately, I do not have similar numbers for Facebook, Instagram or Google+—but one could assume from its success on Twitter that the hashtag was equally prolific on other social media platforms.

It is also important to note that, the data I’m sharing with you today mostly reflects the Western Hemisphere and U.S. participation in IPA Day. Outside of the U.S., reports of IPA Day were recorded from all over Europe, China, Japan, New Zealand, Australia & Brazil — as well as other countries that I haven’t been able to officially capture data from. Although, many of these countries were very active on IPA Day, the data I’m about to share may not accurately reflect the world’s participation in IPA Day.

Nonetheless, the data is pretty exciting and I am pretty stoked to pass it along. If you have any questions, comments or concerns about any of these numbers or findings, feel free to comment below and I will do my best to address them.

First, let’s talk basic stats. The official hashtag was tweeted out 33, 697 times by 22, 877 different users. The #IPAday hashtag had the potential reach of 25.04 million people and appeared on nearly 54.2 million timelines. You can compare these numbers to last year, where the #IPAday hashtag was only tweeted 11.8 thousand times by 8 thousand people.

Now, let’s talk about the top lists. According to Hashtracking.com, the Most Popular list was determined by a combination of mentions and retweets with the hashtag #IPAday. The user @untappd topped the most popular list, boasting 13,067 mentions and 237 retweets. @dogfishbeer came in second, with 439 mentions and 133 retweets. And surprisingly enough, yours truly came in third, with 351 mentions and 137 retweets. I was followed by 4. @StoneBrewingCo 5. @BrewDog 6. @BeerAdvocate 7. @draftmag 8. @sweetwaterbrew 9. @thebeerfridge and 10. @DeschutesBeer.

Next up, we have the most tweets list. Not surprisingly enough, I topped the list with 56 total tweets using the hashtag #IPAday. Following me was 2. @epicbeergirl (47 tweets) 3. @Calistoga (33 tweets) 4. @activebeergeek (28 tweets) and 5. @BrewDog & @Tapworks (27 tweets each).

Most Reach was another interesting statistic that we were given. This stat pretty much reveals the most prolific tweeters that used the #IPAhashtag throughout the day. With nearly 4 million followers, @WholeFoods topped this list. They were followed by 2. @wilw 3. @threadless 4. @Disc_Health 5. @dwell 6. @BeerAdvocate 7. @SubEWL 8. @drinkcraftbeer 9. @newbelgium and 10. @dogfishbeer.

Next we will talk about links. Of the 33k #IPAday tweets, 19k were sent with links and 14k were sent without links.

Not surprising, untappd.com topped the list as the most tweeted link.

I really really really want to thank @hashtracking for helping me collect all of this very valuable data. And I highly recommend their services to anyone and everyone that wants to track hashtag data on Twitter.

I also want to thank Andy Sparhawk at the Brewers Association, who helped me track the various U.S. cities in which the hashtag was an official trending topic. These cities included: Austin, Birmingham, Baltimore, Boston, Chicago, Cincinnatti, Columbus, Cleveland, Denver, El Paso, Greenboro, Harrisburg, Honolulu, Indianapolis, Jackson, Jacksonville, Los Angeles, Louisville, Mineapolis, Memphis, Milwaukee, Portland, San Antonio, San Francisco, San Diego….. and well just about every major U.S. city on the map.

But the most exciting news of the entire day happened at 1:30pm PST/ 3:30pm EST….. when the #IPAday hashtag started to trend on the national level.

Now, if you have a hard time picturing how big of a deal this is, let’s break it down like this. #IPAday was, at one point during the day, just as popular, if not more, than Justin Bieber.

Well kids, that’s all the data I have for now. (You can view the whole report HERE). If I can find a way to collect more data from Facebook and Instgram, you all will be the first to find out.

And before I sign off….. allow me to thank the most important person who helped to make this the largest, most successful IPA Day yet—YOU!

THANK YOU TO EACH AND EVERY ONE OF YOU THAT SUPPORTED AND PARTICIPATED IN IPA DAY 2013. You are awesome.

