Small and independent craft brewers received a well deserved acknowledgement by America’s elected leaders, yesterday, when House Resolution 1297 was passed in Congress. The resolution, which was introduced by Colorado Congresswoman Betsy Markey, along with 62 other co-sponsors, was created in support of “the goals and ideals of American Craft Beer Week.”

While Congresswoman Markey was unable to speak on behalf of the Resolution, the introduction to congress was made jointly by Illinois Congressman Danny Davis and Georgia Congressman Paul Broun were fervent in their description of the importance of small brewers to their community and to America, as a whole.
Later Markey spoke to politico.com and explained her desire to introduce such a resolution, she said “We’ve got quite a number of microbreweries and entrepreneurs that are creating jobs, and we wanted to celebrate that this is a craft.”

American Craft Beer Week runs through May 23rd. The official events page lists over 500 events from over 300 craft brewers. The week was started in 2006 by a similar resolution and has enjoyed quite a bit of attention in its fourth year. Visit the American Craft Beer Week page on Facebook or search #ACBW on Twitter to see what others are saying about the week.