It's American Craft Beer Week!

From today to May 19, it's American Craft Beer Week, a week for celebrating all the awesomeness that is craft beer in America.

And it's a great time to do it, because there has never been a better time to be a beer drinker in America.

Pretty much forever, American beer has had a bad reputation. The world saw it (and sometimes still sees it) as watered-down piss barely fit for anything other than chugging. And sadly, for a long time that perception was pretty much accurate. While the easy-drinking Buds, Millers and Coors of the world have their place, for generations that's all American beer had to offer.

Not anymore. Anyone who knows their beer knows that following the trails blazed by Sierra Nevada, Anchor Steam, Boston Beer Co., New Albion and others, American craft brewers are making some of the best beer in the world. They're innovating. They're pushing boundaries. They're inventing at a remarkable pace. It helps that they have a rapidly growing base of support from the craft beer loving community in the United States. These are die hard beer geeks who demand quality from their brew. While the larger beer market remains stagnant under fierce competition from spirits and wine, American craft beer is enjoying double-digit growth.

No surprise there. Craft beer in America is arguably the most varied, flavorful, and inventive in the world right now.

So this week, tip back a glass or two of American craft beer and appreciate just how far we've come.