About Gina Shauland

• Social Media Coordinator & Event Promotions, Deschutes Brewery
• Been w/Deschutes for almost 6 years
• Love social media and beer events
• Stared a women’s beer club called Central Oregon Beer Angels
• Love biking, photography, camping, traveling & meeting new friends everywhere I go
• Can’t go a day without having fun!!

This year, Emily designed 3 different logos—two black and white and one color. Feel free to share them on all your social media platforms, blogs and use them on any IPA Day marketing and event materials!

Need higher res? e-mail emilyragle@gmail.com

Color

Black & White #1

Black & White #2

ABOUT EMILY RAGLE

Emily Ragle is a graphic designer from New Jersey. She works full-time at a small studio making iPad apps, and part-time giving tours at Carton Brewing. She’s a certifiable craft beer nerd who also enjoys baking, football, travel, and the occasional bourbon. When she has free time (which is not often) she directs/films/produces a web series on homebrewers. Check her other work out at http://emilyragle.com or follow her on twitter & instagram @emilyragle.

ABOUT IPA DAY

Some of you might be asking yourself, what is IPA Day? Great question!

Founded in 2011, IPA Day has quickly become the world’s largest virtual beer party. It is a universal movement that was created to unite the voices of craft beer enthusiasts, bloggers and brewers worldwide, using social media as the common arena for connecting the conversation.

For the past two years, hundreds of events, tastings, festivals and dinners have been hosted around the world in celebration of IPA Day. Last year, roughly 12 thousand tweets from more than eight thousand people were sent out over a 24-hour period, yielding over 10 million impressions for the #IPAday hashtag on Twitter.

The goal is to make this year’s IPA Day even more viral. Getting involved is easy, the only requirements are an appreciation for great craft beer and the willingness to spread the word. On August 1, share your photos, videos, blog posts, tasting notes, recipes and thoughts on IPA with the world. Be sure to tag your posts on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest, Google+ and other social media platforms with the #IPAday hashtag. Please note that this year we are using a lower case “d” in the hashtag to reduce confusion.

Wanna take your participation to the next level?

Organize an IPA Day event at your brewery, brewpub, restaurant, bar, bottle shop, home or office. Be sure to post your events on the CraftBeer.com Event Calendar so others in can join in. Here are some helpful tips on submitting an event.

This year, that all changed. Thanks to the kind people at HashTracking. com, I was able to get my hands on a pro-report for a 24 hour period spanning from 2am (PST) on Thursday, August 2nd to 2am (PST) on Friday, August 3rd. As a result, this report is biased to the U.S. West Coast, and doesn’t completely represent the global picture of International IPA Day.

It is important to note that, outside of the U.S., reports of IPA Day were recorded from Europe (mostly the UK), China, Japan, New Zealand, Australia & Brazil — as well as other countries that I haven’t been able to officially capture data from. Although, many of these countries were very active on IPA Day, due to the major timezone differences, the data I’m sharing with you today mostly reflects the Western Hemisphere and U.S. participation in IPA Day.

Nonetheless, the data is pretty exciting and I am pretty stoked to pass it along. If you have any questions, comments or concerns about any of these numbers or findings, feel free to comment below and I will do my best to address them.

First, let’s talk about general stats. In the course of 24 hours, the #IPAday hashtag was tweeted 11.8 thousand times by 8 thousand people with a total followership of 5.1 million. This yielded over 10.2 million impressions.

The majority of tweets (in the thousands) were sent between the hours of 7pm PST and 9pm PST — roughly 10pm-12pm EST.

Of the total 11.8k tweets, 9.7k (83%) were original tweets, 922 (8%) were @message or reply tweets, and 1.1k (9%) were retweets.

Now, let’s talk about the big hitters on #IPAday — aka the influencers. First we have the categories for Most Popular and Most Tweets. The most popular #IPAday tweets were determined based on number of mentioned and number of retweets. Most Tweets speaks for itself.

And then we have the categories for most reach and most impressions. Most reach was determined based on number of followers. And most impressions was a combination of number of tweets and the number of followers (how many potential followers did those tweets reach?).

When it came down to where all the action took place, I relied on Trendsmap.com for real-time local Twitter trends. Sadly, these graphs are impossible to capture after the fact, so sadly all I have are two screen shots of the map — one of the world and one of the U.S. Luckily, they were taken during the “high traffic” time of #IPAday posts, so I do think the screen shots are on spot when it comes to tracking activity.

