Every February, as San Francisco Beer Week comes roaring back to life, it’s worth remembering how we got here. Beer Week did not begin as a marketing construct or a calendar placeholder. It started out more like a pilgrimage. Well before our app, before tap takeovers were passé, before
**Before we dive in, a quick reminder that our 2026 Beer Week collaboration brews begin this week, with public meet-ups following each brewday at the host breweries. You'll find details at the bottom of this email.** Roughly 18 years ago, the Bay Area beer scene experienced a paradigm
One idea we often return to at The Brew Deck is that beer styles are not fixed targets. They’re conversations — shaped by ingredients, technology, culture, and the people who show up to brew and drink them. That question was at the heart of a recent Brew Deck issue, “Should
The Brew Deck is back from our holiday hiatus, and with Beer Week approaching and clouds in our current forecasts, we figured now was a great time to dig into dark beer. The culinary world is fond of reminding us that we “eat with our eyes,” and the same is
Hello Beer Friends, As the year winds down, we just wanted to say thank you. In just a few short months, The Brew Deck has grown into a community of more than 20,000 Bay Area beer lovers, and we’ve been genuinely overwhelmed by your response. Together this year,
Last week, VinePair released its list of the 26 Best New Breweries of 2025. As usual, the Bay Area Brewers Guild was well represented, with two of our newest members, Livermore’s Heady Works Brewing and San Rafael’s Hidden Splendor Fine Beer Company, making the list. It was a
Guess what? You woke up this morning with just over seventy days between you and the country’s biggest and best regional beer celebration. SF Beer Week 2026 kicks off Friday, February 20th, and this year is going to be extra special. Your Subscriber-Only Perk Two years ago, the SF
As the holidays approach, many of us are searching for gifts that feel personal, thoughtful, and a little extraordinary. With that in mind, this year the Bay Area Brewers Guild would like to submit, for your gifting consideration, a category of beer ideally suited for the holiday season: The Keepsake
Last week, Craft Beer & Brewing Magazine released its annual accounting of the best breweries and beers, as voted on by the publication’s deeply knowledgeable readership and editorial staff. If you’re unfamiliar, Craft Beer & Brewing is the rare publication that blends technical rigor with genuine reverence for
There are more than 100 breweries in the Bay Area today. The best estimates indicate that we Bay Area residents collectively spend approximately $1 billion annually on craft beer. Those numbers are staggering enough on their own—but when you add the fact that just four decades ago, only 44
