Recently named the top beer city in the country by Men’s Journal, San Diego is hosting it’s first-ever San Diego Beer Week this November 6th-15th, 2009. “San Diego Beer Week is a 10-day event showcasing the amazing craft beer we have in this city,” says Colby Chandler, San Diego Brewers Guild President.

San Diego is one of the country’s first cities to embrace a Beer Week, following the successful model first set forth by Philadelphia and later San Francisco. With more than 33 working breweries in the county, San Diego is anticipating a prosperous inaugural event and hopes to bring attention to the region’s burgeoning beer tourism industry.

“Not only are we working with local bars and restaurants for beer week,” says Adam Carbonell, San Diego Brewers Guild representative, “we’ve set up great partnerships with local hotels to bring in people from out of town.” Special room rates are available through San Diego Beer Week’s website, including offers for Hotel Solamar located in the heart of San Diego’s Historic Gaslamp Quarter, Lafayette Hotel near 30th Street in North Park, and Town & Country centrally located in Mission Valley.

San Diego Beer Week kicks off with the VIP Session of the San Diego Brewers Guild Festival on Friday, November 6th, followed by two general admission sessions on Saturday November 7th, 2009, at the World Beat Center in Balboa Park. The Guild Festival is the largest gathering of local craft breweries featuring more than 80 beers brewed in San Diego County. Allied member restaurants will be at the event serving small bites to pair with the beers.

There are currently more than 100 events planned for San Diego Beer Week, with new events added daily. “We are encouraging breweries to push the envelope and create events with places not typically associated with craft beer. We know we’ll have support from beer enthusiasts, but we want to reach people who might not know about San Diego’s craft beer scene,” says Chandler.

Some of the week’s highlights include: Ten Year Lineup of Stone Imperial Russian Stout at the Stone World Bistro, Third Annual Barrel Tasting Night with Lost Abbey, homebrew classes with Ballast Point/Homebrewmart, Belgian Beer Dinner at the Quarter Kitchen, Beer & Cheese pairing class at Great News Cooking School with Karl Strauss and Venissimo Cheese, Green Flash 7th Anniversary Party, and First-Fling Frisbee Golf Tournament with Hamilton’s Tavern.

San Diego Beer Week will conclude with a Chef’s Celebration of Beer on Sunday November 15th, 2009. The Chef’s Celebration event teams up local chefs with San Diego Breweries to create unique beer and food pairings. The event also includes seminars on sensory analysis, how to pair beer and food, and other craft beer related issues presented by local brewers.

San Diego Beer Week takes place from Friday, November 6th through Sunday, November 15th, 2009. Events will be hosted countywide, with new events posted frequently on the official San Diego Beer Week website. For information about San Diego Beer Week, including complete event listings, sponsors, public transportation, and accommodations, please visit the official website, http://sdbw.org.

About San Diego Beer Week

San Diego Beer Week is sponsored by the non-profit San Diego Brewers Guild with the goal of promoting San Diego’s thriving craft beer culture by hosting a ten-day countywide festival that attracts beer tourism, fosters knowledge of our regional brewing hertiage, and serves as a showcase for San Diego’s breweries, restaurants, pubs, and other businesses with ties to the craft beer community. For more information and a current list of events, visit sdbw.org and sandiegobrewersguild.org. Cheers.

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