According to Trendsmap.com, throughout the day, the hashtag #IPAday trended, at one point or another, in the following North American cities: Vancouver (Canada), Seattle, Portland, San Francisco, Boise, Phoenix, Los Angeles, San Diego, Las Vegas, Denver, Austin, Houston, Jacksonville, Orland, Atlanta, Charlotte, Raleigh, Washington D.C., New York City, Philadelphia, Manchester, Boston, Indianapolis, Grand Rapids, Detroit, Chicago, Milwaukee, Kansas City, Des Moines, St. Louis and Winnipeg (Canada). And there were probably other cities that I didn’t see or write down because the map changed so frequently. But, you have to admit that this is a pretty damn good snapshot.

The U.S. at 6:18 PM (PST)

As for the most active cities, noted by the size of the #IPADay box floating over them, Atlanta, Philly, Chicago, Austin, San Diego, San Francisco and Vancouver take home the cake as the most popular IPA Day locations. The most amount of tweets during the day seem to have been coming from those cities. If I had to pick just one, I would say that Chicago was consistently one of the most popular, if not the most popular, #IPADay cities all day long.

The most impressive statistic, in my eyes, was Brazil, who consistently appeared on the Trendsmap all day long. U.S. and U.K. was expected to trend — but Brazil? Now, that is impressive!

The World at 6:13PM (PST)

As for the other social media platforms, little data is known. Unfortunately, Facebook’s privacy features do not allow us to get an accurate snapshot of IPA Day related posts. All we can do is estimate that Facebook had a similar overall participation number to Twitter (which was 8k, if you remember). Add fan pages into the mix and this number is amplified. As for Instagram, Pinterest, Google+, Flickr and all the other social media sites — that data is not also available at this time. However, the ever popular beer-themed social media platform Untappd should be releasing its data within a few hours or so — which will give us a little more insight.

When it comes to blog posts and articles from noteworthy media sources, hundreds if not thousands of sites made IPA Day reports. Other than doing a Google search on the terms #IPAday and IPA Day, there is little data that I have outside of my guesstimate.

Moral of the story is that the 2nd Annual #IPADay was a tremendous worldwide success. And I can say this with complete confidence, with or without statistics. Most people can probably agree that 8k+ people talking about craft beer on the Internet is a good thing for the industry, regardless of whether or not they personally “agreed” with the celebration concept. I also think it is safe to say that this has been the biggest virtual craft beer party to date — something you (my fellow par-tay people) should all be proud of.

And on my last note, I want to send a tremendously grateful toast to each and every single one of you that participated in #IPADay for your support and advocacy of craft beer! It is because of all of you that craft beer continues to grow and thrive in today’s crazy world and backwards economy!

Cheers!

In honor of today’s beeralicious celebration of one of craft beer’s most iconic and beloved styles, the India Pale Ale, I would like to feature a list of awesome (and very important) articles to read today.

______________

Mythbusting the IPA

[Source: All About Beer Magazine, Author: Pete Brown] — Most people would call it crazy, but the crazies call it ‘living archeology’: if material remains of our past no longer exist, we have to recreate past times as best we can in order to figure out the truth of how people lived back then. It drives some to live as bronze-age villagers, others to dress up as Roman legionnaires and go ten rounds with Gaulish barbarians. It drove me to recreate the greatest journey beer has ever made, an 18,000 mile sea journey that hasn’t existed for 140 years. (read more)

______________

The Truth About the Origins of IPA

[Source: Beer Connoisseur Magazine, Author: Martyn Cornell] – Because of its popularity, most craft drinkers know – or think they know – how IPA began. To quote one version of the popular history of the style: “Back in the late 1700’s and early 1800’s, England held a large colonial presence in India. The soldiers, sailors and civilians had a huge appetite for beer. Trouble was, the voyage to India was long, and by the time the ship made it there the traditional beers had spoiled. Even when they didn’t, the dark porters that were popular at the time weren’t quite the ticket in the hot climate of India. (read more)

