San Diego Beer Week’s coming

The 15th-Annual San Diego Beer Week, presented by the San Diego Brewers Guild, will take place November 3-12 at breweries, bars and restaurants throughout San Diego County. The celebration of the local independent craft beer industry begins with a virtual kick-off toast at all Brewers Guild member locations on Friday, November 3 at 7:30 p.m.

This year’s Beer Week will not feature Guild Fest, traditionally the marquee event on opening weekend of the 10 days of festivities. Instead, Guild Fest will be pushed back to Sunday, February 4. The event at Crafted Culture in Sabre Springs will include more than 30 breweries and curated beer-and-food pairings. Tickets are on sale now and can be purchased here.

The Beer Garden at The Lodge at Torrey Pines, typically the closing event on the final day of Beer Week, will also not be held this year.

Individual breweries will host events and have beer specials throughout Beer Week, all of which are posted on the Brewers Guild’s calendar, and will also be included in San Diego Beer News’s free weekly email newsletter.

“To be transparent, this has been a transition year for the San Diego Brewers Guild and the planning of Beer Week,” said Brewers Guild Executive Director Erik Fowler. “With Paige McWey Acers’ departure in April after five-plus years as Executive Director, and my arrival in the role in August, our resources were spread thin and we just couldn’t put together our beloved principal events in time. But make no mistake, Beer Week will still be great, and Guild Fest in February will be a party for the ages.” 

For the seventh time a Capital of Craft IPA collaboration beer will be released for Beer Week. This year’s edition brought together Modern Times Beer (host), Thr3e Punk Ales Brewing, Dogleg Brewing, GOAL. Brewing, Kilowatt Brewing, Northern Pine Brewing and Seek Beer Co. The West Coast Capital of Craft IPA (6.5% alcohol-by-volume) is being made with HS Grove, Nelson and Centennial hops, and it will be available on draft and in cans at all Guild member breweries throughout Beer Week.

New for Beer Week in 2023 is “The Guild on the Street” happy hour series, featuring Fowler and Brewers Guild board members who will visit breweries to mix and mingle with patrons. Beer industry insights – local, national, and international – will be shared, along with prizes being given out, at the following locations:

• Friday, November 3: Eppig Brewing (Vista), 3:30-7:30 p.m.
• Saturday, November 4: Pure Project Brewing (North Park), noon-4 p.m.
• Monday, November 6: AleTales Taproom (East Village), 5-8 p.m.
• Tuesday, November 7: Thr3e Punk Ales Brewing (Chula Vista), 6-9 p.m. 
• Wednesday, November 8: Deft Brewing (Bay Park), 5-8 p.m.
• Thursday, November 9: O’Brien’s Pub (Kearny Mesa), 6-9 p.m.
• Saturday, November 11: Embolden Beer Co. (Miramar), 1-4 p.m.

“Beer Week at its core is about quality craft beer and the great community of brewers and beer geeks in San Diego. That will never change,” said Fowler. “We hope San Diegans and visitors alike will still go out and support their favorite breweries and beer bars, as well as ones they haven’t yet visited. That said, we look forward to returning to a more grandiose Beer Week in the fall of 2024.”

For the opening night virtual toast, photos being posted to social media platforms should use the hashtags #SDBeer, #SDBeerWeek, and #SDBW.