"Tastes great," The Boogster declared with a gulp.
American beer has come a long way in the last two decades, and not just the flavor. No longer trivialized as some generic consumer commodity, beer has evolved into a craft worthy of celebration.
There's no better sign of that progress than the sudden emergence of the Beer Week phenomenon. Since Philadelphia hosted the nation's first in 2008, more than 20 other cities, from San Francisco to Washington, D.C., have jumped on the beer wagon. (Disclosure: I'm a volunteer organizer of Philly Beer Week.)
Typically, they involve nightly events at restaurants and taverns, anchored by large festivals on the weekend.
Detroit Beer Week (under way today through Oct. 24) features a few dozen events with a handful of area breweries. San Francisco Beer Week (Feb. 5-14, 2010) hosted about 150 events last year, including the jammed Toronado Barleywine Festival. Philly Beer Week (June 4-13, 2010) topped at more than 700 events at more than 100 venues in 10 days.
In its first year, Baltimore hosted more than 300 events, including tastings and beer specials at bars, and beer-pairing dinners.
While Beer Week is a handy excuse for a seven-day bar crawl, there's more to the phenomenon than pure consumption.
_ Beer Week is a tourist attraction.
Downtown districts fill up with beer-savvy visitors exploring the local tap scene, turning taverns and restaurants into as much of a tourist destination as zoos and museums.
_ Beer Week spreads the gospel.
"It gives you an opportunity to showcase beer in a lot of different ways, to reach people through something other than just the beer itself," said Jay Brooks, one of the organizers of San Francisco Beer Week.
Brooks pointed to a daylong bike ride that took participants past a half-dozen beer joints around town, "so it was bikes that were the attraction, not just the beer."
_ Beer Week honors the tavern.
