Small Brewery Sunday, the national beer holiday created by the Boulder, Colo.-based Brewers Association (BA), returns for its third year on Nov. 28. The annual celebration encourages beer lovers to support their local breweries, brewpubs, and taprooms — small businesses that contribute to local communities and economies during the holiday season and beyond.

Since the onset of the pandemic, America’s small and independent craft breweries have adapted their business models to accommodate local health restrictions, supply chain issues, and shifts in consumer habits, many of which have the potential to translate into long-term changes in visitation and spending behavior. This year’s holiday comes at a critical time for craft brewers who are seeing a return in on-premise consumption but are still working to recover from the 9% drop in craft beer volume sales in 2020, the association says.

“Small and independent brewers have proven to be incredibly resilient, and they’ve approached recent hardships as opportunities for innovation. When faced with new challenges, they created ways to pivot their business models to continue serving their local communities and loyal customers. With the return of on-premise visits and new breweries continuing to open, we’re confident in the recovery and future growth of the craft brewing industry,” said Bob Pease, president and CEO of Brewers Association, in a statement.

Ann Obenchain, marketing and communications director of Brewers Association, added: “We are encouraged to see Americans continuing to make conscious efforts to support small and locally owned businesses, and what better place to gather with family and friends this Thanksgiving weekend than at your local craft brewery? More than two-thirds of legal drinking age Americans live within 10 miles of a brewery so it is easier than ever for beer lovers to celebrate the brewing community while supporting local economies this holiday season.”

Beer consumers are encouraged to share their Small Brewery Sunday experiences on social media with the hashtags #SmallBrewerySunday and #SeekTheSeal.