Winter used to be the doldrums for the beer world. No more. The calendar in the next few weeks in the San Francisco Bay Area is incredibly full.

Here’s a partial list:

Jan. 16, 7 p.m. Schooner’s Grille & Brewery, 4250 Lone Tree Way, Antioch,CA. Goodbye party. Schooner’s is being sold. This is goodbye. The new owner takes over Thursday.

Jan. 16, 6 p.m., Lagunitas Beer Dinner, Horizons Restaurant, 558 Bridgeway, Sausalito, CA. $49 plus tax and 18 percent gratuity, 415-331-3232.

Jan. 23, 6 p.m. Second Annual Lagunitas Beer Dinner, Pleasanton Hotel, , $50 plus tax and tip. Reservations: 925-846-8106 Great menu. Desert sounds like a sugar bomb: Molten Lava Cake with Caramel Ice Cream paired with : Hairy Eyeball. There’s been a change at the hotel. Chef Neil Marcus, who launched the hotel’s beer dinners, has left the hotel to become a partner with Edward Westmoreland in a new restaurant opening next month at 4889 Hopyard Road in Pleasanton: Eddie Papa’s American Hangout. (Yes, they plan an extensive beer list.)

Anyway, the new chef, Chris Smith, a San Francisco Culinary Institute graduate and restaurant pro, will be handling the menu,. which you can find here.

Jan. 25, 5:30 p.m., Bay Gourmet: The San Francisco Beer Story: History, Culture, Taste, Cuisine, Commonwealth Club, 595 Market St., 2nd Floor, San Francisco, $12 for members, $18 non-members. Panel discussion featuring : Hos Justin Crossley, the Brewing Network, John Foster, Beerschoo,com; Nico Freccia, co-ower 21st Amendment Restaurant &b Brewery, Dan Gordon, co-founder Gordon Biersch, Dave McLean, owner, brewr Magnolia Pub & Brewery; Bobby Coleman, co-founder, San Francisco Brweers Guild. Info: www.commonwealthclub.org/mlf/#beerhistory.

Feb. 2, 2 p.m., until. Anderson Valley Brewing Co., 20th anniversary celebration, 17700 Hwy. 255, Boonville, CA. 95415. Tours, carriage rides. Beer tasting and hors d’oeuvres begin at 4 p.m., dinner at 6 p.m., $65. Tickets: www.avbc.com or 707-895-2337 ext. 25.

This is one beer dinner worth the windy-road trek to Boonville. Centerpiece will be Anderson Valley’s 20th anniversary beer, an Imperial India Pale Ale, 100 IBUs (International Bitterness Units: Bud’s 13 IBU), 9 percent alcohol by volume. It’s going to be bottled, Anderson Valley says.

Feb. 9, 11 a.m. - 7 p.m. Bistro Double IPA Festival, 1001 B.St., Hayward, CA.,Over 50 beers on tap, live music and barbecue. This supremo event kicks off the Celebrator Beer News 2008 Beerapalooza. Many, many events to come. Find the whole list here.

February 13, 7 p.m. Beer & Cheese Tasting, Rogue Ales Public House, 673 Union St., San Francisco, More info: rogue.com

February 15, 6:30 p.m. Chocolate & Belgian Beer Dinner, Cathedral Hill Hotel, 1101 Van Ness Ave., San Francisco, CA, 415-776-8200 ext. 7785

Feb. 16, noon until… Annual Toronado Barleywine Festival, Toronado, 547 Haight St., San Francisco, CA. Saturday, February 16, noon to ??. No cover, pay by the glass. Possibly 100 or more barleywines from around the world. This is the granddaddy barleywine festival, the one that started the barleywine craze.

Feb. 17, 4 - 8 p.m. Celebrator Beer News’ 20th Anniversary Bash, Oakland Convention Center, Marriott Hotel. Lots of beer, lots of food, lots of music. An event not to miss. Info: www.celebrator.com.

Feb 21, 4 p.m. (tentative), E.J. Phair Alehouse, 2151 Salvio St., Concord, CA
925-691-4253. Failure to Launch Party: Unveiling of the Sam Adams Double IPA Longshot winner. The homebrewer, Mike McDole, of Clayton, used a recipe based on Pliny the Elder from Russian River. It won the national contest, but because of the international hop shortage Boston Brewing (Sam Adams) couldn’t source enough hops to brew the beer this year. It will be released nationally next year.

However, a test batch was brewed at Sam Adams in Boston. It’s this beer that will be poured at E.J. Phair’s _ if the beer arrives, so stay tuned.