admin's blog

Have you checked out the number and variety of great events recently? We've gone from a handful of large events, to a dozen more events at great beer bars, to a flurry of events coming in from all over the Bay Area. We've still got three weeks till the party starts, and we're at 92 published events right now! To date, over 800 people have downloaded the SFBW'10 iPhone app! This is one big snowball barreling down the mountain. I'm pretty sure there's an abeerminable snowman inside.

Coming down the chutes:

• A Bill Brand Tribute beer fest at Drake's Brewing Co., featuring beers brewed all over the Bay Area inspired by the late beer writer
• A series of panel discussions with professional brewers, covering Craft Beer Pioneers, Trailblazers of Tomorrow, Technical Brewing, and Barrel-aging beer, wine, spirits, and vinegar, at SF's Courtyard by Marriott Downtown
• A luncheon with the Grandaddy of craft beer, Anchor's Fritz Maytag, at HopMonk Tavern
• A Shattuck Avenue progressive beer dinner at Chez Panisse, Meridian, Liaison, and Five
• A beer and chocolate festival for charity at the Craneway Pavilion in Richmond, featuring beer from Drake's, Napa Smith, Linden Street, and others
• A Beast and Bavaria dinner at Orson, with four courses of yet-to-be-named wild, feral animal paired with Bavarian beer
• A journey of beer and Indian food at Santa Cruz Mountain Brewing Co.
• Firehouse, Palo Alto, and Mayfield Brewing co. nights at the Rose & Crown
• Sour and Barrel-aged beer festivals at Triple Rock and Jupiter
• Daily brewery tours, tastings, and discounted lodging at the Napa Valley Brewery at the Calistoga Inn
• A seven-course beer dinner at Valley Brewing Co. in Stockton
• "Brewed and Cultured in Marin" beer and cheese pairings at Iron Springs Brewing Co.
• A Sour Valentine of sour beers at City Beer Store
• The hunt-at-your-own-pace SF Beer Week Scavenger Hunt (win t-shirts, sweatshirts, and a preview copy of former Sports Illustrated columnist Steve Rushin's new book, The Pint Man!)

SF Beer Week is going to be big news, too, and we've partnered with some great media outlets to tell the story. Get ready to hear about SF Beer Week all over the place, including on 107.7 FM The Bone, KSFO 560 AM, and in the Oakland Tribune, the Marin Independent Journal, All About Beer Magazine, Celebrator Beer News, and Drink Me Magazine.

Thanks again to our sponsors, not only for their financial sponsorship, but for their organization, volunteer time, and great beer events. Stay tuned for more fantastic events from the SF Brewers Guild, Speakeasy Ales & Lagers, Gordon Biersch Brewery Restaurants, ThirstyBear Brewing Co., 21st Amendment Brewery, Magnolia Pub and Brewery, Starbelly Restaurant, Delarosa Restaurant, Brookston Beer Bulletin, and Morris Distributing. Thanks to additional support from Matagrano, Inc. and Brewers Supply Group.

SF Beer Week 2010 ain't your grandparents' Beer Week. We've got more gizmos and doohickies than a barrel of pickles (or something). Step right up and check out this brand new shiny website. You can:

• link to hotel deals from the lodging page
• find all your favorite events with the interactive map
• submit events directly through the website
• follow SFBW on Twitter (@sfbeerweek) and retweet about the new events so your friends can get excited, too
• check out our flickr group (sfbeerweek) and post your mug shots (hah!) to add to the public gallery
• head over to the iTunes store to download the SF Beer Week app! It's got a bunch of useful tools for all us Beer Week'lings, and the grand schedule automatically updates when new events post.

But if you're old-school and don't need all this fiddle faddle, you'll at least want to see our website's schedule. It's a veritable emporium of beer events, and we're adding new events every day. Mercy me!

Some recent additions and events in the works:

• Celebrator Beer News Anniversary Party at Trumer Brauerei, the capstone celebration to finish up SFBW10
• Meat the Brewers: South Bay craft brewers festival, with extensive meaty food pairings
• A Farm-to-Table Organic Beer Dinner at Cafe Biere with Bison Brewing co.
• A Mardi Gras Beer Dinner at the Moss Room with Abita Brewing Co.
• Beer Trivia Night at Gordon Biersch Palo Alto
• Beer Judging 101 and 201 classes at The Englander pub
• A series of panel discussions on local beer history, brewing technique, a barrel-aging
• New beer releases, including Napa Smith's Organic IPA, Gordon Biersch Brewery Restaurants' Special Bock, Uncommon Brewers'
• Organic Bacon Brown Ale, and ThirstyBear's Organic Red Stave Ale

I also want to mention a collective celebration of the work and life of Bill Brand, famed Bay Area beer writer and dear friend of the Bay Area beer scene. Bill's tragic death last year has prompted a collection of tribute beers, brewed by breweries all over the Bay Area, that will be available during SF Beer Week.

Thanks again to all of Beer Week's friends and sponsors, including our official sponsors, the SF Brewers Guild, Speakeasy Ales & Lagers, Gordon Biersch Brewery Restaurants, ThirstyBear Brewing Co., 21st Amendment Brewery, Magnolia Pub and Brewery.