Beer followers, expect your social media feed to be soaked in beer over the next two days as beer nerds, lovers and bloggers unite in a sharing frenzy to celebrate and promote better beer.

If there’s a surefire way to get the conversation flowing in this digital age, it’s through viral internet content. Utilising the global reach and self-replicating nature of social media, people can generate an avalanche of promotion by posting a simple buzzword hashtag or an irresistibly clickable link. It’s the pyramid scheme of the 21st century.

Now in its third year, IPA Day (the first Thursday of August) aims to promote advocacy of craft beer through increased education and global awareness. Tomorrow, IPA Day will again attempt to do just that by calling on beer lovers to combine in an online celebration of craft beer.

Founded in 2011 by two social media savvy craft beer drinkers in the USA, IPA Day has quickly become the world’s largest virtual beer party. The founders have declared it a universal movement, created to unite the voices of craft beer enthusiasts, bloggers and brewers worldwide, using social media as the common arena for connecting the conversation.

Why Celebrate the IPA?

“This illustrious style represents the pinnacle of brewing innovation with its broad spectrum of diverse brands, subcategories and regional flavor variations—making it the perfect style to galvanize craft beer’s social voice,” explains founder and organiserAshley Routson, aka The Beer Wench.

“For the past two years, hundreds of events, tastings, festivals and dinners have been hosted around the world in celebration of IPA Day. Last year, roughly 12 thousand tweets from more than eight thousand people were sent out over a 24-hour period, yielding over 10 million impressions for the #IPAday hashtag on Twitter.”

“The goal is to make this year’s IPA Day even more viral. Getting involved is easy, the only requirements are an appreciation for great craft beer and the willingness to spread the word.”

“On August 1, share your photos, videos, blog posts, tasting notes, recipes and thoughts on IPA with the world. Be sure to tag your posts on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest, Google+ and other social media platforms with the #IPAday hashtag.”

So grab an IPA and your phone or computer, then join the conversation via #IPAday.

With a recent increase in craft beer focused importers and distributors around Australia creating an influx of new beer brands to our shores, there’s sure to be a new IPA around for you to try. Alternatively, maybe you will rediscover an IPA that you haven’t tastes for some time because you’re too busy drinking those new beers, or maybe you just have a favourite IPA that you’ll be happy to drink forever.

What will you be drinking on IPA Day? Tell us why.

For those who have not explored IPAs before, here are a few personal suggestions of Australian made IPAs,which are generally available nation-wide through major outlets:

• Feral Brewing Hop Hog India Pale Ale
• Mountain Goat India Pale Ale
• Burleigh Brewing FIGJAM IPA
• Vale IPA

If you’re willing to dig a little deeper, you may find the following IPAs at specialty craft beer bottle shops and venues:

• Bridge Road Brewers Single Hop IPA Series (Galaxy, Ella, Summer)
• Mornington Peninsula Brewery IPA
• Holgate Brewhouse Road Trip IPA
• Murray’s Brewing Icon 2IPA
• HopDog BeerWorks Horns Up IPA

Check out the full IPA Day details on CraftBeer.com.

Let’s make it a session…

Following the social media theme, on Friday 2nd August 2013, I am hosting a global exercise in beer SoMe (apparently that’s the fashionable new term for social media). As this month’s host of The Session – Beer Blogging Friday – I have set a challenge for beer bloggers to publish their elevator pitch for beer.

The Session is a monthlyevent targeted at the global beer blogging community. Each month a different volunteer blogger hosts The Session by setting a topic for all interested bloggers to write about. The aim is to have all contributions about a single topic to be published/shared on the first Friday of the month. After that, the host publishes a round-up (a sort of blogger’s version of a literature review) of all the contributions.

For this Friday’s round of The Session, my chosen topic is actually more of a challenge. It is a test of writing and communication skill. The topic is essentially open but the requirement is to sell your argument for a better beer world within the space of less than 250 words or 30 seconds or multimedia content. Like a PR agent pitching a story to a journalist, or a film maker pitching a concept to a movie studio, I want you to pitch to the online community your idea of how to create better beer appreciation or a better market place for beer.

How persuasive and passionate about beer can you be in the shorted space possible?

The challenge is open to anyone who is interested in beer and has a creative or social outlet online. Join in via my blog at beerbarband.com

For more information about The Session, visit theBrookston Beer Bulletin.