The big opening festival day for SF Beer Week — a Bay Area-wide event that encompasses hundreds of events at bars and breweries — is happening this Saturday in San Francisco, and it's returning to the smaller-format, outdoor setup it had two years ago.
SF Beer Week is heading into its 16th year and 15th go-round (2021 didn't exactly happen in festival world), and the big Opening Gala tasting event on Pier 35 that has sometimes accompanied the festivities — at least it did in 2019/2020 and in 2024 — wasn't feasible this year for multiple reasons.
So, in lieu of that opening gala where 100+ of the region's beermakers are gathered together in one huge warehouse, the Bay Area Brewers Guild is opting for two opening events on two sides of the Bay, much like they did in 2023.
On Friday, February 21, a Brews & Bites event will kick things off at 21st Amendment's brewery in San Leandro. And on Saturday, February 22, the "first" San Francisco Beer Week Fest is happening in Salesforce Park — although the format is pretty similar to what they did in 2023, just perhaps a bit larger and using more of the 5.4-acre park.
The event features 40 breweries from across the region offering sampler pours of multiple beers — so the average mortal will not be able to taste everything that's there, much like one can't taste everything when 100+ brewers are involved. And there are always special collaboration brews being poured especially for Beer Week.
Tickets for the fest are now $90 for GA, which gets you in at 1:30 pm, or $111 for VIP, which gets you in at noon.
"SF Beer Week is a flagship event for beer drinkers from across the state and the wider US, so we’re excited to be bringing it back for another year," says Anthony Raggio, president of the Bay Area Brewers Guild. "Our two kick-off events will really launch the week with a bang, while the calendar of smaller events hosted by member breweries and partner venues demonstrates the thriving beer scene here in the Bay Area."
This year's SF Beer Week Fest on Saturday will feature samples from big local names like Cellarmaker, HenHouse, and the host brewery, Barebottle — which has a full-time kiosk in Salesforce Park. And you'll find lesser known brewery's like San Ramon's Canyon Lakes Brewery and Restaurant, and Loma Brewing in Los Gatos.
You can see from the massive, 10-day calendar of SF Beer Week that there are a lot of events to choose from, scattered all across the nine-county Bay Area — with a few also down in Santa Cruz.
The big Brewers' Dinner event — which coasts $162 to attend — is happening Tuesday, February 25 at San Francisco Brewing Company (3150 Polk Street), and will feature a curated menu of food with special beer pairings.
Another foodie beer event is happening at Anchovy Bar in the Fillmore on February 26, with special dishes served to pair with beers from Sante Adairius Rustic Ales.
On Thursday, February 27, Gumbo Social will be serving great gumbo at Harmonic Brewing at Thrive City (Chase Center), with beers available for pairing.
Also on February 27, six brewers will be competing in a pinball tournament at the Mission's Outer Orbit — and they'll also be bringing specialty kegs to the event. They'll be teaming up with contenders from the crowd to best each other in pinball, as well as trying to best each others' beers.
At Liquid Gold (1040 Hyde Street) on Saturday, March 1, you can experience their annual IPA Overdose event, featuring the best in the bitter IPA arts from Alvarado St., Cellarmaker, Fieldwork, Ghost Town, Great Notion, Highland Park, Humble Sea, North Park, Other Half, Pure Project, Russian River, Sante Adairius Rustic Ales, Shred, Slice, The Alchemist, There Does Not Exist, Trillium, and multiple other breweries.
Raggio adds, "The winter months can often be a challenging time for breweries, so I’d encourage everyone to get out and support their local brewery, whether nipping by for a pint on their way home, taking the family for a weekend visit, or gathering a bunch of friends to attend some of the unique events our member breweries are hosting.”
