July 4th is the biggest beer-selling holiday in the country. Supermarkets alone are projected to sell 24 million cases for a total of $41 billion in retail sales.

If you’re serving beer, look for craft brews for thematic names:

• Samuel Adams, is available in most places.
• Yards Brewing Company in Philadelphia makes Thomas Jefferson’s Tavern Ale, based on Jefferson’s original recipe.
• What could be more perfect than Independence Pale Ale, from Independence Brewing in Austin, Texas.
• Enlist the celebrants to sign the Declaration Of Beer Independence.

You also can contemplate George Washington’s own hand-written recipe for beer (the original is in a notebook owned by the New York Public Library):

Take a large Siffer [Sifter] full of Bran Hops to your Taste. — Boil these 3 hours then strain out 30 Gall[ons] into a cooler put in 3 Gall[ons] Molasses while the Beer is Scalding hot or rather draw the Melasses into the cooler & St[r]ain the Beer on it while boiling Hot. let this stand till it is little more than Blood warm then put in a quart of Yea[s]t if the Weather is very Cold cover it over with a Blank[et] & let it Work in the Cooler 24 hours then put it into the Cask — leave the bung open till it is almost don[e] Working — Bottle it that day Week it was Brewed.”

That’s too much work for us—we’ll just head for the Samuel Adams in the fridge.

Enjoy THE NIBBLE’s Beer Glossary.

Thomas Jefferson, Ben Franklin and
George Washington loved their beer! Photo
courtesy Yards Brewing Company.