San Diego Beer Week 2013: The Halftime Report

We’re at the halfway mark for San Diego Beer Week and the events are just getting better and better. The Full Pint were divided between the north and south this past weekend, hitting up the Firestone Walker XVII Anniversary and the San Diego Brewers Guild VIP Takeover which took place on Friday, November 1.

The informal kick-off event was held inside the Port Pavilion on an iconic San Diego Bay pier and ushered in a crowd of nearly 2,000 craft beer loving folk to sample the offerings of San Diego’s best and brightest (click here for partial tap list). We had a great time taking in the spirit of Beer Week with solid brews from Societe and Automatic Brewing as well as some rare treats from SD institutions like Stone and Pizza Port. Food samplings from local restaurants and live music were a plenty which enhanced the experience of this celebratory affair. The following morning was the official Guild Festival which took advantage of the entire pier in addition to the indoor pavilion. Over 50 breweries from San Diego County poured for approximately 3,000 that day.

Looking forward, what’s next for SDBW? Here are a couple of events we’ve got our eyes on:

Tonight at Urge Gastropub, they’re doing an NorCal vs. SoCal IPA Battle! 12 Beers face-off, 1 beer wins the Peoples’ Choice Award starting at 5pm.

Taplist:

Russian River Pliny the Elder
Sierra Nevada Celebration
Bear Republic Homegrown Wet Hop IPA
Lagunitas IPA
Drakes Aroma Prieta
Knee Deep Batch 138
-versus-
Stone Ruination
Ballast Point Sculpin
AleSmith IPA
Green Flash West Coast IPA
Societe The Apprentice
Port Brewing Wipeout
*For more information, follow them here. 

On Friday, November 8, Stone World Bistro & Gardens (Liberty Station) will be pouring a vertical of 10 Years of Stone Old Guardian! 13 varieties of this popular Barleywine from 2004-2013 will be available all day long. For more details, click  here.

Lastly, catch the Best Damn Sour Fest 3 on Saturday, November 9. Produced by The Beer Co. in conjunction with the Best Damn Beer Shop, this event’s got a killer taplist of mouth-puckering sours from all around the world. Heavy-hitters like Cantillon, Drie Fonteinen, Russian River, and Crooked Stave are not to be missed. Full list and ticket link here.

Here are some photos from the VIP Brewer Takeover on 11/1…