American Craft Beer Week
Exploring diverse flavors and styles, American craft beer showcases innovation and craftsmanship, delighting enthusiasts worldwide.
Drive foot traffic and online sales by positioning craft breweries, brewing kits, and beer-infused food products as must-try experiences during American Craft Beer Week.
- Discover the craft brewery within 10 miles of you—exclusive tasting events and limited releases during the week
- DIY beer brewing kits: start your batch this week and enjoy fresh craft beer in 2-4 weeks
- 5 surprising recipes using craft beer—from cupcakes to chicken—perfect for home cooks
Campaign ideas8
- Host a Limited-Release Launch Party: Create a taproom-exclusive beer for ACBW week with early-bird tasting flights and special pricing. Partner with a local food vendor for pairings to drive foot traffic and create shareable moments.
- Brewery Takeover Collaboration: Partner with 2-3 neighboring breweries for a 'Hop Crawl' event across the week—each brewery hosts a night featuring the others' beers. Create a punch card that customers collect for a grand prize.
- Behind-the-Scenes Documentary Series: Release 3-5 short videos during ACBW on TikTok/Instagram showing your brewing process, ingredient sourcing, or staff stories. Drive traffic with a discount code hidden in each video.
- Interactive Tasting Challenge: Host a 'Name This Beer' contest or blind tasting competition with customer voting. Announce the winner mid-week and feature their name on the final product or social media.
- Local Ingredient Spotlight Campaign: Highlight a featured local ingredient each day of the week (hops, grain, honey, etc.) with educational posts, tastings, and small food samples from local suppliers.
- Merchandise Pop-Up & Limited Merch Drop: Release ACBW-exclusive branded gear (limited edition pint glasses, hats, koozies) available only during the week. Use scarcity messaging to drive urgency.
- Community Brewery Crawl Map: Create a downloadable/printable map featuring 5-10 local craft breweries with exclusive ACBW discounts at each. Partner with local tourism boards and restaurants for cross-promotion.
- Quitter's Day Hook (Early January Planning): Plan a 'New Year, New Beer' campaign tying to Quitter's Day momentum—launch a light/session option or wellness-focused beer during ACBW as the 'guilt-free' choice for moderation-focused drinkers.
Social angles6
- 🍺 Support Local, Drink Local: It's American Craft Beer Week! Most of you live within 10 miles of a craft brewery. Find yours here: [brewery finder link]. Tag us in your ACBW adventures. #AmericanCraftBeerWeek #SupportLocal #IndieBrewers
- Meet the Brewer: Short-form interview series where you get to know the person behind your favorite pour. What got you into brewing? What's your favorite beer in our lineup? Drop your questions in the comments. #MeetTheBrewer #CraftBeerWeek #Brewing
- Blind Taste Test Challenge: Can you guess which beer is which? We're dropping a blind tasting video daily during ACBW. Follow along and vote in our Stories. Winners get free merch! #BlindTasteTest #CraftBeer #ACBW2026
- Throwback: Celebrating Craft Breweries' Impact: 'Did you know? Over 197,000 people work in craft breweries. That's YOUR neighbor brewing YOUR beer.' Share this week how your local brewery has impacted your community. #CraftBeerMatters #SupportLocal
- New Beer Release Hype: We're dropping something special for ACBW—sneak peek incoming! 👀 Follow for the reveal and first-access info. Tap Takeover details + exclusive pricing for followers only. #NewRelease #CraftBeerWeek #ComingSoon
- Food Pairing Series: Every day a different beer + local food pairing. 'Monday: Hazy IPA + Fish Tacos from [Local Restaurant].' Tag the restaurant and your pairing photos for a chance to win free beer. #BeerPairing #CraftFoodWeek
The background of American Craft Beer Week is associated with two different important trade organizations that go back several decades. Dating back to the World War II era is the Brewers Association of America, and the Association of Brewers was founded in 1978. These two operated independently until 2005 when they joined together to form what is now simply known as the Brewers Association, working out of Boulder, Colorado.
American Craft Beer Week was launched the following year (2006) by the Brewers Association along with Craftbeer.com. The event was founded with the purpose of supporting and raising awareness about craft breweries as well as independent brewers who work hard to infuse their barrels and bottles with amazing, hand-crafted beer.
This event takes place at the perfect time of the year for the northern hemisphere. As temperatures are beginning to rise and backyard barbecues are popping up in neighborhoods and communities, American Craft Beer Week encourages the inclusion of craft beers into these summer celebrations.
Now, for more than 15 years, American Craft Beer Week has been celebrated each year to show appreciation for the growing number of craft breweries in the United States – reaching close to 10,000 in 2023!
Find a New Favorite Craft Brewery
While anytime is a good time to explore craft breweries, American Craft Beer Week acts as a perfect reminder to step beyond the usual and support a local independent brewer. Those who are looking for a quick and easy guide to finding one can check out the resources located on the Craftbeer website, which states that most Americans live within only 10 miles of a craft brewery.
Try Brewing Craft Beer
Those who love beer and have thought about brewing might just want to use American Craft Beer Week as a motivation to get started! The simplest way to begin is to order a beer brewing kit. Though it takes 2-4 weeks to get the finished product, it’s not extremely labor intensive as much of the time is left for the fermentation and carbonation processes to take place naturally.
Cook with Craft Beer in the Kitchen
Many people don’t realize what a versatile ingredient beer can be in the kitchen. From cupcakes and cookies to meatballs and chicken, beer brings a unique flavor to all sorts of homemade foods. Search online or check out the Craftbeer.com website to find a list of recipes that include beer as a flavorful ingredient.