______________

The Ever-Emerging Sub-Categories of IPA

[Source: CraftBeer.com, Author: Ashley V Routson] – In a world were innovation only breeds innovation, it’s natural that craft beer, an industry born from ingenuity, is ever-evolving. Today, there are no laws that dictate how beer must be brewed, and the creative ability of craft brewers is seemingly unlimited—as evidenced by the boundless flavor combinations being brewed. Older styles are continuously being manipulated to create newer styles and sub-categories. As a result, style guidelines and categories are constantly changing to keep up with evolution of craft brewing. (read more)

______________

Cascadian Dark Ale: A Rose By Anything Other Name

[Source: CraftBeer.com, Author: Matt Van Wyk] — Lately there has been much fuss over a new—or is it old—beer style and what it should be called.  The style I’m referring to is known by three different names; Black IPA, India Black Ale (IBA), or Cascadian Dark Ale (CDA). In short, it is a dark hoppy beer. But in truth, it is so much more. So the questions remain; what do we name it, who made it first, and what defines the style? And, do any of these details even matter? (read more)

______________

In Defense of Language: or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Black IPA

[Source: CraftBeer.com, Author: Greg Koch] – If you know anything about me, this should come as no surprise. You see, I’m kind of a stickler about names, and I can stay silent no longer. There’s been some controversy over what to call an IPA that is black. Hmmm…Black IPA seems like a damn fine match if you ask me. But there are some who wish to confuse the issue by introducing other, more confusing names to the equation. (read more)

______________

For the Love of Hops: The Birth of a New Style

[Source: All About Beer Magazine, Author: Stan Hieronymus] – Our mission on this last Thursday in September: To try every double (or imperial) IPA we can find at the Great American Beer Festival in Denver. Why? These are extreme beers that take your taste buds on a roller coaster ride as long and furious as, say, the Raptor at Cedar Point in Ohio. (read more)

______________

“OMG Hops!” Today’s American-Style India Pale Ale

[Source: CraftBeer.com, Author: Kay Witkiewicz] – If German brewers are the masters of malt and Belgian brewers are the wizards of yeast, then American craft brewers are undoubtedly the kings of the hop. Despite its British colonial origins, no beer style is more closely associated with the U.S. than the India Pale Ale (IPA). To be even more specific, the West Coast—California, Oregon, and Washington—has long been the emerald beacon of hoppy beers, but this trend appears to be changing. (read more)

______________

August and IPA Day

[Source: Brewer’s Association Blog, Author: Paul Gatza] – The crack staff of CraftBeer.com (and by crack I mean ready to crack a cold beer) is featuring IPA Day (#IPADay). IPA Day celebrations commence August 2nd. For more background on IPA Day, here is one CraftBeer.com muse.

India Pale Ales have vaulted in popularity over the last few years. IPAs even outsell all of the seasonal beers out there by dollars in SIG scan data. In the latest year-to-date data, IPAs are up 39.5% by volume–on top of 40% growth last year–and up 45.7% by retail dollars. (read more)

______________

#IPADay: When Big Beer Takes Your Holidays, Make Your Own

[Source: Bagel Bites, Author: Emily Ragle] – The buzz around #IPADay reached a fever pitch yesterday, and while most tweeters were being good sports, reminiscing about their first IPA, sharing recipes, etc., every holiday must have its Scrooge, and the Bah-Humbug tweets have REALLY started to wear on me. The worst part? They’re coming from craft beer drinkers, industry members, and bloggers remarking that #IPADay and all holidays like it are “for the record, stupid.” (real more)

______________

25 Must Try West Coast IPAs for International #IPADay

[Source: BREWPUBLIC.com, Author: Angelo De Ieso] – With IPAs, harnessing the bold character of a heavy hop bill is an art and a science that is continually being understood as the modern palate continues to be redefined. Living in the Pacific Northwest, we are blessed with access to about 20-percent of the world’s hop supply, with varietals unlike any others grown abroad. Here’s a look at some wonderful IPAs from the West Coast available in bottles/cans that we think you’ll enjoy on this hoppy day. (read more)

______________

Cooking & Mixing Cocktails with IPA

[Source: IPADay.Org, Author: Ashley V Routson] – A collection of IPA-based cooking recipes, beer cocktails and homebrew recipes from brewers, bloggers, bartenders and chefs. New recipes are constantly being featured, so keep checking back for more delicious ideas! (read more)

______________

Pairing Lesson: Pale Ale, IPA, and Imperial IPA

[Source: Brew.Cook.Pair.Joy., Author: Steph Weber] – India pale ale (IPA) is a really wonderful style to pair with food. IPAs are assertively bitter, with prominent hop flavor and aroma.

