At the end of a long day, almost nothing can taste as good as a nice cold beer, but on April 7, celebrating can take place much earlier because it is National Beer Day.

The day, which is devoted to celebrating all things beer, is a great one for checking out specials at local bars, restaurants and eateries, kicking back with some friends at home, or celebrating in any way that works individually. But there’s another way to celebrate too. While brewing your own beer may not allow you to drink your creations on the holiday itself, it will allow you to enjoy the efforts later on—and in a way, it brings National Beer Day back into your life without having to wait an entire year.

So if you’re feeling adventurous, want to embrace that secret inner hipster that’s so over bars, are up to the challenge of creating a clone version of the beer you usually get on tap, and have the patience to wait for your concoction to be complete, homebrewing some beers on National Beer Day is the best thing for you. Here are 7 great recipes to get you started:

Champagne Lager

This particular recipe won the award Light Lager during the 2006 National Homebrew Competition, so it's bound to be good and worth a try.

Stairway To Heaven Belgian Specialty Ale

Led Zeppelin has nothing to do with this recipe, but you should still try it anyway for a great experience.

Rogue Chocolate Stout Clone

If you like the way Rogue Chocolate Stout often tastes, this clone recipe will allow you to create your own, without sacrificing that smooth and sweet flavor.

Victory Prima Pils Clone

For a beer that gives you the same satisfaction as the original German-style brew, this recipe is the one to take advantage of.

Lagunitas Little Sumpin’ Sumpin’ Clone

This homebrew recipe gives you the same strong and smooth taste of the original. Despite there being a fair number of hops in the beer, it’s also surprisingly not too bitter.

Montezuma’s Revenge Mexican Dark Lager With Coffee

This specialty beer allows you to have the best of both worlds with the two beverages most people probably like to drink the most (just usually at different times of the day). Follow this recipe for one that gives you what you really want (but didn’t know you were missing).

Raspberry Basil Porter Aged on Palo Santo Wood

This holiday inspired brew comes from Dogfish Head Craft Brewery lead brewer Bryan Selders. Try it to give yourself that same warm and fuzzy feeling of the holiday season without having to deal with, well, the actual holiday season.

RELATED STORIES