Photo: Junjira Konsang / EyeEm (Getty Images)
International Beer Day is celebrated on the first Friday of every August. This year, the worldwide beer holiday falls on Aug. 7. Back in 2007, a man named Jesse Avshalomov founded the holiday in Santa Cruz, California. Thirteen years later, what started as a small event with friends has blossomed into a worldwide holiday celebrated in more than 80 countries around the world. One of the main reasons for forming the holiday was Avshalomov’s feeling that beer can unite people from various cultures and backgrounds. That’s why this year we decided to put the “international” in International Beer Day and showcase beer not brewed in the U.S.
To do this, we asked some bartenders to tell us their favorite beers not from the U.S. From Ireland to Singapore to Denmark, their choices truly span the globe. Check them all out below and raise a pint to a world full of beer fans.
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Non-US Beers
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Asahi Super Dry (Japan)
“Asahi Super Dry is my go-to Japanese beer. Better than Sapporo and Kirin while eating a whole mess of rich, fried tonkatsu. Meant to be imbibed deeply, followed with a loud, performative exhale and ‘Umai!’, it is Japanese beer drinking (and eating) at its finest.” – Kurt Bellon, general manager and beverage director at Chao Baan in St. Louis
Photo: Asahi
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Bavik Super Pils (Belgium)
“We love Bavik Super Pils from Belgium, a 100-year-old family run brewery. It's a little bit of an underdog here in the U.S., but our customers' support and enthusiasm have made Bavik a local LA phenomenon, and now you see it popping up all over LA. We joke that it's "The beer that the MiniBar made famous." The owner of the brewery came here himself to see what the deal was, why this one random bar in LA was selling so much of his beer.” – Jeremy Allen, beverage director of MiniBar Hollywood, in Los Angeles
Photo: Bavik
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Dos Equis (Mexico)
“My favorite non-U.S. beer is Dos XX Amber. It’s a complex beer, and refreshing, all at the same time.” – Nestor Marchand, director of food and beverage at Plunge Beach Resort in Lauderdale, Florida
Photo: Dos Equis
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Carlsberg Elephant (Denmark)
“My favorite non-U.S. beer has to be Elephant beer from Copenhagen, Denmark. With 7.2 percent alcohol, it definitely has a nice kick to it. Each bottle is packed with a very discrete sweetness but well tamed with much a tolerable bitterness.” – Robert Swain Jr., owner of On the Rox Bartending Service in the British Virgin Islands
Photo: Carlsberg
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St. Bernardus Abt 12 (Belgium)
“Saint Bernardus Abt 12 is a great Belgian Quad that has complexity like a great wine. It’s the kind of beer that can age. It’s been around for hundreds of years.” – Shawn Brown, general manager of Wine World in Miramar Beach, Florida
Photo: St. Bernardus
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Guinness (Ireland)
“Guinness. But only if poured and consumed in Ireland. A creamy stout that still finishes crisp and refreshing? How do they do that?” – Seamus Gleason, bartender at Hotel Jackson in Jackson Hole, Wyoming
Photo: Guinness
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Peroni (Italy)
“Peroni is built like a warm-climate German pilsner, from the noble hops, light cooked corn malt, and, yes, slight skinniness of the nose, to the palate, which starts out with light-bodied malt and bitterness that starts crisp and grows increasingly focused. Is perfect for a summer day.” – Reniel Garcia, bar director of Havana 1957 on Espanola Way in Miami
Photo: Peroni
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Red Stripe (Jamaica)
“Red Stripe from Jamaica for their great packaging and marketing. They have the all-time best slogan: ‘Hooray beer!’” – Cory Richardson, bar manager at Hook & Barrel in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina
Photo: Red Stripe
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Tiger Beer (Singapore)
“If I’m drinking a beer not from the U.S., it’s going to be Tiger Beer. I can’t describe exactly what it is, but if I’m not drinking Busch, I am drinking a Tiger.” – Tim Wiggins, co-owner and beverage director of Retreat Gastropub in St. Louis
Photo: Tiger Beer
