Craft lovers, this one’s for you! Beer Week San Diego celebrates their 16th annual celebration of the local independent craft beer industry. It’s organized by The Brewers Guild, a nonprofit that promotes local small businesses and entrepreneurs of craft beer via education, events, and community involvement. The highlight of the week will be The Capital of Craft Beerfest.
What to do during San Diego Beer Week
Kick-off SD Beer Week with a virtual toast that will take place at all Brewers Guild member locations on Friday, November 1, at 7:30 PM. After this, many surprises, special events and beer deals will follow. For example, you can join the Weir Beer Company’s grand opening celebration in Vista on Friday, November 1 or AleSmith Brewing Company’s Signature Speedway Grand Prix, which features tastings of 12 different versions of its iconic coffee stout.
The festival will feature more than 30 local breweries serving their best beers, and you can enjoy unlimited tastings in custom taster glasses. While the focus is on IPAs, non-hoppy beer options will also be available. Vote for your favorite hoppy beer through Brewery DB’s virtual tap list – the winning brewery will receive the People’s Choice Hoppy Beer Award trophy. Brewery DB will curate beer trails for this week, so you can have a lovely brewery-hop through San Diego. Find a full list of events here.
You can also expect food trucks, interactive games, and live music. Local band Los Tortugas features Brewmaster Paul Segura from Karl Strauss Brewing Company, San Diego’s longest-running post-Prohibition brewery!
Tickets for the highlight of Beer Week, The Capital of Craft Beerfest, are $70 (plus fees). VIP tickets, priced at $90 (plus fees), provide an extra hour of tastings starting at noon. Limited to 400 attendees, this 21+ event will take place on Nov. 9 2024, between 1:00 – 4:00 PM, in the backlot of Kilowatt Brewing.
The capital of craft
San Diego County is known as The Capital of Craft™, a moniker that was trademarked in 2015. San Diego has the most craft brewery locations among all counties in the United States – over 150! In fact, our city’s breweries won 12 medals at the 2024 Great American Beer Festival, also known as “The Oscars” of craft beer.
So, in case you were wondering why Beer Week is, in fact, 10 days long, the answer is pretty simple. According to the organizers, “if there’s ever a reason to exaggerate something, it’s for our city’s world-renowned craft beer. Ten may not equal seven, but Beer Week is a perfect ten.”
Are you gonna join in the fun and have some delicious brews? Share the hype on your socials by using the hashtags #SDBeer, #SDBeerWeek, and #SDBW!