Our Official Beer Week 2026 Collaboration(s): The Story of 21st-Century IPA in Six Pints
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 There Be an IPA for Everyone?” If you read it, you’ll remember the conclusion: IPA doesn’t resolve into a single correct form. It stretches across a spectrum of preferences, histories, and intentions, and the fun is finding where you land along that spectrum.
This coming Beer Week, the Bay Area Brewers Guild is putting that idea into practice.
Introducing: The Story of 21st-Century IPA
For Beer Week 2026, our regional guild chapters are collaborating on a slate of beers that each take on a different chapter in the 21st-century story of IPA. These beers are not nostalgia pieces. Think of them as cover songs; tasty interpretations of how the style has been brewed, presented, and enjoyed over the last 25 years (and where it might be headed next).
Each collaboration begins with a brew day, followed by an informal public meet-up at the host brewery’s taproom. Check the listings below for the details on these events and join us for a chance to drink delicious beer with the folks who make it. The perfect way to gear yourself up for Beer Week 2026.
All six beers will make their official public debut together at SF Beer Week Fest, on Saturday, February 21.
The 2026 BABG Beer Week Collaborations - Six Beers Showcasing 30 years of IPA evolution
- IPA 2000 — “Nick Was Nine Years Old”
Chapter: San Francisco
Host Brewery: Bartlett Hall
Brew Day: 1/29
Our slate begins by asking one of the Bay Area’s youngest star brewers, Nick Mamere of Bartlett Hall Restaurant & Brewery, to take the helm on a recipe that calls to mind the way IPA tasted when he was a third grader. Nick was nine just years old in the year 2000, so we are asking for help not only from his fellow SF Chapter member-brewers but we've also invited a few of the guild’s founding members to join in.
On Thursday, January 29 Nick and the rest of our SF Chapter brewers will be joined by: Ron Silberstein, who founded ThirstyBear Brewing in San Francisco in 1996 and is now one of the founders behind Admiral Maltings, Dave McLean, who founded Magnolia Brewing in the Haight/Ashbury in 1997 and is about to open Hidden Splendor Fine Beer Company in Marin County and Arne Johnson, who was brewing Marin IPA at the turn of the century, and just recently took over at Rockaway Beach Brewery.
These are brewers whose work helped to define the standard for excellent IPA in the Bay Area. We look forward to tasting the time machine they put together.
- IPA 2005 — “One Hour IPA”
Chapter: East Bay
Host Brewery: Brix Factory
Brew Day: 1/23
To represent IPA in 2005 our East Bay chapter brewers are planning a “cover” of Dogfish Head’s "60 Minute" IPA. This is a nod to the first time during the 21st century when process innovation and new hop varieties drastically reshaped what IPA could be. During this era, John Gillooly, now the owner and brewmaster of Brix Factory in West Oakland, was the head brewer at Dogfish Head and oversaw the maturation and rapid growth of this landmark IPA brand.
On Friday, January 23rd, John will be joined by his fellow chapter members to brew a beer that reminds us that ideas travel through people as much as recipes.
- IPA 2010 — “Give Me A Break” West Coast IPA
Chapter: Coast
Host Brewery: Discretion
Brew Day: 1/21
Our Coast chapter brewers have elected to take on a moment in IPA history when for the first time since it really took off, the IPA gold standard seemed to have developed beyond "bigger is better." In this era, the beers got dryer, and aromas began to hint at tropical fruits like pineapple and mango, in addition to the pine and grapefruit we'd all gotten used to.
One week from today on Wednesday, January 21st our Coast chapter will gather at Discretion Brewing in Soquel, CA to create a beer that will echo a moment when refinement, restraint, and balance reasserted themselves in contemporary American IPA.
- IPA 2015 — “Topper” Hazy IPA
Chapter: East Bay
Host Brewery: Headyworks
Brew Day: 1/22
Boasting twenty-five members the East Bay is by far the BABG's largest chapter. That's why there will be not one, but two collaboration brews set in the region. Located in Livermore, Headyworks is one of our newest member-breweries and they have already garnered an illustrious reputation for their excellent Hazy IPAs. It is only right that they host this "cover" of the IPA that introduced millions of drinkers to the haze craze, "Heady Topper" by The Alchemist Brewery in Vermont.
On Thursday, January 22nd several of our East Bay brewers will gather at Headyworks to brew a reflection of the period when haze, softness, and overwhelming aroma reshaped IPA drinker expectations, forever altered quality standards, and sparked debates that still echo today.
- IPA 2025 — “Bright Future” West Coast IPA
Chapter: North Bay
Host Brewery: Old Caz
Brew Day: 1/22
The contemporary West Coast IPA is not a rejection of Northeastern haze. On the contrary beers, like Alvarado Street's Mai Tai IPA often incorporate the lower bitterness and tropical aromas that drove so many IPA drinkers towards hazies in the first place. Unlike contemporary hazy IPA, today's "westies" are typically clear or nearly clear, and they are drinking more dry and crisp every day.
On Thursday, January 22nd our North Bay chapter will gather at Old Caz's production brewery in Rohnert Park to produce an IPA reflective of current moment in West Coast IPA.
