California guilds team up to launch CA Craft Beer Week in 2021
In 2021 the biggest California craft beer guilds and beer weeks will merge together for the first ever CA Craft Beer Week from February 12-21st when San Francisco Beer Week would usually take place. To bring fans and community members together during this industry and worldwide crisis, the organizers of SF Beer Week have teamed up with the California Craft Brewers Association and other regional guilds to put together events under a much bigger COVID safe umbrella.
The greater CA Craft Beer Week combines the effort of the following organizations:
California Craft Brewers Association
Bay Area Brewers Guild
San Diego Brewers Guild
Los Angeles County Brewers Guild
Orange County Brewers Guild
Sacramento Area Brewers Guild
Central Coast Brewers Guild
Inland Empire Brewers Guild
...plus breweries in other California territories
Unlike typical beer weeks, the aim for CA Craft Beer Week is to share stories, to collaborate and (figuratively) reconnect, to partake in friendly competition, and, most especially, to offer up fun and tasty ways to support local businesses and help bring back a spirit of community in neighborhoods and local scenes across California. Look for:
Fun activities to benefit and shore up our communities
Special releases, virtual events, collaborations and more
Take-away packages and pairings for celebrating at home
Specialty craft tasting and gift boxes, shipping across the state
A virtual installment of the ultimate beer week regional rivalry, Battle of the Guilds. Founded by Phil Cutti (Speakeasy Ales & Lagers, Bay Area Brewers Guild), this annual tasting competition and fan favorite will be moving online, with friendly beer-loving challenges supporting local guilds and community organizations.
California Craft Beer Week is being developed and co-presented by the California Craft Brewers Association, the Bay Area Brewers Guild, the Central Coast Brewers Guild; the Inland Empire Brewers Guild; the Los Angeles County Brewers Guild; the Orange County Brewers Guild; the Sacramento Area Brewers Guild, and the San Diego Brewers Guild.
CA CRAFT BEER WEEK
February 12-21 with the Official Kick-Off Event Feb. 12
In January, look for advance sales of tasting boxes, Valentine’s Day gifts and more!
Community & California beer matter here
#CABeerHere
ABOUT
California Craft Beer Week is a collective outreach initiative organized by the Bay Area Brewers Guild and the California Craft Brewers Association, non-profit trade associations, in collaboration with the Central Coast Brewers Guild, the Los Angeles County Brewers Guild, the Orange County Brewers Guild, the Sacramento Area Brewers Guild, and the San Diego Brewers Guild.
Submission of events and packages starts mid-December to be posted live in early January. Sign up for news and announcements:
CA Craft Beer Week - cacraftbeerweek.com
For social, follow each guild to get regional updates, and follow SF Beer Week overall CA Craft Beer Week takes over its “airwaves”in 2021:
SF Beer Week Instagram: @SFBeerWeek
California Craft Brewers Association - Instagram: @CaCraftBrewers
Bay Area Brewers Guild - Instagram: @DrinkBayBeer
San Diego Brewers Guild - Instagram: @SDbrewers
Los Angeles County Brewers Guild - Instagram: @LAbrewers
Orange County Brewers Guild - Instagram: @OCbrewersguild
Sacramento Area Brewers Guild - Instagram: @SacramentoAreaBrewersGuild
Central Coast Brewers Guild - Instagram: @CentralCoastBrewersGuild
Inland Empire Brewers Guild - Instagram: @IEBrewersGuild
Frequently Asked Questions:
What is California Craft Beer Week?
Historically, beer weeks have been a collection of days (usually ten, spanning two weekends) when members of a community hold tasting events, food pairings, festivals, and other activities in celebration of local independent craft beer and breweries.
Employing a different mix of activities, California Craft Beer Week aims to rekindle those social connections tamped out by Covid, as it raises awareness and support for local businesses and communities.
Online and in neighborhoods across the state, its many participants will be serving up playful competitions, special releases, gift & tasting boxes, take-home packages, food & menu pairings, education, and more to be enjoyed alongside live and on-demand online events -- or stand-alone, at home, with family and intimate friends.
Activities and packages are being posted by breweries and other local businesses (eg. bars, restaurants, bottleshops, etc.) from all over the state, but you’ll be able to easily drill down to the region you care most about to see what’s happening in your part of California.
When and what exactly is happening?
February 12-21 will be the primary dates for headlining online events and take-home packages, but there will be a lot of activity leading up to those dates, including special release boxes, advance pairings & tasting experiences, merch and social media contests, and some fun brewer challenges.
As one example, we’ll be showcasing Valentine’s gift boxes from breweries and local businesses, which could include unique food pairings. Another example is regional tasting boxes, which will be available for pre-sale ahead of a Feb. 12 Opening Night Kick-Off event and feature special releases from some of the best breweries in California.
Look for teasers later this month, a host of advance sale packages at the start of January, and an event schedule by mid-January.
Sign up for news and announcements here.
Why are you doing this?
It’s time to lift each other up. Craft beer has never been just about a product. If it were, we wouldn’t have been crushed when Golden Road or Anchor were bought by multinational conglomerates. Independent brewers do what they do out of love for community and love of craft.
It’s been proven that local craft breweries play a central role in revitalizing communities -- and we want to be there to do that again once our national nightmare finally ends. We want be there with you, for you, so we’re doing what we do best right now… rallying around each other, supporting each other, and supporting our friends in retail, in food, in music, in art, and in our communities, where our industry is one of the most active fundraisers for local nonprofits of any non-corporate sector.
Especially here in California — home to the most breweries of any state, and world-renowned for its breweries and beer scenes — craft beer matters here, because community matters here. Let’s get that sense of community back.
(And, like you, we could just use some fun and virtual hugs.)
But what about SF Beer Week?
Don’t worry, SF Beer Week is happening as a subset of CCBW, and will be back in 2022 in its solo glory in 2022, when we finally kick Covid’s butt.