Thursday. August 4th is IPA Day. the idea is for you to introduce your friends to a craft made IPA. which is a fine thing to do. but there are some things you might want to consider before you take the advice on what to introduce to your pals. just remember if they just can’t take the big boldness of IPA order them something else tasty

Beer with food pairing dinners are a great way to learn a lot about beer in an evening. usually these events are structured in a way that will leave you happy and full. if you’ve never been to one of these events here’s some things you can expect.

For the first time in its six year history, American Craft Beer Week will see official events hosted in all 50 states, making it the largest-ever celebration of U.S. craft brewers. From May 16-22,  new beer lovers and seasoned enthusiasts will raise glasses of their favorite IPA, amber, stout—or anything in-between—to honor the more than 1,700 small and independent craft brewers responsible for the vibrant American craft beer scene.

there is no better way to learn about brewing beer then to brew beer with people that know how to brew. every brewer that we know is more than happy to have you come over to watch, stir the mash, clean the kettle or man the grill. be sure to bring your favorite craft beer to share because a brew day is a long day.

it’s all a blur. at least it is now. 10 days of SF Beer Week came and went. keep in mind that SFBW is surrounded by Strong Beer Month. there are a few things that we learned in the 3rd year of this event: it’s impossible to get to everything, it’s easy to get tired, and everyone wants to be part of it. the new thing this year were lines. long ones. every single place and event that we attended was packed. it didn’t matter that it was Monday or Tuesday the world was out wanting to try beer.

barrel aged beers have proven to be popular in market. and while European beers have been made in wood barrels for centuries it hasn’t been until the last decade that barrel aging was done in the American market. and this is especially true for beer distributed outside of the brewing area done intentionally instead of just a brewers experiment made as a novelty for the people that visit the brewery.

it’s here again. there’s too much to do and too much to see and too many beers to drink in just one short 10 day week. the only way to make it to the end is to go in with a plan. honestly, if you stick to what you start with everyone will be amazed.