IPAs are bold, and therefore require boldly-flavored foods. Grilled steak with a peppercorn spice rub paired with an IPA is a match made in heaven. And anything made with hot peppers works. When the bitterness of an IPA equals the intensity of the spices in the dish, you’re good to go. (read more)

On Aug. 2, 2012, you are invited to join beer enthusiasts across the globe in a collective toast to one of craft beer’s most iconic styles: India Pale Ale! At its most basic level, IPA Day is a universal movement created to unite the voices of craft beer enthusiasts, bloggers, and brewers worldwide, using social media as the common arena for connecting the conversation.

IPA Day is not the brainchild of a corporate marketing machine, nor is it meant to serve any particular beer brand. IPA Day is opportunity for all breweries, bloggers, businesses and consumers to connect and share their love of craft beer. It is an opportunity for the entire craft beer culture to combine forces and advocate craft beer through increased education and global awareness.

Now, some of you are asking yourselves — why the IPA? After all, for some of you, every is IPA Day, right? Well, please keep in mind that, although you and your friends and everyone you know might drink craft beer, craft beer only makes up 5% of the overall beer market meaning that everyone in the world does NOT, in fact, drink craft beer — or IPA for that matter. This is an opportunity to change that! Sooooooo…

Why Celebrate the IPA?

This illustrious style represents the pinnacle of brewing innovation with its broad spectrum of diverse brands, subcategories, and regional flavor variations—making it the perfect style to galvanize craft beer’s social voice.

At the 2012 World Beer Cup®, the most-entered category was the American-Style India Pale Ale with 150 entries. The second most entered was its close cousin, the Imperial India Pale Ale (93 entries). Its popularity and accessibility makes the IPA the most inclusive style for brewers, retailers and consumers to collectively celebrate.

How to Participate in IPA Day

1. Organize or attend an IPA Day event at a local brewery, brewpub, restaurant, bar, bottle shop, home or office. Check out the CraftBeer.com Event Calendar to find or submit an IPA Day event near you! (If submitting an event, please check out Tips on Submitting an Event before getting started.)
2. On August 2, share your photos, videos, blog posts, tasting notes, recipes, and thoughts on IPA with the world. Be sure to tag your posts on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest, Google+, and other social media platforms with the #IPADay hashtag.
3. See what other people are saying on Twitter by searching #IPADay. Follow the conversation closely by adding an #IPADay search column on your Tweetdeck.
4. Become a craft beer steward in your community. Encourage non-craft beer drinkers to take a break from their normal beverage routine and join the collective toast on August 2. Set the goal of converting at least one person, if not the whole world of drinkers, to IPA lovers!
5. Share and submit your favorite IPA-based cooking or cocktail recipes to IPADay.org here!

And remember, just have fun. After all, that’s what IPA Day is all about — having fun with craft beer!

Xoxo,

The Wench

Although still extremely niche and relatively new, the “beer cocktail” is a developing trend in both mixology and craft beer. Essentially, a beer cocktail is exactly what it sounds like: a cocktail that uses beer as an ingredient.

Many craft breweries are also dabbling in spirits production. Dogfish Head, Rogue, New Holland, Ballast Point and Anchor Steam all have micro-distilleries within the brewery walls. In my opinion, Sebbie Buhler from Rogue has emerged as the leader of the “beer cocktail” movement in the craft beer industry, introducing the concept of adding craft spirits to craft beers, creating new flavors combinations by mixing Rogue spirits with various craft beers.

As an amateur mixologist and a craft beer connoisseur, the “beer cocktail” trend really excites me. This weekend, the creativity bug bit me and decided to start mixing my own concoctions. And I’m not going to lie, this beverage was good. I mean REAL good.

