As if you need an excuse, Friday is National American Beer Day

Yeah, the weekend is finally here! And to add another reason to celebrate, Friday is National American Beer Day.

While you’re sipping a celebratory cup of suds at one of Columbia’s breweries, consider this:

▪ There are more than 2,100 breweries that manufacture beer in the United States. They range in size from industry giants to brewpubs and microbreweries.

▪ The U.S. consumes roughly 20 US gallons of beer per capita annually.

▪ In 2008, the United States was ranked sixteenth in the world in per capita consumption, while total consumption was second only to China.

▪ The most common style of beer produced by the big breweries is American lager.

▪ Beer styles originating in the United States include: American pale ale, Pennsylvania porter, American IPA, steam beer, amber ale, cream ale and Cascadian dark ale.

Here are some of the Midlands craft breweries:

Conquest Brewing, 947 S. Stadium Rd. Belgian Waffle Truck on Friday evening, Yoga on Sundays at noon.

Hunter-Gatherer Brewery and Ale House, 900 Main St. The original Columbia brewery.

Old Mill Brew Pub, 711 East Main St., Lexington. Sign up for the Hops & Harvest Beer Dinner on Dec. 5.

River Rat Brewery, 1231 Shop Road. Check out the progress of the rooftop bar

Swamp Cabbage Brewing, 921 Brookwood Drive. Brunch at the brew 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 29

Twisted Spur Brewing, 705 Gervais St., Oysters and beer, a classic combination

Also, Craft & Draft at 2706 Devine St. has a wide selection of Southern craft brews.

And track down Bierkeller Columbia, the authentic German-style brewer at events around town. They will be at EarleJam at Earlwood Park starting at 3 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 29.