Event
Session Fest is back! Join us for Session Beers & Fun in Oakland
It’s been over three years since 2019’s Session Fest, but we are back, partnering with Bike East Bay for the 8th Session Beer Fest. Gather your friends and make plans to join us in Oakland for a day of drinking session beers, and fun.
Details for the 2022 Session Fest:
The East Bay Session Fest is happening on Saturday, July 23 from 1-5 pm at Snow Park (Lake Merritt, Oakland).
Pre-sale tickets are $30 for 5 tickets + Session Fest glass / $50 for 10 tickets + Session Fest glass, ending at 11:59pm on July 22, 2022 (or until we sell out). Grab tickets here.
Pending availability, tickets will be sold for $35 / $55 at the door. Each ticket is for one 8oz pour.
Tickets now available online!
In addition to session beers, we’ll have food.
If you get hungry while enjoying all of the delicious beer, don’t worry! We will have food trucks and booths on site with a wide selection to choose from. And since no good party is complete without music, we’ll have bands playing throughout the day to keep things lively.
Oh, and both dogs and kids are welcome, but you must be 21+ to enjoy beers (in human years). Wristbands will be given out when you check in, so please bring your ID. Dogs need to be on leashes.
No need to print your ticket, but please bring your phone to check in at the event.
Speaking of dogs at Session Fest:
Capt. Jack Barkness, the official Drake’s Brewery Session Dog
We are also hosting a #SessionBeerDog competition online! Anyone who comes to Session Fest with their pup can share photos or videos of them on Instagram, Twitter, or Facebook – making sure to tag us AND the hashtag #SessionBeerDog from the event. After Session Fest, we will pick a winner and they get their photo reshared from the @DrakesBeer accounts, along with Drake’s Brewery Co swag, and their pup is invited to be a mascot in promotions for the next year. The previous winner is @captjackboxerpup, so your pup will have some adorable shoes to fill and we cannot wait to see the pics/videos from Session Fest.
If you love full-flavored and super refreshing low-ABV brews, this event is perfect for kicking back on a warm summer day—and we would love to see you!
We love a good session beer.
No beers stronger than 5% ABV will be allowed through the gate. This means you can enjoy a day of drinking without messing up your Uber driver’s evening…
You won’t need to worry about getting too drunk and making bad decisions (like that butterfly tattoo); you can pace yourself all day long with nothing but crushable low-alcohol brews.
In fact, we are brewing a special batch of WeeNog, a session version of Denog, just for Session Fest (don’t worry, this will be on tap at all three Drake’s locations at the Barrel House in San Leandro, the Dealership in Oakland, and The Barn in Sacramento for a limited time). We will also feature our Kick Back IPA, a session IPA that is the perfect all-occasion, all-day drinking beer.
With over 25+ Bay Area Breweries in attendance, beer lovers will have plenty of options!
The 2022 Session Fest Brewery Lineup:
- Drake’s Brewing Company
- 21st Amendment Brewery
- Alameda Island Brewing Company
- Alvarado Street Brewery
- Bay Area Mashers
- Canyon Club Brewery
- Crooked Lane Brewing Co.
- Del Cielo Brewing Co
- Dust Bowl Brewing Co.
- East Brother Beer Company
- Faction Brewing
- Fruition Brewing
- HenHouse Brewing Company
- Humble Sea Brewing Co.
- Laughing Monk Brewery
- Loma Brewing Co
- Oakland United Beerworks
- Old Caz Beer
- Original Pattern Brewing
- Pizza Port Brewing Company
- Pond Farm Brewing Co.
- Sudwerk Brewing
Come out and join us for a chill day of good beer and good vibes. Get directions to Snow Park in Oakland.
To get there, we recommend hopping on your bike (yes, a free bike valet will be available during the event), taking BART (Session Fest is 0.4 miles from the 19th Street BART and 0.8 miles from the Lake Merritt station in downtown Oakland), or walking from Drake’s Dealership Oakland (only 0.7 miles away).
Mark your calendars and bring your friends to what promises to be a great day of drinking and merriment. We’ll see you there!
What is Session Beer?
Session beer is a light-bodied, lower-alcohol beer that is easy to drink in large quantities.
Session beers are typically 5% ABV or less and are often light, crisp, refreshing, and lightly hopped (what we call “crushable”). While session beers can be brewed in any style, they are most commonly found as pale ales, lagers, or wheat beers.
Bay Area brewers have been brewing full-flavored session IPAs (like our Kick Back IPA which comes in at 4.3% ABV), which offer all the hop character of a regular IPA without the high alcohol content. No matter what style you prefer, there’s sure to be a session beer that will suit your taste.
Why session beer?
They are designed to be refreshing and crushable, making them perfect for summertime drinking or for enjoying over extended periods of time (hence the name “session”).
But really, why does Drake’s Brewing love session beers?
“The focus is less on the ABV and more on the flavors and aromatics.” – Rob Craig, Brewer
“Because you can drink lots and lots of them. :)” -DeVonne Buckingham, Brewmaster
“They are crushable, they come in a lot of styles, and I want something light that’s easy to drink – Jason Doyle, Drake’s Barrel House Bar Lead
How is Bike East Bay involved in Session Fest?
All proceeds benefit the good folks of Bike East Bay, a local nonprofit organization working through advocacy, education, and events to make the East Bay Area a better and safer place to ride bikes. Drink some great session beers for a good cause!