I love tequila, especially wood-aged tequila (reposado & anejo). When mixing, I almost always choose reposado. It has more depth in flavor than the blanco, but it isn’t as intense as anejo, which is typically sipped on its own, not mixed (unless of course, you are a baller).

My perfect margarita is simple: tequila + fresh or pure lime + agave nectar. Sometimes, I might add orange liquor or fruit for added sweetness, but the basics always stay the same.

My cocktail was inspired by the “Hoparita” invented by New Holland Brewing Company. They have a spirit called Hopquila, which is essentially a white whiskey that gets steeped with Centennial hops. The hops give the spirit a uniquely bitter and resin like quality, which mimics similar flavors found in tequila. After tasting that cocktail, I knew that hops and tequila made a perfect match. And since I can’t get Hopquila in my market, I set on a mission to recreate the flavor profile of the Hoparita.

The result was ab.so.fucking.lute.ly. amazing. I used 21st Amendment’s Brew Free or Die IPA this time around, and I found that the extra citrus-like resiny hop quality of a West Coast IPA was really ideal for the recipe. So, without further ado, here is my recipe:

The IPA-a-rita

Ingredients

• 2 ounces Reposado Tequila
• 1 ounce Pure Lime Juice
• 1 TBSP Raw Agave Nector
• 6 ounces IPA

Instructions

1. In a cocktail shaker, shake ice, tequila, lime juice and agave syrup until the ice is broken up and all the ingredients are well mixed.

2. Pour shaker contents into a glass. Top with 6 ounces of IPA. Give it a quick stir. And enjoy.

CHEERS!

(Note: This would be a PERFECT cocktail to drink on International #IPADay!)

But amongst all the excitement there has been much confusion and some criticism. So let us set the facts straight with some FAQs:

Q: WHERE DID THE #IPADay IDEA COME FROM?

A: I truly wish that I or anyone else involved in the event organization could claim credit for the concept, but alas, we cannot. #IPADay was a direct inspiration from the wine industry, a social-media savvy community that has been celebrating wine by creating days dedicated to various varietals. The man first responsible for such a global movement, Rick Bakas, is a good friend of mine both virtually and in real life. Rick has, in fact, been a huge supporter and mentor of mine in the social media realm and I am proud to say he inspired the development of #IPADay!

For two years now, I have not only witnessed, but participated in worldwide wine events, most notably #Chardonnay day and #Cabernet day. I have witnessed the power and impact that these events have had, on a virtual level and also on a local level. This past #Chardonnay day, hundreds of wineries hosted events all over the world, and MILLIONS of wine drinkers united to raise a virtual toast to that beloved varietal.

And the real kicker? People who normally would choose beer or spirits, chose to drink wine on #Chardonnay day. And why? Because they wanted to be a part of something great, something communal — a global celebration.

I live in Napa and I am proud to be intimately entwined in its wine culture. I am friends with some of the most influential, inspirational and talented social media personalities in the wine industry. They are constantly engaging the world and bringing the community together, and all in the name of wine.

In Vino Veritas.

Now you may be asking yourself the same question that I have been asking myself for the past 3 years, why is craft beer so slow in adopting, understanding and utilizing social media tools? Why are we sitting back, while the wine industry is not only creating trends, but revolutionizing the use of social media as the world knows it? Why are we stuck in the Stone Age? Why are we so late to the party?

Well, this isn’t about wine vs. beer. Whereas many craft beer people love to attack wine, I can honestly tell you that just about every wine person I know, also loves and frequently drinks beer. In fact, the most common phrase reiterated throughout the wine industry is “It takes a lot of good beer to make good wine.”

The moral of the story is such: I love what social media has done for the advancement of wine and I wanted to see the same thing happen for craft beer. Period. End of story. If you want to see wine’s social media impact continue to exceed that of craft beer, by all means, reject IPA Day.

Q: BUT EVERY DAY IS IPA DAY, WHY DO I NEED A HOLIDAY IN ORDER TO DRINK IT?

