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For thousands of years, these men and women have toiled to create beverage that we love. Beer may very well be the impetus for civilization. But they’ve never had a day in which all of their “customers” could stop and say thank you (every Friday happy hour not withstanding).

Until now, that is.

The brainchild of Jay Brooks, International Brewers Day is a day to “honor the great men and women who make the beer we love.”

Brewers have given so many of us the pleasure of their artistry and enriched our lives with their beer since civilization began. So I think it’s time we recognized their efforts by celebrating their lives, their commitment and their craft. We’re all beer people, but without the brewers what would we be drinking?

July 18 was chosen because that is the feast day of St. Anou of Metz (a.k.a. St. Arnold), the best known patron saint of brewers.

How to celebrate? Well, drink beer for one. Profile your favorite brewmaster. Hold an event. Hug your favorite brewer. Petition Hallmark to create greeting cards for the occasion. Whatever you do, tell the world about it.

For more information, please check out the official International Brewers Day website. And get ready to Hug a Brewmaster on July 18, 2008.

Thanks to Al at Hop Talk for bringing this event to our attention.

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G’ah! Time flies when the weather is nice, doesn’t it? It’s somehow been 12 days since our June MBWG meeting, and I still haven’t published that longer piece on Novare Res Bier Café that I promised when I got home that night. Thanks, Russ, for making me get my butt in gear and finish this post.

Much has been made about the beer selection at Novare Res, so I won’t beat that tired horse any more than I must. Yes, there are 25 taps and 200+ bottles. No, none of them are Bud or Coors products, and only a handful of them are even Maine-brewed. Owner Eric Michaud also has a small but quality selection of tequilas, scotches, ports, and wines. Added between the opening and our meeting two weeks later is a tasty selection of meets and cheeses, a couple of great-looking sandwiches, and an olive platter that I’m told doesn’t really taste like normal olives (I don’t like olives, so I didn’t try them).

All of these things make Novare Res a good place to grab a good beer. But there are other good places in Portland to grab a beer, too. The Great Lost Bear, $3 Deweys, and the new Prost! International Tap House all have good to great beer selections, and more taps than Eric’s Novare Res. What makes Novare Res truly special, and worth seeking out, is the atmosphere. Hidden away in the basement of Four Canal Plaza, you need to go down the stairs behind the building from Middle Street, or through the alley off Exchange, to find this place. It feels like you’ve found a secret beer haven when you do. And that’s before you even set foot inside. Just the huge deck alone is worth finding.

But when the weather isn’t cooperative, the indoor setting is simply superb. The exposed brick, the tin ceilings, the real dart boards, the lack of televisions, and the wide wooden tables give this space a very European flair. What would be a walk-in wine cooler in most bars is, in fact, a beer cooler (didn’t manage to talk him into letting us inside though). Eric’s attention to detail is great too—everything from the wonderful leather sofas to pouring the beers into the proper glassware (this is no “everything goes in a pint glass” establishment) reveals that this is truly a labor of love for Michaud. If the first several weekends is any indication, that love is being returned by some very loyal customers.

In addition to our MBWG meeting, Novare Res has also hosted a gala opening grande, complete with a jeroboam of tasty Belgian beer, and a Maine BeerAdvocate gathering this past weekend. The Events page also hints at upcoming events involving Allagash, Rogue, and Dogfish Head. I’m not sure what Eric has up his sleeve, but I know I’ll be there when it happens. We’re riding down to Portsmouth next week for the unveiling of this year’s Kate the Great, so perhaps I can get a few more details from him then. Stay tuned…

Again, cheers to Eric Michaud for opening a great new beer destination in Portland. And a huge thanks from the Maine Beer Writers’ Guild for hosting our meeting and sharing some of your personal stash (Earthmonk is like nothing I’ve ever had before, and since it’s retired, I may not have many other opportunities to sample it again).

Sal and I were in Tucson last month for a family wedding. The town has plenty of good brewpubs and bars, easily found, but the Bar at the Hotel Congress offers a truly magnificent beer experience.

The Hotel Congress was built in 1919. It’s a southwest style art deco hotel across the street from the restored Tucson railroad station. It’s handy to downtown and fully restored, yet inexpensive.

The bar is straight out of every film noir thriller you’ve ever seen. I walked in and started seeing in black and white. It’s cheesy, seedy, a dive, everything your mother warned you about. It’s small, perhaps 6 booths and a dozen seats at the bar, looks like it must have looked when the Dillinger Gang hid out here in the Thirties. When we visited patronage was a mix of regulars and beer tourists. The bartender may have been alive when the place opened; he was superb at working his crowd and making everyone feel comfortable.

Places like this are common in Europe, but sadly rare in the US. The beers were acceptable; they had a Sierra Nevada on tap, but we opted for pints of a very well cared for Fat Tire.

This place is a gem, something I was delighted to experience. I may never get back, or I might find a way to take my European friends there… I know for sure they will love it.

I want to welcome fellow beer aficionado Jan Williams to the BeerBloggers.com fold. I met Jan at Novare Res during our June MBWG meeting. He stopped by our table to chat about NERAX, the New England Real Ale Exhibition, and stayed to talk about and sample beers with us. Jan has travelled widely and been to quite a few well-known beer festivals. Being quite jealous of this, and wanting to hear more, I’ve talked Jan into writing about his beer travels, and CASC, the Cask-Conditioned Ale Support Campaign, for BeerBloggers.com. Welcome, Jan. I look forward to reading more about some of the wonderful beer events you’ve attended and beer people you’ve met.