This story was updated with the correct alcohol consumption statistics 4:19 p.m. April 21.
Get ready to grab a cold one and wet your whistle at the annual Sacramento Beer Week, a 10-day event celebrating and showcasing the region’s craft beer scene.
The 16th annual Sacramento Beer Week will be held Friday, April 24, through May 3, and will feature events organized by restaurants, breweries, taprooms, and craft beer retailers.
President of the Sacramento Area Brewers Guild, David Weiss, said the event has evolved over the years. It started as a one-week event and now lasts 10 days.
“We just kind of want to celebrate all things local craft beer and all the great breweries and also restaurants that feature local beer and bars,” he said.
Key events from the Sacramento Area Brewers Guild for Sacramento Beer Week include a Brewers Cup of California award ceremony, a Brewers Olympics, European beer tasting, brewery tour called Passport to Pints, and their first-ever disc golf tournament.
Weiss, who is also the head brewer of Blue Note Brewing Company in Woodland, said during the week people can expect special releases. He plans to debut his new IPA called Y2K.
Touchstone Brewery is right next to Sacramento Pipeworks, the rock climbing gym downtown.
Kristen Madigan, Pub Manager at Touchstone Brewery, said they started as a rock climbing company and began brewing around six years ago. The brewery offers a variety of beers and for Beek Week, they will feature a West Coast IPA called Sactown Ascended.
Touchstone is hosting an event every day of beer week besides Monday April 27, according to Madigan. They’re hosting a Summer Music Series, a drag show, brunch and a beer mile.
Madigan said it’s important for people to celebrate the week because breweries bring people together.
“When you're celebrating small businesses and supporting local and doing it in a time where these breweries are really putting their best foot forward,” Madigan said. “It creates a really good community vibe when you're going out and just being there for the breweries during their kind of best time, and just showing support for Sacramento is always good.”
Touchstone will also host a trivia night, and an event with Sacramento Pipeworks offering free gym passes to anyone who wants to do some climbing, Madigan said.
“We've got yoga and then some just various fun little workouts and beer challenges throughout the brewery that day,” she said.
David Gull, the owner of New Helvetia Brewing Company, serves up a pint of beer for his general manager on Friday, September 12.Keyshawn Davis/CapRadio
New Helvetia Brewing Company, Sacramento’s Co-op brewery, is celebrating beer week with a variety of events including beer week trivia, a speed dating event, Star Wars trivia and a book fair with Bloodstone Books.
Owner David Gull said New Helvetia is introducing a “South” menu with the food truck partner Chef N’Gina Guyton, former owner of South and Jim Denny’s.
“Breweries love making beer, but some of the consumers love seltzer and other non-beer items,” Gull said. “So we are actually going to feature a hurricane seltzer slushy for the South pop-up, and then we might keep that going through most of your week.”
Gull said that the beer week is a good way to highlight Sacramento beer, breweries, bars, restaurants and businesses around town.
“This might be a good intro for some of our other local businesses, to invite local breweries to be part of their beer lineup,” he said. “Some just aren't even aware of what a great Sacramento beer scene we have. This might be an invitation for them to check us out.”
People drinking less
Beer isn’t the only thing people can drink during the week. Shifting consumer tastes are impacting the beer market, leading to decreased consumption.
According to Gallup, 62% of adults under 35 say they drink alcohol, which down from 72% two decades ago.
Weiss said the marketplace is always changing, and small craft breweries are equipped to adapt and change with the market.
“In the last few years, a lot of craft breweries have started making hard seltzers, and there's some great kind of craft-made hard seltzers that are available,” Weiss said. “I think what our breweries offer that a lot of our competitors can't is that being knit into the community and kind of creating a product that has a story that resonates with local people.”
Madigan said there were many ways Touchstone had to change in order to stay relevant in the beer scene.
“We try to kind of keep options open for people who may not want beer or may not want alcohol,” Madigan said. “We do have a seltzer, which is gluten free. We have non-alcoholic beer. It's a pale ale that we always have on tap. We also buy cider from Two Rivers, and we have wine from Revolution Atchison.”
Weiss said that Sacramento Beer Week has helped solidify Sacramento as a town that’s a destination for craft beer drinkers.
“I would love for people that aren't from Sacramento to think about craft beer when they think about our city,” Weiss said.
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