A: Whereas it is wonderful that you (and others like you) personally enjoy kicking back an IPA every day of the week, it is important to look at the bigger picture. I hate to be blunt like this but, this isn’t about you. This isn’t about how you are already a craft beer advocate and celebrate and drink craft beer every day. This is bigger than that. This is about creating global awareness about craft beer through the celebration of one of our most beloved style.

IPA Day is not just for craft beer enthusiasts. It is an ALL-INCLUSIVE event for anyone and everyone who can legally consume alcohol. For many people, every day is NOT in fact IPA Day. Actually, I am quite certain that there are more non-IPA drinkers in this world than IPA-drinkers. And it isn’t necessarily because they don’t like IPA. Maybe they drink wine 95% of the time. Maybe they drink corporate beer and have yet to expand into craft styles. Maybe they don’t even know what an IPA is.

This is an opportunity for the craft beer culture as a WHOLE to collectively unite and  promote craft beer to those that might not be within the inner walls of our tight knit group. This is an opportunity to encourage cross-drinkers to put down the martini, the glass of wine, the corporate yellow fizzy lager — and CHOOSE to drink craft beer instead. This is an opportunity for education and global awareness.

This is a movement. It is a global observation of craft beer. And once you start thinking of it in this way, you will begin to see the bigger picture.

Q: WHY IPA? WHY NOT STOUT OR PALE ALE OR PILSNER  DAY?

A: For the 1st International Celebration of Craft Beer, we wanted to choose a style that was readily available in just about every market. We wanted as many people as possible, from all aspects of the industry, to partake in the movement. The India Pale Ale is one of the, if not THE, most brewed craft styles of beer in the world. It is also the MOST entered category in the Great American Beer Festival and World Beer Cup. A large percentage of breweries produce an IPA, making it a style that a great number of breweries can celebrate.

The IPA is also unique enough that it is more complex and different from some of the other common styles, like Pale Ales and Pilsners, but not too unique that it is intimidating or unapproachable for non-craft beer drinkers. If we were to start out with International Craft Lager Day, the excitement wouldn’t be as intense because the style is not much different from corporate lagers and not nearly as exciting as the IPA. And if we were to start out with International Sour Beer Day, most breweries would not be able to participate and lack of availability in the market would prevent it from being a large and inclusive event.

Q: HOW DID THE “HOST BREWERIES” AND SOCIAL MEDIA SPONSORS COME TO BE?

A: It is extremely hard to start a movement by oneself. This is why I asked my good friend and fellow social media addict, Ryan Ross, to partner with me on International IPA Day. We decided that, in order to give the launch of the movement the momentum it would need to be successful, we needed to recruit the help of other social media savvy persons in the craft beer industry. Our goal was to recruit like-minded breweries, from various regions of the country and the world, to act as ambassadors in their community. We also wanted to gain the support of some key movers and shakers in the social media and blogging community.

IT MUST BE NOTED THAT NOT ONE SINGLE DOLLAR HAS BEEN EXCHANGED IN THE ORGANIZATION AND DEVELOPMENT OF IPA DAY.

We are a collective group of craft beer evangelists and breweries, on a mission to unite the world in the name of craft beer. All ambassadors involved in the organization of IPA Day did, in fact, contribute something of value to the movement, but nothing of monetary value. The value they brought was their voice and their support — which is much more valuable that any marketing budget could have provided.

The “host and sponsors” were mostly brought on board to strengthen yesterday’s big announcement – which was a very successful one, I might add. We wanted to band several voices together to create the biggest impact possible. Now that the announcement has been made, #IPADay belongs to THE WORLD — and all breweries, bars, bloggers, and beer drinkers can do with it what they please.

The host breweries and sponsors will continue to get the recognition they deserve. Their continued support and dedication is the reason that this is possible, and we truly believe in giving credit where credit is due.

Q: HOW CAN YOU CALL THIS A GRASSROOTS MOVEMENT?

A: Those who criticize the use of the word grassroots in our promotional material either need a better understanding of the term or they have a misconception about the development of the event.

Although used mostly in politics, the term grassroots implies from the ground up. It is a community driven movement, typically organized and executed by volunteers. IPA Day is in fact a community driven movement. It did not originate in the corporate offices of large beer companies. It was launched by two craft beer evangelists and then further enhanced with the recruitment of more craft beer advocates. And since then, the movement has been furthered tremendously through the support of members of the craft beer community all over the world.

