Eight great events brewing at San Diego Beer Week

San Diego may be known for its perfect weather, awesome swells and fried Baja-style fish tacos. Now it’s getting attention for its beer. With a whopping 33 breweries producing craft beer, San Diego was recently crowned the top beer city in the country by Men’s Journal. It’s time to party with our first ever San Diego Beer Week.

This 10-day beer fest, which celebrates and promotes San Diego’s successful craft beer culture, will host over 200 beer events throughout the county, ranging from classes on how to make your own beer to micro brewery tours and tastings. Festivities kicked off Friday night and will run through Sunday, Nov. 15.

“San Diego’s beer community is so strong in all aspects,” said Colby Chandler, Ballast Point brewer and president of the San Diego Brewers Guild.  ”From home brew clubs to professional brewers and owners, we are really committed to producing the best craft beers possible. And SDBW is a 10-day celebration of our local craft beers.”

Whether you’re a beer newbie or a connoisseur, Grant Krieger of Green Flash Brewery assures that “there’s a beer out there for everybody.”

And you’ll have plenty of opportunities to taste your way to the perfect beer.

“We hope to educate people about beer in all aspects-how it’s made, how to pair it with food, how to choose a style of beer that you truly like,” he said.

For a full list of SDBW events, visit www.sdbw.org. Here are 8 great events worth checking out this week at SDBW.

Extraordinary Desserts made with beer: San Diego’s noted Extraordinary Desserts will celebrate SDBW by offering a limited-time menu of decadent beer desserts such as warm caramelized apple pie with house made St. Peters Cream stout ice cream. Desserts will be offered every evening this week at the Little Italy location. For more information, call (619) 294-7001.

Cafe Chloe and Mission Brewery Dinner: Cafe Chloe Executive Chef Katie Grebow will team up with Mission Brewery brewers to offer a special 4-course dinner and beer pairing. The dinner will start at 6 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 19. The cost is $50 per person, and reservations are recommended. Walk-ins are welcome to sample from the regular menu. Here’s a nibble to whet your appetite: The first course will feature a warm duck salad with fresh persimmons paired with an IPA. For more information or to make reservations, call (619) 232-3242.

Urban Solace Belgian Beer Dinner: On Wednesday, Nov. 11, North Park’s Urban Solace will host a custom four-course menu by Chef Matt Gordon. Your feast will include beer braised Brandt Farms beef cheek, mustard and caramelized onion mashers served with Abbey brown beer and much more. A meet-and-greet will start at 6:15 p.m. followed by a 6:45 p.m. dinner. Cost is $55 per person and is limited to 30 seats, so don’t hesitate to make reservations. Email Debi Salzberg at events@urbansolace.net, or call the restaurant at (619) 295-6464.

Related links:  First annual San Diego Beer Week takes over taps countywide | Tap Hunter’s Melani and Jeff Gordon want to help you find good beer | More SDNN Food & Drink

AleSmith Beer Dinner at JSix: If you’re a foodie, then this event is for you. JSix Executive Chef Christian Graves along with Jan Birnbaum of San Fransisco’s EPIC Roasthouse, Jamie Bissonette of  Boston’s Toro and James Ferran of Del Mar’s Market Del Mar have created a custom four-course beer pairing menu featuring AleSmith’s artisanal beers. Award-winning AleSmith brewer Peter Zien will be available to discuss Alesmith’s hand-crafted brews and give advice about food and beer pairings. The dinner is Wednesday, Nov. 11 at 7 p.m. Tickets are $89 with a 20 percent discount for all veterans in honor of Veteran’s Day. For more information or to make reservations, call JSix at (619) 531-8744.

Green Flash 30th Street Progressive Beer Dinner: You don’t want to miss this event. According to Grant Krieger of Green Flash Brewery, “North Park’s 30th Street is one of the busiest beer-centric streets in the country, and we’re excited about pairing up with five great North Park restaurants to show people how complex and fun food and beer pairings can be.”

On Thursday, Nov. 12 from 5:30 to10:30 p.m., Blind Lady Ale House, Jayne’s Gastropub, Ritual Tavern, The Linkery and Sea Rocket Bistro will offer food and Green Flash beer pairings for $8 to $10 each. Have as much or as little as you’d like at each location, then hop on the courtesy shuttle to be whisked to your next destination. Free shuttle service ends at 11 p.m. For more details, contact any of the participating restaurants and pubs, or call Green Flash at (760) 597-9012.

A SOURminiFEST at Blind Lady Ale House: Love sour beer? Want to learn more about it? Then go to Blind Lady for a flight of six sour beers and ask all the questions you’d like. The tastings will start at 11:30 a.m. on Saturday, Nov. 14 and will include Russian River Temptation, Lost Abbey Carnevale and more. The folks at Blind Lady are expecting this mini event to have a big turnout, so the earlier you show up the better. For more details, visit www.blindladyalehouse.com or call (619) 355-2491.

Green Flash is also hosting their 7th annual Anniversary Festival on Saturday, Nov. 14 from noon-4 p.m. For $35 you’ll get 10 (4 oz) beer tastings plus a lunch token for food from Pizza Port and Kansas City BBQ. All proceeds will be donated to fight ALD, a devastating neurological disease. For more information, visit www.greenflashbrew.com.

Belgian Wine and Cheese Tasting: Forget the wine and cheese. The real treat is beer and cheese. On Sunday, Nov. 15 from 2-4 p.m., Stone Brewing Company’s Dr. Bill will take you on a tasting journey through several courses of food and fine Belgian beers. With only seven Trappist breweries in the entire world, the pairing will highlight Abbey-crafted ales and cheese. Tickets are $40. For more information, visit www.stonebrew.com or call (760) 471-4999.

Susan Russo is an SDNN contributing writer. She also writes the blog Food Blogga.

Follow Susan on Twitter:  www.twitter.com/foodblogga

Tags: Alesmith, beer, Blind Lady Ale House, Cafe Chloe, Christian Graves, Colby Chandler, craft beer, Dr. Bill, EPIC Roasthouse, Extraordinary Desserts, Grant Krieger, Green Flash Brewery, James Ferran, Jamie Bissonette, Jan Birnbaum, Jayne's Gastropub, Jsix, Katie Grebow, Little Italy, Lost Abbey Carnevale, Market Del Mar, Matt Gordon, Men's Journal, Mission Brewery, Peter Zien, Ritual Tavern, Russian River Temptation, San Diego Beer Week, San Diego Brewer's Guild, SDBW, SDNN, Sea Rocket Bistro, Stone Brewing Company, The Linkery, Toro, Urban Solace

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