This week, Charlotte raises its glass and toasts, well, beer. The inaugural Charlotte Craft Beer Week jumped off last Friday and continues through March 28. Bars and restaurants all around town will be hosting various beer-related events, such as tastings of rare and exotic brews, showcases featuring local and regional breweries, food and beer pairing events, brewery tours and appearances by some major names in the brewing industry.

From www.charlottecraftbeerweek.org:

"The craft beer movement in the Carolinas really took off thanks to the Pop the Cap campaign which resulted in passage in 2005 of a bill in North Carolina to raise the maximum alcohol content in beer from 6 percent to 15 percent. In 2007, South Carolina went a bit further and raised its cap to 17.5 percent," said Darrin Pikarsky, founder of the Charlotte Beer Club. "Since that time dozens of unique beers have become available in the Charlotte area and a terrific new wave of North Carolina craft brewers have brought some world class beers to market."

The goal behind Charlotte Craft Beer Week is to celebrate a new golden age of beer in the Queen City and help introduce more people to the dozens of amazing beer styles and venues now available locally. Tickets for the events will be sold at each of the host locations.

Click here to see what kind of events are going on and when. Note to self: There are multiple things going on each night!

Why craft beer? Watch this video from Craftbeer.com.