Question of the Day – A poster asks: Why does Sacramento have more and better beerfests than the Bay Area?
By William Brand
Wednesday, October 15th, 2008 at 1:58 pm in Craft Beer, Festivals.
I’m pulling this out from the comments about the Great America Beer Festival posted Monday. Craig makes an interesting point. What do you think? Join the discussion.
Craig Says:
i went last year (to the Great American Beer Festival) it was fantastic…pub crawling in Denver was as much fun as the fest..i look forward to returning..on the subject of beerfests..why does Sacramento have more and better beerfests than we do here in the Bay Area?
William Brand Says:
True, Sacto has a couple of good ones. But we don’t do too badly, although there hasn’t been anything really gigantic for a long time.
Of course, coming up in February is San Francisco Bay Area Beer Week, there will be literally dozens of events.
But just listing individual events, I’d say the barleywine fest in February at the Toronado in San Francisco and the IPA and Double IPA fests at the Bistro are hard to beat, for variety and unusual beers. The annual Breastfest, a benefit for breast cancer, at Marin Bewing in early summer is one fine festival Also, the San Francisco Brewer’s Guild has a fest on the Jeremiah O’Brian, the Liberty ship, each Labor Day.
Also, the beer pavilion at the Slow Food Nation expo at Fort Mason last month was totally amazing.
What we lack these days are gigantic festivals with each brewery pouring one or two beers. Don’t know why. Maybe it’s because we have such variety that a big fest like that feels kind of ho-hum. I dunno. What do you think?
Photo: Serving line at the Bistro IPA fest in Hayward.
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October 15th, 2008 at 2:21 pm
Most of these easily reached by public transit or taxi, try doing that in Sacto
October 15th, 2008 at 2:30 pm
Yeah, that’s really inportant., Gail Williams and Steve Shapiro, two beer geeks of the first magnitude, have even put together a Web site: http://www.beerbybart.com that gives directions to all the Bay Area’s great pubs and fests.
These days I never drive to a fest or to most pubs. Beerbybart makes taking public transit easy.
October 15th, 2008 at 2:57 pm
My favorite Northern California beer festival is right in downtown Hayward. The Bistro’s Barrel-Aged fest is a little known secret that has consistently offered up a wide and unusual variety of fantastic beers, some that you’ll likely only see there. Mark your calenders for November 15th.
October 15th, 2008 at 3:16 pm
Smaller fests? Yes. But not as good as larger fests? I beg to differ. The huge fests are great (ie: boonville, GABF etc.) for the amazing number of breweries attending and, in Boonville’s case, the great adventure that comes with camping there. But fests like the Bistro’s IPA fest are great because they are smaller. I don’t need to wait in line for an hour to taste a beer. And they never disappoint with a wide selection of beers I have never tried. I can walk right up, give them a ticket and move on. Maybe it’s just me, but I would rather relax, enjoy my beer outside on the patio, instead of in a huddled mass of shirtless frat brothers. Just my 2 cents…
October 15th, 2008 at 3:36 pm
Yes, you’re right about Boonville. It’s another one of those unique events, Also, the Oregon Brewers Festival in July in Portland. It;s my all-time, big fest favorite.
October 16th, 2008 at 12:28 pm
first off i have a designated driver so driving is no t an obstacle for me..yahoo!…the best fest (that never gets any ink) is the sf international fest..it is expensive..65$ for 3 hrs…but it is like a gaint block party in the city…with food and beer included..the kids are 25yrs old..and they always attend this one with the folks..it sells out within days every year…it to is indoors & exspencive like mostt bay area fests..the ones in sacto are cheap and outdoors…the sunshine..trees..space…and bands greatly enhance the sacto fests
October 16th, 2008 at 1:18 pm
The real reason is that the Bay Area is NOT Northern California. Drinking and carousing outdoors makes life in northern California bearable.
Sacramento is hardly norcal, either. Fests in Boonville, Humboldt, Shasta, Truckee and the like are superior because the mood is much more laid back.
Went to Monterey and Santa Rosa this year, and the lines were MUCH longer and the general attitude is less friendly.
October 16th, 2008 at 5:43 pm
Good comment LS. The Bay Area’s really urban and crowds just happen. Guess that’s why I like smaller fests like the Bistro’s. I also like/liked Drake’s Friday afternoon open houses, which I believe they wills start again, once John Martin of triple rock takes command. Another one I missed was the Firkin Fest at Triple Rock in Berkeley in the spring.
October 16th, 2008 at 5:54 pm
SF International Fest? Is that the one at Fort Mason? That benefits a school? I’ve been to that one a couple of times, but not for a while. Yes, it’s very nice.
October 17th, 2008 at 11:19 am
I live in Sacramento & I would trade the sheer amount of great beer you can get at pubs & stores in the bay area for the few good fests we have. Fests are great & all, but if you can’t get much good beer on a daily basis, it’s a bit of a hollow victory. There is nothing approaching the quality & selection of the Trappist, Toronado, City Beer, Healthy Spirits, Ledger’s etc in Sacramento. I give credit to Sac Brewing, Rubicon, Corti Bros etc for the good beer things they do, but come on, the capitol of California should have a lot more going for it in the beer dept than it does.