Today is International Beer Day

On Thursday, beer lovers are being asked to hoist a mug and celebrate its makers – both large and small.

Aug. 5 has been designated International Beer Day, a day that internationalbeerday.com suggests should be dedicated to "revel in the culture of beer, bars and breweries."

"This day-long focus on the world's favorite beverage will be akin to what takes place on St. Patrick's Day or Cinco de Mayo, except even better because International Beer Day is focused specifically on appreciating beer," the website states.

International Beer Day started in 2007 in Santa Cruz, Calif. The beer day website credits its founding to Jesse Avshalomov, Evan Hamilton, Aaron Araki and Richard Hernandez. Avshalomov said they decided there should be a celebration of beer so they convinced a bar to go along.

Beer lovers are also encouraged to try something new. While light lager-style beers have made up most of what's consumed in the United States, a recent revival of styles and microbreweries are bringing craft beers back in popularity. Numbers attributed to the Brewers Association showed that national beer sales declined by more than 2 percent in 2009 but craft beers and small breweries saw an increase of 10 percent in sales.

More than 150 styles of beer are recognized by the association.

According to an association press release , dollar sales were up 12 percent during the first half of 2010 for the nation's small and independent craft brewers. About 4.6 million barrels were sold compared to 4.2 million barrels during the same period in 2009.

"There is a movement by beer lovers to the innovative and flavorful beers created by America's small and independent craft brewers," Paul Gatza, the director of the Brewers Association, stated in the release. "More people are starting to think of craft-brewed beer first when they buy in restaurants, bars and stores."