sfbeerweek's blog

There's no turning back now. You felt that disturbance in the Force, yesterday. It was the brewing of the SFBW10 official beer. The beer is a collaborative brew from the SF Brewers Guild. Yesterday morning, we mashed in at 6 AM at Speakeasy Ales & Lagers, and by the end of the day, 30 barrels of Imperial Common had been brewed. A lager fermented at SF's ambient temperature, it's going to be a beautiful, copper-colored, 10% abv beer aged in St. George Spirits whiskey barrels. A little juniper might sneak into the barrels, too. There'll be a tapping ceremony at the SF Brewers Guild Opening Gala on February 5th, and the beer will be on tap during SF Beer Week at great beer bars and restaurants throughout the Bay Area. Get thirsty.

SF Beer Week planning is still rolling along. Here are a few exciting events being added to the calendar.

• Beer dinners at Spruce, Scala's Bistro, and Starbelly
• Week-long beer pairing tasting menus at Starbelly and Delarosa
• Pre-Superbowl Beerunch at Kelly's Mission Rock with Mateveza, Dogfish Head, and others
• A beer and jazz event at CODA, the Mission jazz club.
• Events at Beer Revolution, a brand-new beer bar in Oakland to open in time for SFBW10
• Homebrewing demonstrations and "Environmentalism and Homebrewing" roundtable at Seven Bridges Organic Homebrew Supply Co-op in Santa Cruz

If you're pin(t)ing for more information on these events and on SFBW10, your wishes are our command, as we're about to unveil our new supercharged website. www.sfbeerweek.org, the little website that could, is about to "go to eleven." During the last week of the month, it's gonna go live with a calendar, maps, video, apps, lions, tigers, and bears. Oh, the suspense!

Keep in mind, SFBW10 runs February 5th through the 14th. Clear your calendars and take the week off work. SF Beer Week is presented by the SF Brewers Guild, and a big continuing thanks to our official sponsors 21st Amendment, Gordon Biersch, Magnolia, Speakeasy, and ThirstyBear. Go grab a beer at any of them, and tell 'em SF Beer Week says thanks.

Curing what ales ya,
Rich Higgins
Lobbyist, SFBW for America

Slainte, everybody! Planning for SF Beer Week 2010 has kicked into high gear. We've got a great range of events coming together. Here's a glimpse:

• Beer dinners at The Republic, Beretta, and Monk's Kettle, Cafe Biere, and The Boilerhouse
• A beer brunch at Barclay's
• The Beer-Chef's beer and chocolate dinner on Treasure Island
• A opportunity to Meet the Brewer: Russian River Brewing Co. Brewmaster Vinnie Cilurzo is doing a doubleheader at Toronado followed by Pi Bar.
• Tastings of Italian beer at Delarosa, cheese and beer at Rogue Public House, sour beer and bitter chocolate at City Beer Store, Spanish cheese and cask-conditioned beer at ThirstyBear
• A brewery Tour at Santa Cruz Mountain Brewing Co.
• A homebrewing demonstration at Jack's Brewing Co.
• A beer-cocktail party at 15 Romolo

And kicking it all off is the SF Brewers Guild Opening Gala at Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, featuring 50 of the rarest, most creative beers from Northern California breweries. We're booking guest breweries, food vendors, and music acts right now.

It's all shaping up to be a super exciting week. Special thanks to the participating venues, and big shout-outs to the sponsors of SFBW10: the SF Brewers Guild, 21st Amendment Brewery, Gordon Biersch Brewing Co., Magnolia Pub and Brewery, Speakeasy Ales and Lagers, and ThirstyBear Brewing Co., with additional support from Morris Distributing.

Keep in mind, though, that we're still looking for events! Got a local you love? A favorite spot before getting on the train? A dive that's gonna steel your resolve before that holiday party? Be the hero: let know you want them to host an SFBW10 event. Millions are depending on you . . .

Catch ya lager,
Rich Higgins
VP of Boosterism, SFBW10

Source: Flickr

Cheers, everybody! What do you think of our new look? (Click on "display images" if our logo is not displaying, or view this email in your browser.) As residents loyal of Beer Land, you probably already know about San Francisco Beer Week. You already know that SFBW09 was an awesome party, featuring incredible beer at the best and brightest beer spots in the Bay Area. You already know that there were just too many great beer events during the ten-day period to go to everything. And you’ve already picked your New Year’s Resolution for 2010: to go to even more beer events during SFBW10!

Well, here’s your opportunity. Countdown to liftoff is 63 days. Just two long winter months before SF BEER WEEK 2010! The Bay Area’s breweries, bars, restaurants, homebrew clubs, stores, and galleries are getting ready. Are you?

Mark your calendars: SFBW10 is set for February 5-14, 2010. Check out the new www.sfbeerweek.org. Memorize it. Bookmark it. Love it. Check up on it as new stuff is added. We're talking Twitter feeds, maps, apps, and events, events, events! Also, make sure to follow SFBW updates on Twitter (@sfbeerweek or www.twitter.com/sfbeerweek). SFBW10 is presented by the San Francisco Brewers Guild and brought to you by 21st Amendment Brewery, Magnolia Pub and Brewery, Speakeasy Ales and Lagers, ThirstyBear Brewing Co –- a huge thanks to them!

SFBW09 featured over 150 unique beer events in San Francisco and throughout the wider Bay Area, from Santa Rosa to Stockton, Sacramento to Monterey, and everywhere in between. Think festivals, competitions, tastings, beer and food dinners, new beer releases, homebrew demonstrations, bus tours, bike tours, walking tours, and much more. And all the events are thought-up by venue hosts and individuals like you, so if you’ve got a favorite bar or restaurant, gallery or theater, museum or neighborhood, we want to make sure your local participates in SFBW10. Let ‘em know you like beer and you’ve got an idea for an event. They, along with thousands of beer lovers throughout the Bay Area, will appreciate it! Be a hero!

You’re getting thirsty. Very, very thirsty. Your friends are probably getting thirsty, too.

See you in February.

Cheers,
Rich Higgins
Ranchhand, SFBW Corral