No, it’s actually gotten the imprimatur of the national legislature in the past. Twice Congress has given its official nod to American Craft Beer Week (the latest of which starts May 13). The first time was in 2006, when the Brewers Association first came up with it; the second time was in 2010, when the bitterly divided 111th Congress came together to pass a resolution in praise of American Craft Beer Week, citing the wider craft-beer movement’s contributions to the economy and to the national palate by championing “historic brewing traditions dating back to colonial America.”
Still, my personal favorite nod did not emanate from D.C.; it emanated from New York. In 2008, Stephen Colbert spoke of the gravity of American Craft Beer Week on his Comedy Central show: “This isn’t one of those fake holidays, like Grandparents Day or Women’s History Month—no, this is officially sanctioned by Congress as of 2006!” Funny enough, but soberly serious for the movement: Colbert’s show then reached 1.2 million viewers four nights a week. American craft beer had come a long way.
TomAcitelli.com 