The pubs might be closed but you can still celebrate your favourite beverage from the comfort of the sofa.

Nothing warrants a cold schooner like being stuck at home for months on end. While you might be used to celebrating International Beer Day at a boozy festival with friends, Saturday 7th August is set to look a little different this year. Here’s how you can celebrate International Beer Day at home.

Enjoy a cold one from some of Sydney’s best breweries

If there was one day a year for you to put down the Heineken, Corona, Stella Artois or Asahi, it’s 7th August. This day should be all about supporting local breweries who have been impacted by the lockdowns. With plenty of Sydney breweries allowing you to order their beers online, we recommend taking advantage and stocking up. Some of our favourites include Young Henrys, Yulli’s, Batch Brewing Co, Atomic, and Sydney Beer Co.

Set up a beer tasting at home

If you’re the organiser in the group, you can kill some time during lockdown by creating a virtual beer tasting for all your mates on International Beer Day. Send everyone a shopping list in advance, or, if you’re a really great friend, order the beers directly to your friends’ houses. You’ll want to choose a range of different beers for everyone to try, from an IPA, to a lager, or even something more adventurous like a rice beer or a sour.

Create a beer trivia

If you’re trying to cut back on your drinking but don’t want to miss out on the fun, brush up your beer knowledge by creating a beer trivia. Do you know from what year beer was considered an alcoholic beverage? Do you know which country has the most beer drinkers? How about which ancient civilization is said to be the first to make beer? Bonus points if you go all out with a presentation that you share with your friends over Zoom.

Grab your beer passport and go on an international journey

From Mexico, to Belgium, Canada and Japan, take yourself on a world tour through beer. You can create your own tour, or, following along with the Lonely Planet’s Global Beer Tour.

Try your hand at a home brew

You’ve been thinking about it for a while, now’s the time to get it going. A basic starter home brew kit will set you back around $100 but will give you everything you need to make roughly 60 stubbies of your own brew. If you perfect your brewing in lockdown, you’ll be able to give your friends a nice surprise the next time they visit.