October 11, 2013
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Mayor Jerry Sanders tapping the cask at the 2012 Brewers Guild Fest
Photo by Tim King |
From Friday, November 1 through Sunday, November 10, breweries and restaurants will host over 600 events ranging from cask nights to beer dinners in honor of the
5th annual San Diego Beer Week (SDBW). SDBW is the largest craft brewing event in Southern California and has doubled in size since it's inaugural year in 2009, from 9,000 attendees to 20,000 in 2012. For the first time, SDBW will kick-off with a two-day main event that includes the VIP Brewer Takeover and San Diego Brewers Guild Festival. The week's festivities conclude with the Beer Garden at the Lodge at Torrey Pines, a gourmet beer and food pairing event that will showcase 24 breweries with 12 local chefs.
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| 2012 Brewers Guild Festival |
Like previous SDBW's, this year's festival continues to inspire people to drink local, craft beer and further advances San Diego's recognition across the world as a thriving beer culture. SDBW is hosted by the
San Diego Brewers Guild, a non-profit consortium of local breweries with the common goal of educating new brewers and the public about craft beer. With more than 60 participating breweries and over 600 scheduled events across the county, SDBW is the country's premier craft beer destination.
It's no secret that beer is big business in San Diego. Craft brewing is one of the fastest growing business sectors in San Diego this decade. During SDBW 2011, approximately 3,612 room nights were created due to industry events, yielding $469,307 in additional hotel revenue across the county. Also in 2011, brewers and brew pubs generated a $299.5 million direct economic impact in San Diego County. The economic contribution of craft brewers is more than 1.5 times greater than the economic impact of Comic-Con International, San Diego's largest annual convention. Since 2011, the total number of craft breweries in the region has more than doubled to 65. But it's not all about profit, as SDBW works for a good cause, benefitting the Surfrider Foundation and YMCA San Diego.
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| Mayor Jerry & San The Cooking Guy tapping that keg |
Okay, now that the statistics are behind us, let us get to the SDBW main events. The
VIP Brewer Takeover takes place on Friday, November 1 at the Port Pavilion on Broadway Pier from 6-9 p.m. Participants can come rub elbows with local award-winning brewers and see why San Diego beer is taking over palates everywhere. This exclusive event will showcase the county's finest, rare and specialty beers, including offerings brewed just for the event. For $75, the all-inclusive ticket includes unlimited beer tasting, unlimited food samples from San Diego's craft beer-friendly restaurants and food trucks, a commemorative tasting glass, live musical entertainment and more.
The OFFICIAL San Diego Beer Week kickoff event is the legendary
San Diego Brewers Guild Festival which takes place on Saturday, November 2 at the Port Pavilion on Broadway Pier from 2-5 p.m. The Brewers Guild Fest showcases some of the county's finest brews. General Admission tickets are $40 per person and includes fifteen 3 oz. beer samples, a commemorative tasting glass, live musical entertainment and much more. The Premiere Access ticket is $55 per person and includes early entrance at 1 p.m. along with twenty 3 oz. beer samples. Food will be available for sale from local, craft beer friendly restaurants and food trucks. There is also a combo ticket package for theVIP Brewer Take Over & Brewers Guild Festival for $100, which includes VIP Brewer Takeover admission on November 1and Premier Access admission to the Brewer's Guild Festival on November 2.
The grand finale to SDBW is the glamorous
Beer Garden at the Lodge at Torrey Pines on Sunday, November 10 from 12-3pm. The Beer Garden is an event not to be missed, as it showcases the versatility of beer as a pairing to gourmet food and features 12 of San Diego's top chefs linked up with 24 local breweries. Chefs are matched with two breweries to prepare two separate dishes that pair perfectly with each beer. Tickets for this event are a steal at $75 and include unlimited food and beer samples. Room packages are also available.
For more information about San Diego Beer Week, including complete event listings, sponsors, public transportation and accommodations, please visit
www.SDBW.org, and be sure to follow on
Facebook,
Twitter and
Instagram.
