SF Beer Week is upon us again. We’re ready for it. You better be, too, because you know damn well it’s not gonna wait around for you to catch up.
Amid the metric zillion events all over Northern California, Drake’s is hosting & participating in a bunch of events, both at the Barrel House and all over the Bay, and if you know what’s good for you, you better swing by at least a few of them.
Friday 2/8: SF Beer Week Opening Celebration
Concourse Exhibition Center, San Francisco
https://sf-beer-week-2013-opening-celebration.eventbrite.com/
We’ll be hanging out with the best damn brewers in California to kick off the best damn beer week in the country.
Saturday 2/9: 13th Annual Double IPA Festival
The Bistro, Hayward
http://sfbw.it/37y
Drake’s will be there to defend our 2012 Triple IPA win for Hopocalypse Black Label, as well as bring along plenty other of our only-on-the-West-Coast celebrations of the humulus lupulus.
Saturday 2/9: Casks & Queso
ThirstyBear, San Francisco
http://www.eventbrite.com/event/5184294364
Cask & Queso, Triple Fermented. Fermentation lovers unite! Beer, cheese & bread on one table! Unlimited tastings of cask conditioned ales, including a cask of our Hopocalypse, paired with local and Spanish artisan cheeses and fresh baked breads.
Sunday, 2/10: Strong Beer Brunch with Drake’s and Iron Springs
21st Amendment, San Francisco
http://sfbw.it/34b
They’ll be serving Nelson, Jade, & Helga, as well as all the other 21A offerings from Strong Beer Month, which should benefit you as you attempt to lean into your first-weekend-of-Beer-Week hangover.
Monday, 2/11: Drake’s & Cheese
Mission Cheese, San Francisco
http://drakesandcheese1.brownpapertickets.com/
Join us in a celebration of love, as American artisan cheese and the cheese-friendly beers of Drake’s Brewing unite. The event will feature 5 ‘pairing stations’, each with an American cheese, a Drake’s brew, and tasting notes. The cheeses are still to be decided, but the 5 beers are locked in Hopocalypse DIPA, Amber, 1500 Pale Ale, Scorched Earth Imperial Stout, and Jolly Rodger American Barleywine. Tickets must be purchased in advance.
Tuesday, 2/12: This is the East Bay, not SF!
Beer Revolution, Oakland
http://sfbw.it/3lg
SF? Pshaw. We’re in the East Bay and this is where we show what we’re made of on the sunny side of the Bay.
Wednesday, 2/13: Sau & Brau
Drake’s Barrel House
http://drakessauandbrau3.brownpapertickets.com/
You’ve heard all the stories, and by now, you know better than to get left out. So get yourself down to the Barrel House and dig into Chop Bar’s whole roasted hog along with- of course- some of Drake’s amazing beers for a big, full night of gluttony & grog. Throw in some live music, good friends, and nearly the entire Drake’s staff on hand to talk beer and brewing, and you have one helluva great night to look forward to.
Thursday, 2/14: East Bay Brew Fest
Pyramid Alehouse, Berkeley
http://eastbaybrewfest2013.eventbrite.com/
Pyramid hosts this best-of-the-East-Bay brewfest to benefit the Northern California MS Society. San Franciscans too scared to BART to the East Bay need not attend.
Thursday, 2/14: Nightlife at the Academy
California Academy of the Arts, San Francisco
http://www.calacademy.org/events/nightlife/
Nightlife at the Academy has quickly become a mainstay of, well, San Francisco nightlife, and part of that appeal is that they’re certainly no stranger to good beer. Join us for a special Valentine’s Night edition of Nightlife in Golden Gate Park.
Friday, 2/15: Drake’s Through the Years at Barclay’s
Barclay’s Restaurant & Pub, Oakland
Drake’s Brewing has been around since 1989, and we’ve had more than a few of our beers flowing through the taps at Barclay’s. Beer Club members- this’ll be a good night to get some of those first-and second-page numbers checked off on your cards, as Barclay’s will have a smattering of our classic brews on tap, as well as a few of our former brewers on hand to dish dirt reminisce about their time at Drake’s.
Friday, 2/15: Smoked Beers
Southpaw, San Francisco
Feb 8-17 SF Beer Week: Southpaw Smoked Beer Flights
http://www.southpawbbqsf.com/#menu-item-484
Southpaw BBQ will be serving smoked beer all Beer Week, and Friday night, SF rep Laura will be on hand to break out the last of our Scorched Earth Imperial Stout, so swing by and take advantage of your last chance to get this in your beer hole.
Friday, 2/15: Butchers & Beers
St Gregory’s Church, San Francisco
http://www.kitchit.com/local_events/almanacbeer/butchers
“Fun and educational” isn’t just for Sesame Street any more. The boys of Almanac are once again getting together with Ryan Farr of 4505 Meats and a handful of meat-loving California craft brewers to host a whole pig breakdown at St. Gregory’s, in a much roomier venue than in previous years. Plus, there’s a silent auction, so you might just go home with your very own chunk of pork.
Saturday, 2/16: 4th Annual Meet the Brewers Festival
Hermitage Brewing Company, San Jose
http://meetthebrewers.eventbrite.com/
Drake’s will be down in San Jose for Hermitage’s 4th Annual Meet the Brewers Beer Festival. More breweries, the best food trucks in the Bay, and new additions to festival acitvities will make this THE San Francisco Beer Week event in Silicon Valley.
Saturday, 2/16: Drake’s Brewery Tap-ocalypse
Rosamunde Sausage Grill, Oakland
http://sfbw.it/35c
Downtown Oakland is becoming one of the Bay Area’s best destinations for beer, and if you haven’t made it to the newest stand-alone incarnation of Rosamunde, we think this’d be a marvelous time to hop on BART and check it out.
Saturday, 2/16: Chocolate & Beer Festival
Craneway Pavilion, Richmond
http://www.chocolateandbeerfest.com/
Join us for a fun afternoon of exquisite gourmet chocolates and local craft brews at the Craneway Pavilion at the Richmond Marina. Tickets get you multiple product samplings, live entertainment, and raffle prizes.
Saturday, 2/16: Grill & Chill
Drake’s Barrel House
http://barrelhouse.drinkdrakes.com/
No big release party, no multi-course dinner, no big hoopla. Just some picnic tables, a couple of food trucks, and a bunch of taps flowing as we toss open the doors to the Barrel House and let you come by for a leisurely day of catching up on the latest Drake’s releases you might have missed during Beer Week.
Sunday, 2/17: Celebrator Beer News 25th Anniversary Party
Oakland Convention Center Marriott Hotel, Oakland
http://celebrator.com/anniversary/2013/
Returning to downtown Oakland this year, the Celebrator party has served as SF Beer Week’s closing ceremonies every year, and if you’re survived this long, congratulations! In addition to the usual festivities, Mitch Steele of Stone Brewing will be on hand with our own Alexandra Nowell to share A Quarter-Century of Issues with you as their mercifully-sessionable last hurrah of what is sure to be another kickass SF Beer Week.
Cheers to SF Beer Week!
