Weekend Full of Festivals - 4th Annual Barrel Aged Beerfest and BevMo! Holiday Beerfest
Correction: I was informed by Gail from Beer by Bart that the barrel aged beerfest at the Bistro is their 4th, not their 6th as I had originally written.
If you’re a craft beer lover living in the Bay Area this weekend, you’re in for a real treat. There are two beer festivals happening this weekend and even more fortunate, they’re on separate days so you can go to both. Here are the details in order of appearance:
What: 6th 4th Annual Barrel-Aged Beer Festival, official site
Where: The Bistro, 1001 B Street, Hayward, CA 94541 map
When: November 14, 2009
Why: Why not? If you’re a barrel aged beer festival, then this is the event for you. This year, expect over 70 beers on tap, live music and BBQ. What I enjoy most about this festival is the variety of beers available. There are sour beers, beers aged in spirit barrels and good ol’ fashioned wood aged beers. We went last year, had a great time and are looking forward to this event.
Cost: To be completely honest, I don’t know how much the festival will be this year. I will call the Bistro and get a firm number later today. Last year it was $35/person and that came with a tasting glass and 10 tasting tickets. You can always purchase more drink tickets at the event. Keep in mind that The Bistro no longer accepts credit or debit cards so bring cash.
What: BevMo! Holiday Beerfest, official site
Where: Fort Mason, Herbst Pavilion, dowtown San Francisco map
When: November 15, 2009
Why: BevMo! is putting on a beer festival. Nice! Here is what the beerfest is in their own words:
Holiday, Seasonal & Special Beers, (some are called Winter Warmers), date back thousands of years. Brewers today hae continued the ritual with either very old recipes or new fangled ideas using spices, fruits, herbs, coffee & chocolate. These unique brews will bring a smile to your lips and a glow to your spirit.
Also on the menu will be food from the Culinary Center of Monterey California and music by Patt Casion and her band. There will be over 125 beers so this figures to be well worth the price of admission.
Cost: $35 advance purchase (online), $45 at the door, cash only (if not sold out). Ticket includes all of your tastings for the event. Nice!
So there you have it, a weekend full of beer events. I’ll definitely be at the Bistro this Saturday so don’t be a stranger, come up and say hello. As always, drink responsibly and remember to savor the flavor (I’m sure I pulled that line from somewhere but I just can’t remember where).
November 11th, 2009 at 6:34 am
I am still debating about going to the barrel festival. I had a blast at the DIPA festival in February, so I might just have to drag the wife along with me as a DD.
November 11th, 2009 at 8:41 am
I wish there were more beer festivals like these. You know, ones with themes like barrel ages brews and holiday brews, strong ale fests, etc. There’s a new festival starting next year in Colorado that will be focusing on sour beers sponsored by Avery Brewing. I can hardly wait for that one!
Look forward to hearing about these fests.
November 11th, 2009 at 5:03 pm
We totally need to leave Hawaii for the mainland. Too many good beer festivals that we are missing out on. Bully lived in Salem for several years and is dying to get back to Oregon to do more brew drinking. sad face.
November 12th, 2009 at 7:51 pm
I noticed your writeup, and repeated “6th Annual” on our blog, then got a question about it….
So I looked on the Bistro’s page, and I found the original listing — love that they keep those all up there:
“Our First Ever Barrel Age Beer Festival - was held on November 11, 2006. The rain cleared out just in time for this fabulous event. The flavors were unbelievable and all over the map…”
So it’s the fourth annual! Still a tradition in the making.
November 15th, 2009 at 12:45 am
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