San Diego’s annual celebration of its craft beers and breweries is set for 2024.
The 16th annual San Diego San Diego Beer Week, presented by the non-profit San Diego Brewers Guild, is November 1-10 at breweries, brewpubs, bars and restaurants throughout San Diego County. The 16th annual celebration of the local independent craft beer industry is highlighted by The Capital of Craft Beerfest on Saturday, November 9 at Kilowatt Brewing in Kearny Mesa.
Beer Week begins with a virtual kick-off toast at all Brewers Guild member locations on Friday, November 1 at 7:30 p.m. Individual breweries will host events and offer beer specials throughout Beer Week, all of which are posted on the Brewers Guild’s calendar.
Early bird tickets for Beer Week’s marquee event, The Capital of Craft Beerfest, are $60.00 (plus fee) and can be purchased here. Only 400 tickets are available for the 21-plus event from 1:00 – 4:00 p.m. in the backlot of Kilowatt Brewing at 7576 Clairemont Mesa Boulevard. VIP tickets are also available for $80.00 (plus fee), which grants an extra hour of tastings beginning at 12:00 noon. Ticket prices will increase to $70.00 and $90.00, respectively, on October 9. The first 100 ticket purchasers will receive a San Diego Brewers Guild floppy hat.
More than 30 local breweries will be pouring their best hop-forward beers at the festival, and guests can enjoy unlimited tasters in their customized taster glass. The IPA-focused Beerfest will also serve non-hoppy beers for those who prefer other styles, but a fan vote will be conducted by Brewery DB’s virtual tap list to determine the People’s Choice Hoppy Beer Award. The winning brewery will receive a trophy from the Brewers Guild.
Beerfest will also have food trucks, interactive games, and live music. The musical lineup features local band Los Tortugas, which includes Karl Strauss Brewing Company Brewmaster Paul Segura. Karl Strauss is San Diego’s longest continuously operating post-Prohibition brewing company.
“With apologies to the holiday season in December, Beer Week is thee most wonderful time of the year,” said Brewers Guild Executive Director Erik Fowler. “We are especially excited for the return of Guild Fest, which comes this year with a new name and theme that celebrates San Diego as an IPA mecca, after pausing the event last year during a transitional period for the Guild. We hope all San Diegans will celebrate our great industry, whether it’s at our big event or at their favorite local brewery.”
Brewery DB will also be providing curated beer trails during Beer Week for those looking to sample multiple breweries throughout the County.
For the eighth time a Capital of Craft IPA collaboration beer will be released for San Diego Beer Week. This year’s edition brought together Fall Brewing Company (host), Black Plague Brewing, BLAH Brewing, Hodad’s Brewing, Hopnonymous Brewing, and Ketch Brewing. The West Coast-style IPA be available on draft and in cans at all Guild member breweries throughout the 10-day celebration.
The Guild on the Streets series will return in 2024 after launching in 2023, but this year it will focus on neighborhood cleanups in lieu of happy hour socials with Executive Director Fowler and Brewers Guild board members. The schedule of neighborhoods is still being finalized, but the series will culminate on Sunday, November 10 in North Park. The cleanup begins at 12:00 noon at Black Plague at 2899 University Avenue and ends 0.7 mile away at Seek Beer Co.at 3052 El Cajon Boulevard.
“Beer Week has become a staple of San Diego, and we’re always striving to make it bigger and better each year,” Fowler said. “People often joke that Beer Week is ten days long, but 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.”
The hashtags for the event are: #SDBeer, #SDBeerWeek and #SDBW.
San Diego breweries this spring won 14 medals at the 2024 World Beer Cup, the largest international beer competition often referred to as The Olympics of Beer Competitions. Coronado Brewing, North Park Beer Company, and Pizza Port Brewing won Gold Medals. The 14 medals overall eclipsed San Dego’s 2023 total of 12.
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 with more than 150.
The Brewers Guild, which was founded in 1997 with 15 breweries, is a nonprofit 501(c)(6) organization that promotes local small businesses and entrepreneurs of craft beer via education, events, and community involvement.
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