Beer lovers across the country are celebrating India Pale Ale today, sharing their love on social media sites until they have the chance to escape the office and hit the bar.

Michigan craft brewers are ready to help fans enjoy IPA Day, but don't expect too much fanfare -- they're already proud of what they do.

"We make a lot of great IPAs here, so I think we could stand up with any state," said Laura Bell, marketing director for Bell's Brewery in Kalamazoo, which will be pouring its award-winning Two Hearted IPA all day but is not planning any special events.

IPA Day, a social media movement founded in 2011, is designed to help breweries, bloggers and beer fans connect online and in person as they celebrate a beer best known for hops.

"As people tend to gravitate toward craft beer, I think they really learn to understand hops as a main ingredient," said Joel Armato, beer captain at the New Holland Brewing Co., home of the popular Mad Hatter IPA. "It's what your nose connects to before you can connect to the fermentation profile, malt profile or anything else."

Armato said that New Holland will be particpating in IPA Day by sharing behind-the-scenes photos of its brewing process on Twitter and Facebook. "I think it's really a great time to celebrate a beer that a lot of people love," he said.

Many Michigan breweries treat their IPAs as calling cards, vying for the affection of hop heads while trying to win over casual drinkers who initially may turn up their nose.

"It's just one of those things," said Dave Clark, day manager at Arbor Brewing Co. "You have to give it a try, and you have to try it more than once. I would say it's an acquired taste, but at the same time, once you get it on your pallet more often, you come back around to it and begin to recognize the different notes."

Arbor Brewing isn't planning any special events either, but Clark said beer fans come in every day to celebrate the cask-conditioned Sacred Cow IPA. "It's by far our biggest seller, and we have a lot of customers that only drink IPAs."

While American IPAs are defined by a common characteristic, hops, the finshed product can vary widely depending on ingredients and process.

"I think there's a lot of versatility in hops," she said. "You can have an IPA that's really bitter, that really brings out some of the more piney or floral and fruit characteristics. If you balance it out with malt, it's not overly bitter. There's just a huge range of variety that you can get with an IPA."

So what's your beer of choice for IPA Day? Michigan has plenty to offer from the likes of Founders, Arcadia, Short's, Dark Horse, Atwater and others not mentioned above. Join the conversation at #IPADay on Twitter or in the comment section below.