Through awareness, celebration, and community support, perhaps craft beer drinkers will some day be known simply as beer drinkers.

Q: AND WHAT DO YOU HAVE TO GAIN, AS THE BEER WENCH, FROM IPA DAY?

A: Since this concern has been addressed, I will answer it.

This isn’t about me. This isn’t about any one brand, brewery or person.

IPA Day is about the advocacy of craft beer. It is about uniting the community. This is about inspiring others to drink craft beer.

Why did I feel the need to do it?

Because someone needed to do it. And let’s be honest, if there was anyone who could do it and do it successfully, it was going to be me. And I’m not saying that to be an arrogant prick. I am merely speaking the truth. I am one of the only people that can successfully bridge the gap between brewery, blogger and craft beer drinker — as I intimately involved  in each community.

Market research has shown that, I do in fact, have a tremendous amount of influence in social media on the topic of beer.

With great power, comes great responsibility.

It would be irresponsible of me NOT to acknowledge my power of influence and NOT try to harness it for the greater good of the industry. Am I doing this for fame? No. But, I will not lie and say that I have nothing to gain from the development of IPA Day, as it will most likely increase my following and brand exposure. But that is not the main goal. The real focus of the movement is on craft beer itself, and everything else is secondary.

________________________________________

And in closing, I want to give a HUGE thanks to all of the host breweries, social media sponsors and the featured bloggers who helped make the announcement and the launch of #IPADay such a tremendous success. I also want to thank the hundereds of breweries, bars, and craft beer lovers who have already dedicated to the celebration!

International #IPADay is an event geared towards making craft beer more accessible to the masses. Please encourage all of your non-beer drinking friends to take a break from their normal beverage routines to join the worldwide craft beer celebration on August 4th! This is a time for education and advocacy! We should all set out with the goal of converting at least one person, if not the whole world of drinkers, into craft beer lovers!

CHEERS!

International #IPADay is a grassroots movement to unite the voices of craft beer enthusiasts, bloggers, and brewers worldwide through social media. On Thursday August 4^th, craft beer drinkers across the social sphere and across the globe will raise pints in a collective toast to one of craft beer’s most iconic styles: the India Pale Ale. This celebrated style represents the pinnacle of brewing innovation with its broad spectrum of diverse brands, subcategories, and regional flavor variations – making it the perfect style to galvanize craft beer’s social voice.

#IPADay is not the brainchild of a corporate marketing machine, nor is it meant to serve any particular beer brand. #IPADay is opportunity for breweries, bloggers, businesses and consumers to connect and share their love of craft beer. Getting involved is easy; the only requirements are an appreciation for great beer and the will to spread the word. Anyone can participate by enjoying IPA with friends, making some noise online with the #IPADay hashtag, and showing the world that craft beer is more than a trend!

Tips on How to Take Part:

1.   Organize an #IPADay event at your brewery, brewpub, restaurant, bar, home, or office (Ex:  An IPA dinner/cheese pairing/comparative or educational tasting/cask night/tap takeover…). Share your events on the official #IPADay forum at http://www.ratebeer.com.

2.  On August 4th, share your photos, videos, blog posts, tasting notes, recipes, and thoughts with the world. Be sure to include the #IPADay hashtag in your posts Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, WordPress, RateBeer, Foursquare, Yelp, Untappd or any other social media site.

3.   See what other people are saying by searching “#IPADay” on Google, search.twitter.com, et cetera…

4.  Track down your favorite IPA’s, ones you’ve been meaning to try, and ones you’ve never heard of; share them with friends and share your thoughts with the world.

5.  Have a good time and know that by sharing your experiences online, you’re strengthening the craft beer community at large.

About International #IPADAY
Founded in 2011 by beer evangelists and social media personalities Ashley V Routson and Ryan A Ross, International #IPADay is the largest grassroots social media-based celebration of craft beer. The goal of #IPADay is to use social media to strengthen the collective voice of craft beer through the simple celebration of beer itself. The success of #IPADay hinges on the passionate voices of beer enthusiasts worldwide and their willingness to share that passion across the social sphere.