SF Beer Week 2012 Schedule of Events for South Bay Region

The fourth edition of SF Beer Week, presented by the San Francisco Brewers Guild and other Bay Area craft beer industry members, takes place Fri., Feb. 10 – Sun., Feb. 19, 2012. The schedule of events consists of over 325 craft beer-related events, and many have been grouped into four regions: San Francisco, East Bay, South Bay, and North Bay. As the South Bay region includes events taking place in the Santa Cruz and Peninsula areas, the following is a list of the events with a decidedly San Jose and South Bay craft beer focus.

Fri., Feb. 10, 2012, 6pm-10pm: SF Beer Week Opening Celebration in San Francisco – “Join the San Francisco Brewers Guild in kicking off SF Beer Week with a festival to celebrate the Bay Area’s incredible beer! Over 50 breweries pouring their rarest, most interesting beers alongside the classics that brought them brewing fame. Beer, commemorative tasting glass, live music, & local food.” Unfortunately, tickets for this event are sold out as of this morning. Those able to attend can check out a number of South Bay breweries that are pouring at this event, including Firehouse Brewery & Grill, Tied House Brewery, Hermitage Brewing, Strike Brewing, Gordon Biersch, and BJ’s Restaurant & Brewhouse.

Sat., Feb. 11, 2012, 2pm-5pm: As mentioned in an earlier article, SJ Beerwalk takes place in Japantown and is hosted by Jack’s Bar and Lounge and Dishcrawl. “Come walk through San Jose and visit local stores and restaurants while tasting 15+ beers from local and imported breweries. SJ Beerwalk’s mission is to provide a social outlet for the community and neighborhood. Ticket prices are $29 online and $35 the day of the event and include a Beer Walk glass and passport for locations.”

Sat., Feb. 11, 2012, 7pm-9pm: IPA Blind Tasting at Wine Affairs in San Jose. “Time to put your tastebuds to the test. Which truly is the best IPA out there? You may think you know but perhaps the answer will surprise us all! Featuring some big name IPAs and some you’ve never heard of. Bring your game face, these hoppy beers aren’t messing around.” $15.00 per person.

Sat., Feb. 11-Sun., Feb. 19, 11:30am-10pm: Pizza Party – Roman Style at Pizza Antica in San Jose’s Santana Row. “We’ve teamed up with Russian River Brewing Company to offer a selection of their craft beers: Redemption, Damnation, Salvation and Pliny the Elder. The beers will be featured alongside an assortment of our pizzas – think, thin, crackly crusts with seasonal toppings – Roman-style! If beer and pizza is your thing, Pizza Antica is your place!”

Sun., Feb. 12, 2012, 5pm-7pm: Lagunitas Tasting at Wine Affairs, featuring multiple brews and back vintages. $15.00 per person.

Mon., Feb. 13, 2012, 6pm-8pm: South Bay Breweries Tasting at Wine Affairs. “Show your love for the South Bay! Beer Tasting Event highlighting only South Bay based breweries. Featuring Devil’s Canyon, Tied House/Hermitage, Firehouse, Strike Brewing and more!” $15.00 per person.

Tues., Feb. 14, 2012, 6pm-11:30pm: Lost Love Valentine with Lost Coast at Harry’s Hofbrau in San Jose. “Come meet the Lost Coast team and try 5-6 very limited offerings from the brewery. Plus, just because it’s Valentine’s and chocolate seems appropriate, a rare offering of their 8 ball stout brewed with cocoa nibs!”

Tues., Feb. 14, 2012, 8pm-9:30pm: Valentine’s Beer vs. Wine Pairing at Wine Affairs. “Love is in the air… But who is the better lover? Wine or BEER! Come taste desserts, chocolate, and gourmet cheeses each paired with a specially selected wine and beer. Limited seats available. Please call for reservations.” 408-977-0111.

Wed., Feb. 15, 2012, 6pm-11:30pm: Rare Offerings from Deschutes at Harry’s Hofbrau. “Deschutes brewery will be pulling some hidden gems out of their brewery for us to try. Come check out all they have to offer including possibly some aged kegs. Plus all their great flagships, Red chair, Hophenge, Black Butte, etc.”

Wed., Feb. 15, 2012, 5pm-11pm: Firestone Walker Tap Takeover at Wine Affairs. “Don’t you wish you had a tricked out Delorean, so you could go back in time to try the different Firestone Walker Anniversary Ales? Well, put down the plutonium, and come by Wine Affairs for a special night featuring XV and XIV Anniversary Ales on draft, plus a bevy of Firestone Walker’s other fine brews. Tapping kegs at 5pm.”

Wed., Feb. 15, 2012, 6pm-9pm: Live Blues and Brews with Drake’s Brewing Company at Poor House Bistro in San Jose. “Enjoy great live Blues with the Legendary Ron Thompson and taste the great Brews of Drakes Brewing Company from San Leandro. These are the beers to taste: IPA, Blonde, Hefeweizen, Pale Ale, Amber Ale, Robusto Porter, Drakonic Imperial Stout, Denogginizer Imperial IPA, Expedition Red Ale, Jolly Rodger Imperial Dark IPA, & Hopocalypse Imperial IPA.”

Thur., Feb. 16, 2012, 6pm-9pm: South Bay Brewmasters Dinner at California Cafe Palo Alto. “California Cafe in Palo Alto is hosting a 5 course dinner with 5 South Bay Breweries. There will be two beers per course. Tied House, Strike, Firehouse, Campbell Brewing, and Los Gatos Brewing. We will be putting breweries head to head, tasting the difference in their brewing styles, hear the brew masters describe their beers.” $55.00 per person. Call for reservations. 650-325-2233.

