Renowned beer event coming to Marin

San Francisco Beer Week is starting much later than usual this year, thanks in large part to Feb. 8’s Super Bowl at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara. Despite the late start, the lineup still offers a diverse array of exciting beer-focused events.

Ten years ago, the last time the Super Bowl was held in the Bay Area, multinational businesses took over seemingly every restaurant and bar in every town during the week, making it difficult for our little beer week to compete.

An additional challenge is that the Bay Area Brewers Guild, which puts on SF Beer Week, is currently run by a single person, Sayre Piotrkowski, who took over as executive director last summer. So, long story short, to avoid being overshadowed by the biggest football game of the year and to give everybody a little more time to plan for the controlled chaos of 10 days of beer events, this year, SF Beer Week runs from Feb. 20 to March 1.

I spoke to Piotrkowski to get the scoop on this year’s SF Beer Week and his perspective on the state of local craft beer.

While the full list of events is still being finalized, so far about 200 events have already been confirmed. While the opening gala is no more, the festivities really get going on Saturday with SF Beer Week Fest 2026 at Salesforce Park. Hosted by Barebottle Brewing Co., the event features unlimited tastings from 47 breweries, live entertainment and a commemorative glass.

Piotrkowski mentioned a few highlights. For example, he’s coordinated several exclusive collaboration brews of six different IPAs with release parties throughout the week that will tell the story of 21st-century IPA in six pints. Other interesting events so far include a Drake’s Speed Dating Event on Feb. 25, a Fort Point Dim Sum Beer Brunch at Hong Kong Lounge on Feb. 28, a Brewers’ Cup Golf Tournament in the Presidio on Feb. 23 and a Beer City Half Marathon in Santa Rosa on Saturday. And speaking of Sonoma County, you can sign up for a Santa Rosa Beer Passport, and a free shuttle service will transport beer week participants among the county’s breweries both weekends.

There will be beer dinners (for example, the Fair Isle Brewing Dinner at Anchovy Bar in San Francisco on Feb. 25), food and beer pairing events, games, probably some stand-up comedy or wrestling matches and definitely live music. And Piotrkowski, the man coordinating it all, will also be hosting his own event, a Beer vs. Wine Dinner at Old Skool Café on Feb. 28, where he’ll be choosing the beers in a friendly competition.

In our conversation, Piotrkowski emphasized how excited he is about local craft beer, and how he wants to remind everybody involved of the time when we were all excited about it, before COVID made things difficult for the industry. During the pandemic, many breweries had fewer opportunities to educate customers about what makes craft beer so special.

With the economy in its current state, many breweries have been closing, but the small brewers that focus on serving their local community and making a connection with them are the ones still thriving, he says. They make their customers feel like they’re part of something — which, of course, they are. California, and specifically the Bay Area, was ground zero for the craft beer movement with pioneering breweries like Anchor Brewing, New Albion, Triple Rock, Buffalo Bill’s, Sierra Nevada, Pete’s Wicked Ales, Lagunitas and Russian River.

If you love Bay Area craft beer, attending events during SF Beer Week is a great way to show your support for numerous small businesses and the local beer community as a whole. I hope to see you out there.

Here are some of the activities coming up in Marin:

• Los Angeles’ Highland Park Brewery takes over the taps at California Gold in San Rafael starting at 3:30 p.m. Saturday; the bar is open till 2 a.m. Highland Park Brewery will offer everything from hoppy beers to crisp lagers to bold stouts. Love what you try? Specialty cans will be available for purchase. Go to sfbeerweek.org.

• Brewers guilds from the Bay Area, Sacramento, Orange County and San Diego duke it out at the Battle of the Guilds starting at noon Sunday at Pond Farm Brewing Co. in San Rafael. The brewpub is open till 9 p.m. Go to sfbeerweek.org.

• The Junction Beer Garden in Mill Valley will offer all-day beer flights and single-serve beers from Ghost Town Brewing on Sunday during regular hours. The beer garden will also host a cornhole tournament at 6 p.m. Register online for the tournament; $10 admission fee. Prizes will be awarded. Go to sfbeerweek.org.

• Come compete at the Junction Beer Garden’s trivia night at 7 p.m. Monday. Prizes will be awarded. Original Pattern Brewing Co. will also take over the taps all day at the Mill Valley beer garden. If you buy a beer flight, you get one point toward your team’s total trivia score; this is limited to three points per team. Go to sfbeerweek.org.

• Santa Cruz-based Humble Sea Brewing Co. will take over the taps at the Junction Beer Garden in Mill Valley all day on Feb. 26. Purchasing a beer flight enters you into a raffle to win prizes like merch and four-packs of beer to bring home. Go to sfbeerweek.org.

• Trappist beers, which are brewed by monastic communities dedicated to the art of craft beer, will be featured at Trappist Thursday starting at 11:30 a.m. Feb. 26 at the Monk’s Kettle in Terra Linda. The craft beer tavern closes at 10 p.m. Go to sfbeerweek.org.

• San Rafael’s California Gold will showcase 12 beers from a variety of breweries that are made with Admiral Maltings’ malt starting at 3:30 p.m. Feb. 26. The event will also feature barbecue by Lone Mountain BBQ, founded by Marin resident Chris Stafford. Go to sfbeerweek.org.

• Cookies and beer go hand in hand at Monk Kettle’s event starting at 11:30 a.m. Feb. 27 at the Terra Linda location. The craft beer tavern closes at 10 p.m. Go to sfbeerweek.org.

• Try triple IPAs like Pliny the Younger, HenHouse Brewing Co.’s Big Chicken and Parliament Brewing Co.’s All Who Wander at the Triple IPA Fest starting at 11:30 a.m. Feb. 28 at the Monk’s Kettle in Terra Linda. The craft beer tavern closes at 10 p.m. Go to sfbeerweek.org.

• Try Pond Farm Brewing Co.’s Wrong Side of the Bed coffee stout with a new coffee cake doughnut by Johnny Doughnuts starting at noon Feb. 28 at the San Rafael brewery. The brewpub is open till 10 p.m. Go to sfbeerweek.org.

• Oakland’s Ghost Town Brewing, which was originally started by a metal band to help pay rehearsal rent, takes over the taps at California Gold in San Rafael starting at 3:30 p.m. Feb. 28. The bar closes at 2 a.m.

Contact Jay R. Brooks at BrooksOnBeer@gmail.com.

— Lifestyles Editor Colleen Bidwill contributed to this report.