- IPA 2030 — “Hazy Future”
Chapter: Silicon Valley
Host Brewery: Narrative Fermentations
Brew Day: 1/20
The last beer in this series is a forward-looking hazy IPA built with a laundry list of innovative hop products, aroma boosters, and bio-engineered brewing yeast. A speculative chapter that asks where the tools now entering the brewhouse might lead us.
On Tuesday, January 20 our Silicon Valley chapter will gather at Narrative Fermentations in San Jose to play with terpenes, flowables and all sorts of other fun things in an attempt to illustrate where the IPA style might be headed!
Why Do All This?
Because beer didn’t become interesting by standing still!
IPA did not become the defining style in American independent beer because brewers settled on a single superior expression. On the contrary, IPA and craft brewing more broadly broke out because brewers kept pushing the envelope, revising, borrowing, and reacting.
These collaborations celebrate that process by making it visible.
They’re a reminder that styles evolve through shared effort, and that ideas move from brewhouse to brewhouse, carried by the trust and curiosity of consumers like you. What is standard fare today was once experimental, and tomorrow’s norms are undoubtedly being tested right now in a tasting room near you.
Brewing and sharing these beers isn’t an attempt to determine winners or freeze history in place. It’s a way of acknowledging our lineage, celebrating the present, and looking ahead to what might come next.
We hope you are as excited as we are about it!
🍻 Upcoming Events Featuring Our Member Breweries
🎉 Free (Pay-As-You-Go) Public Events This Weekend!
Friday, 1/16— Beats & Brews at Match Point Brewing
(Albany, CA| 7 PM )
Enjoy Match Point's newly-released New Year's Honey Ale, brewed with Sidetrack Meadery, while partying to the sounds of DJ Simon
MORE INFO –> Beats & Brews with DJ Simon In Albany!
Saturday, 1/17— Comedy Open Mic at Match Point Brewing
(Albany, CA| 7 PM - 10:30 PM )
Hosted by local comedian Karen Buchanan every 3rd Saturday Match Point!
MORE INFO –> Comedy Night In Albany!
Monday, 1/19— MLK Day BBQ at Fruition Brewing
(Watsonville, CA| 11:30 AM - sold out )
Fruition is celebrating the three-day weekend with some delicious BBQ from Casas De Humo out of Salinas.
MORE INFO –> Comedy Night In Albany!
Tuesday, 1/20— Y2K Pop Trivia at both Del Cielo locations!
(Martinez & Livermore, CA| 6:30 PM - 8:30 PM )
Use your flip phone to call your friends to join you at either Del Cielo location and test your knowledge at 2000’s Pop Trivia
MORE INFO –> Del Cielo hosts Y2K Trivia at both locations!
📅 Save the Dates
Wednesday, 1/21—Coast Chapter Industry Meet-Up at Discretion Brewing
(Soquel, CA| 3:30 PM)
Each of our Beer Week collaboration brew days will be followed by a public meet-up at the host brewery taproom. There will be a bunch of cool beer people in one place, talking shop and drinking fresh beer. Find the one in your area and join us.
Thursday, 1/22—Tri-Valley Industry Meet-Up at Headyworks
(Livermore, CA| 3 PM)
Each of our Beer Week collaboration brew days will be followed by a public meet-up at the host brewery taproom. There will be a bunch of cool beer people in one place, talking shop and drinking fresh beer. Find the one in your area and join us.
Thursday, 1/22—North Bay Industry Meet-Up at Old Caz
(*Rohnert Park, CA| 3:30 PM - sold out!)
Each of our Beer Week collaboration brew days will be followed by a public meet-up at the host brewery taproom. There will be a bunch of cool beer people in one place, talking shop and drinking fresh beer. Find the one in your area and join us.
*Old Caz Production Brewery (Not the SOMO Pub) - 5625 State Farm Drive
Friday, 1/23—East Bay Industry Meet-Up at Brix Factory
(Oakland, CA| 3 PM)
Each of our Beer Week collaboration brew days will be followed by a public meet-up at the host brewery taproom. There will be a bunch of cool beer people in one place, talking shop and drinking fresh beer. Find the one in your area and join us.
Sunday, 1/25—Burns Supper at Steel Bonnet Brewing
(Scotts Valley, CA| 4 PM - sold out!)
Steel Bonnet's annual Burns Supper Celebration features live Celtic music by Peter Daldry from 5-7pm and traditional Celtic fare brought to you by Celtic Tea Shoppe. Celebrate the life & works Robert Burns with good beer and Celtic cheer!
MORE INFO –> Burns Supper In Scotts Valley!
Thursday, 1/29—San Francisco Industry Meet-Up at Bartlett Hall
(San Francisco, CA| 4 PM)
Each of our Beer Week collaboration brew days will be followed by a public meet-up at the host brewery taproom. There will be a bunch of cool beer people in one place, talking shop and drinking fresh beer. Find the one in your area and join us.
Friday 2/20/2026 - Sunday 3/1/2026 — Beer Week 2026
(The Whole Damn Bay Area!)
The biggest and best regional celebration of independent craft beer on the planet!
Keep up-to-date on all the events at sfbeerweek.org
Saturday 2/21/2026— SF Beer Week Fest 2026 at Salesforce Park
Tickets on sale now! Early Bird pricing ends 12/31/2025!
More Info –> SF Beer Week Fest 2026!