It’s almost that time of month again.

What time?

Beer tasting time, of course. The second Thursday of each month (in this case, August 13), Arbor Brewing Co., 114 E. Washington St., hosts a beer tasting, often featuring brews from around the world.

This time around, however, the focus is on American craft beer, the fast-and-loose definition of which is beer produced by smaller, local or regional microbreweries. (There is plenty of debate over what the term means, but that’s a subject for another day… or week, or month.)

Anyone familiar with Michigan craft beer will, for example, recognize names like Bell’s, Arcadia, Dark Horse, New Holland, and Founders, to drop a few of our heavier hitters. But as good as Michigan beer is, there’s a world of other great micros beyond our borders, with well established perennial favorites like Rogue (Newport, Ore.), Sierra Nevada (Chico, Calif.), Anchor (San Francisco), and Sam Adams (Boston).

Then you have the likes of Stone Brewing (San Marcos, Calif.), Flying Dog and Avery (Denver and Boulder, respectively), Goose Island (Chicago), Brooklyn Brewery (three guesses where), and the list goes on and on.

(Note: These are some popular brewers with widely available beers, actual beers at this tasting may vary.)

Bottom line: American craft beer has come a long way in the past 15 or so years. There’s now a whole world of flavorful beer of every style and type out there waiting for your taste buds to discover, and beer tastings are a great way to begin the discovering.

Arbor provides samples of around two dozen beers, an appetizer buffet, and end-of-the-evening raffle for door prizes, usually hats, t-shirts, posters, and glasses. Tastings run from 7 to 9 p.m., and tickets are $25 in advance or $30 at the door. Call the brewery at 734-213-1393 to order, or drop by and pick one up from the bar.

See you next week!

David Bardallis is a freelance writer and editor, blogger, bon vivant, and man about town. Visit his Web site, DavidBardallis.com, to engage his services or read his latest ramblings.