National India Pale Ale day is coming up this week on Thursday. For some reason, whoever picks these National XYZ Celebration Days decided that it was a good idea to have IPA Day on a Thursday. Well it must correspond with a certain date, like maybe its August 2nd every year, you must be asking yourself. Nope. It is scheduled for the first Thursday in August.

Can you imagine that meeting:

"Hey guys, let's celebrate the quintessential American Craft Beer, the American IPA."

"Great idea Bob, when should we have it? Maybe the first Saturday in August? Labor Day, when no one has to work?"

"No Ted, I was thinking a weeknight, when most people have to go to work the next morning."

"Even better Bob."

[Author Bangs Head on Table]

So as the week begins, readers who are planning accordingly are getting as much work done early in the week so that they can duck out early on Thursday and come in late on Friday. Across the country drinkers will be heading to their local watering holes, bottle shops, or friends' houses to imbibe in a style that has come to represent the craft beer movement.

Bars like the Avenue Pub in New Orleans will be pulling out all the stops to celebrate. The brewers from NOLA will be at the bar with a Hop infuser to up the ante on their Hopitoulas, a West Coast IPA brewed with 6 malts and 6 hops then dry hopped for 3 weeks; and the Avenue Pub will have every imaginable style of IPA on draft from the balanced Belgian & English IPAs to the "Hopnormous" triples and a Brettomoyces brewed IPA from Mikkeller.

NOLA is not the only brewery putting something special in their year round IPA. Saint Arnold Brewing Company in Houston is releasing their Endeavor IPA on cask at the Flying Saucer in Sugar Land, TX on Thursday. Endeavor is the brewery's Double IPA which started its life as one of their special releases (Divine Reserves) but grabbed such a following that the brewery decided to make it a year round offering. The Endeavor packs a punch at 8.9% ABV and 76 IBU's. 

There are plenty of events happening across the country on Thursday so there should be something in everyone's backyard. If there isn't anything exciting happening then invite some friends over for a bottle sharing party. Just remember, Friday will eventually come and ideally you will make it to work before the boss comes looking. If you are a boss, then maybe overlook the clock when a beer fan stumbles through the door to their desk.

Cheers.