Best of SF Beer Week 2011

Beer Week in San Francisco is a bit like that garlic festival in Gilroy: if they can pair the stuff with anything at all, they’ll do it. Luckily for us, Beer Ice Cream Floats and Beer Cocktails are way better than garlic wine and garlic ice cream (trust me on this).

In all four compass points of the Bay Area, there are more beer-related events during Beer Week than we can write about (for the complete list, click here) but we found a few that are pretty cool or pretty, you know, funcheap.

Got a fancy phone? SF Beer Week iPhone app is available for download. Get there by clicking here.

Shot and Beer Pairing at Elixir, Your Neighborhood Saloon

Elixir (16th & Guererro — Mission)
Everyday of Beer Week 4 @ 2pm to 2am
Cost: FREE

All Beer Week long, Elixir has a different shot paired with one of our 15 draft beers. That’s 15 completely different pairings. Some are for shooting and chasing, others are for back and forth sipping. In some cases they marry well together and in others each rinses the palate of the other…but they’re all tasty.

Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. Beer Tasting w/ Pint Glass and T-Shirt

Main St. Brewery (830 Main Street — Pleasanton)
Tuesday, Feb. 15 @ 6:30 to 8:30pm
Cost: $25 (incl. beer, pint glass, t-shirt & apps)

Come down to Main St. Brewery for a special beer tasting from Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. All four Sierra 30th Anniversary Series on draft as well as the highly anticipated HOPTIMUM Whole-Cone Imperial IPA. Price includes beers, commemorative pint glass, t-shirt, and appetizers.

Relive Your Youth With Beer & Ice Cream Floats

Chile Pies & Ice Cream (601 Baker Street — NoPa)
Everyday of Beer Week
Cost: $7 per float

Specially featured ‘Beer Floats’ teaming award-winning Bison Organic Beer with our favorite organic ice cream from Three Twins. Let us woo you with both our traditional and unexpected flavor pairings. A wonderfully adult way to relive your youth! Orange Blossom Cream Ale with Vanilla Ice Cream, Chocolate Stout with Chocolate Ice Cream and there’s even one pairing Gingerbread Ale with Carnamine Ice Cream. Don’t like these? Make up your own! A wonderfully adult way to relive your youth.

Valentine’s Day Special: Save $1 when you buy two floats.

Beer, Bowling, and Brewers Featuring Lost Coast Brewery

Dirty Trix Saloon (408 Clement Street — Inner Richmond)
Thursday Feb. 17 @ 8pm-11pm
Cost: FREE

Full Disclosure: Lost Coast Brewing Co. makes this writer’s very favorite beer ever, the Great White. That said this seems like a cool event because there’ll be a free Wii Bowling Tournament in which you can win some Lost Coast Shwag. Look for beer specials. They also brewer coming from their Humboldt County headquarters coming to give a talk and introduction to some of their beers.

Belgian Beer Flights: Try 10 for $10

Kennedy’s Irish Pub (1040 Columbus Ave. — North Beach)
Everyday of Beer Week @ 7pm-10pm
Cost: $5 for 6 Beers or $10 for 10 Beers

Hone your Belgian beer palate at Kennedy’s during SF Beer Week. Sip through side-by-side tastings of Belgian-style beers while perusing the tasting notes. We’ll be tasting 10 Belgian-style ales — 5 from Belgium and 5 from the US. Flights offer 2-oz. tastes: 5 Belgians for $6; 5 Americans for $6; and all 10 for $10.

Opening Up Vintage Ales That Have Waited Up to Sixteen Years to be tasted

Pacific Coast Brewing Co (906 Washington Street — Oakland)
Thursday Feb. 17 @ 5pm-8pm
Cost: FREE

For San Francisco Beer Week, Pacific Coast Brewing in Oakland is offering two unique opportunities to sample vintage beers from our cellar. We will be breaking out our vintage Belgian Style Ales ranging in age from 8 years up to 16 years old. We will be offering eight different vintages of Triples and Abbey Style Ales. PCB’s Belgian Style Triple won a Gold Medal at the Great American Beer Festival in 1995. Oh and FunCheap’s very own Natalie will be there, serving you those delicious, vintage suds so don’t miss out.

Beer Tastings: If you want to try several different vintage beers, go for the flights: $12 for 6 3oz tasters.

Alembic’s Beer Cocktails and Gipsy Beers From Far and Near

The Alembic Bar (1725 Haight St. — Upper Haight)
Everyday of Beer Week @ 12pm-2am
Cost: Prices Vary

You read that right: Alembic’s well-known cocktail program gets a beer infusion all week, with the addition of Bar Manager Daniel Hyatt’s beer cocktail menu. He’s featuring 5 cocktails made with beer and/or brewing ingredients.

Thursday Feb 17 3pm to 7pm—”Gipsy” Beers: Try a selection of beers made by talented and passionate brewers who don’t (or don’t yet) have their own brewery. We’ll have beers from Mikkeller, Stillwater, Odonata, Almanac, High Water, and others.

Free Samples of Barleywine From Many Different Brewers

Amsterdam Cafe (937 Geary Street — Tenderloin)
Friday Feb. 18 @ 6pm-11pm
Cost: FREE

At Barleywine Night, try draft samples at no charge. Selections, including bottles, are Anchor Old Foghorn, Nogne-O #100, Green Flash Barleywine, Dieu de Ciel! Solstice D’Hiver, Mad River John Barley Corn, Hair of the Dog Fred, Avery Hog Heaven, and Mikkeller Big Worse. Plus they have great one-cup-at-a-time coffees, free wi-fi, and a vibe that is halfway between a bar and a coffee shop. Our writer David really, really recommends this place.