San Diego Beer Week kicked off over the weekend with multiple events, including the sold-out Guild Fest on Saturday.
Mayor Kevin Faulconer was on hand at the Saturday event to launch San Diego Beer Week. The 12th Annual Guild Fest, sponsored by the San Diego Brewers Guild, marks the official start of the 10-day event, Guild President Brian Scott said.
"This year is generating a lot of media attention because we bring in a lot of tourism now," Scott said. "This year we sold out Guild Fest, we're going to see upwards of 3,000-plus people here on the pier today, 60-plus breweries, 3,000 people, San Diego beer, food — all that fun stuff."
Kevin Hopkins, vice president of the San Diego Brewers Guild, said San Diego Beer Week offers more than just something to drink.
"You go to sdbw.org we actually have a whole calendar there that lists the different types of events, which includes beer pairings — chefs taking their food, cooking with beer, and then pairing it together with beer offerings to see what a contrast or compliment can do for it, then sharing that with a select group of individuals," he said.
Georgian Bay Books' Bruce Glassman has published a number of books on beer including the newly updated San Diego Brewery Guide and Brew Food.
"Beer has so many different styles and made up of so many different components and flavor profiles that you really have sort of a pantry full of flavors and ingredients to use depending on whether you use a brown beer that’s a little maltier or add an IPA that’s hoppy and bitter at the end of another recipe — you have many more options and I think people are starting to find that kind of exciting," Glassman said. "And also as the beer drinking part of it grows, people are more interested in finding food that pairs with beer and is really beer-friendly."
Hopkins added, "Beer week is really more about the retailers than it is the breweries. We as brewers are actually supporting the retailers with over 500 events in a 10-day period. Those events are — 95 percent of them — are at the retailers themselves. There’s literally three, four, six events in a single day, wherever you are at you, can find an outstanding Beer Week event."
San Diego Beer Week’s tasty offerings continue through Sunday.
