"Fatherhood is pretending the present you love the most is soap-on-a-rope." - Bill Cosby

Before there was Father's Day there was beer - so there's never been a good reason not to give Dad something you know he'd enjoy.

Although it wasn't until 1966 that President Lyndon Johnson signed a presidential proclamation declaring the third Sunday of June as Father's Day, celebrations go back to the beginning of the 20th century. The first "official" Father's Day was observed on June 19, 1910 in Spokane, Wash. It was soon followed with similar events across the country, and by 1924 President Calvin Coolidge supported the idea of a national Father's Day. LBJ gave us a nationalized date on which to buy bad ties and good beer.

Gift suggestions: Beer is always a good choice, but there are many other beer related items Dad might also enjoy. How about a brewery tour or a beer video? Does he homebrew? Do you think he'd want ot start? We've got plenty more ideas.

Your father's beer: Most of today's small craft breweries haven't been around long enough to "drink legally," but the face of American beer in the second half of the 20th century was intresting in its own way. Remembering Ballantine IPA and others.

A family connection: When Norwegian Arthur Apulethun learned that he would soon die, he called his daughters Gerd and Anne-Magrethe and communicated to them his last wish: "I would like to think that our family will always have beer to give our guests, and that it will be a brew we ourselves have made. I don't know whether you girls can brew, but I would like you to try." Michael Jackson tells the story.
- Boston Beer Co. founder Jim Koch is the son of a brewer who was the son of a brewer who ... in fact, Koch is a sixth generation brewer. His story.
- The family business is alive again. Where a grandfather once grew his own barley, a grandson now brews. Michael Jackson writes from Belgium.