Thur., Feb. 16, 2012, 6pm-8pm: Grand Teton Brewing Co. at Wine Affairs. “The official beer of the Grand Tetons. Brewing beer at the base of these glorious mountains since 1988 using fresh glacial spring water, some of the world’s best malting barley, and some of the finest hop farms in the world. Come taste for yourself and meet brewer Kevin Bolen!” $15.00 per person.

Thur., Feb. 16, 2012, 11am-11:30pm: IPA Thursday at Smoke Eaters in San Jose. “Can’t handle the heat? Wash down one of our 12 signature Hot Sauces with some of the best IPA’s that we will be unveiling including Sculpin, Hop Henge, Le Freak, West Coast IPA, and Double Jack. Now pouring 6 craft beers in both San Jose and Cupertino!!!”

Fri., Feb. 17, 2012, 6pm-11:30pm: Sculpin Night with Ballast Point, Plus Meet the Brewer at Harry’s Hofbrau. “Come meet one of the brewers from Ballast Point and try several different varieties of Sculpin IPA. Regular, Nitro, Cask, and even a Habanero Sculpin! Plus 5-6 other limited offering surprises from the Brewery.”

Fri., Feb. 17, 2012, 4pm-10pm: A Firkin, a Merkin and a Wizard – Firestone Walker at Good Karma Vegan Café in San Jose. “Come joins us at Good Karma for a night of Firestone Walker’s Porters featuring: Walkers Reserve Porter in a Firkin, Velvet Merlin Oatmeal Stout, and Merlin’s big brother Velvet Merkin, which is a 100% barrel aged.”

Fri., Feb. 17, 2012, 4pm-7pm: Beer Tasting Fridays at BevMo! at all 35 Bay Area locations, including during SF Beer Week. “BevMo! hosts great beer tastings every Friday from 4pm – 7pm. Visit BevMo.com for a detailed event calendar. On Friday, Feb. 17, celebrate SF Beer Week with our great selection of IPAs! Enjoy Shipyard Signature XXXX IPA, Firestone Union Jack IPA, Green Flash Imperial IPA, Bear Republic Racer 5 IPA, and Belhaven Twisted Thistle IPA at BevMo!”

Fri., Feb. 17, 2012, 1pm-12am: $1.50 Off Draft Beer All Day at Wine Affairs.

Sat., Feb. 18, 2012, 12pm-5pm: 3rd Annual Meet the Brewers Festival (“Meet the South Bay and Santa Cruz Brewers 2012”) in San Jose at Hermitage Brewing Company (1627 South 7th Street). Presented by Tied House Brewery/Hermitage Brewing Company. “…Celebrate the best of the South Bay and Santa Cruz area with the premiere festival in our area. More breweries this year…it’s gonna be hoppin! 6 Local foodie trucks, music, raffle…This is the biggest SF Beer Week event in the South Bay. Don’t miss it!” Ticket prices are $25.00 online and $35.00 the day of the event. There is a $5.00 designated driver fee. Click on articles Part 1 and Part 2 for a look at the origin of this Festival and Q&As with the organizers.

Sat., Feb. 18, 2012, 6pm-11:30pm: Meet the Brew Team from High Water Brewing at Harry’s Hofbrau. “Meet the Highwater brewing team and try all the brews that the brewery has to offer. Plus one very special limited brew!”

Sat., Feb. 18, 2012, 6pm-8pm: Divine Brewing with Kevin Robinson at Wine Affairs. “Russian River Brewer Kevin Robinson has started his own line of small batch and ULTRA-premium craft beers. Divine Brewing has more in common with a small winery than a typical brewery. A fantastic finale for our Wine Affairs SF Beerweek line up. SPOILER ALERT: we may have one more trick up our sleeve so don’t miss this tasting…”

Sun., Feb. 19, 2012, 12pm-11pm: San Jose IPA Fest with Pliny the Younger at Harry’s Hofbrau. “Calling all hop heads in the South Bay! Get your taste buds ready as we showcase 20+ of the best IPAs, Double IPAs, and Triple IPAs around. Pliny the Elder, Double Jack, Ruination, Sculpin, Hop Stoopid, Tricerahops, Hopocalypse, Hop Henge, 90 minute, Mongo, Fusion 7…the list goes on. Younger will be tapped at 3pm so get there early!”

More SF Beer Week South Bay Region Schedule of Events information

BetterBeerBlog is currently running a series of detailed posts on the main SF Beer Week events taking place in the South Bay.

For a look at the history of the Meet the Brewers Festival in San Jose (taking place on Sat., Feb. 18, 2012) plus Q&As with this year’s main festival organizers, Carolyn Hopkins-Vasquez of Tied House/Hermitage Brewing and Peter Estaniel of BetterBeerBlog.com, click here for Part 1 and here for Part 2.

For a look at how Harry’s Hofbrau in San Jose (host to five SF Beer Week events) has turned into a craft beer destination plus a Q&A with the general manager, Kevin Olcese, who is primarily responsible for this change, click here.

For a look at the South Bay Brewmasters Dinner at California Cafe in Palo Alto (taking place on Thurs., Feb. 16, 2012) plus a Q&A with Executive Chef Mark Pettyjohn, click here.

For a look at how SJ Beerwalk in Japantown (taking place on Sat., Feb. 11, 2012) got started plus a Q&A with Jordan Trigg, one of the organizers of this event and co-owner of Jack’s Bar & Lounge, click here.

For a closer look at Strike Brewing Co., a South Bay brewing company featured in several SF Beer Week events, plus a Q&A with two of the company founders Jenny Lewis and Drew Ehrlich, click here.

For a look at the history of SF Beer Week, which started in 2009, click here.

[This post was shared on Examiner.com.]