Hope you’ve caught a breather after SF Beer Week and Strong Beer Month
because this Saturday afternoon, March 3, is the Bay Area Brew Fest at Fort Mason. This is the third year for the San Francisco event which is hosted by Eat.Drink.Play, a West Coast group that’s tucked a lot of beer-related event experience under its belt.

Local brewers on the roster include familiar favorites such as Lagunitas and Speakeasy, newbies such as Pacific Brewing Lab, Strike, and also several other lesser known northern California breweries like El Cerrito’s Elevation 66, Knee Deep out of Lincoln CA, and Auburn’s Alehouse Brewery. The usual national and international craft brewers will be pouring as well: Gordon Biersch, Sierra Nevada, Asahi and Spaten.

It’s a great opportunity to sample beers you may have heard about but haven’t tried yet. Two taps to make sure you get samples from: Grand Teton Brewing, will be serving their well regarded and hard to find Bitch Creek ESB and the UK brewer Hobgoblin will be pouring their Dark English Ale. It’s a good party and, with unlimited samples of over 100 beers from over fifty breweries for forty bucks, a good deal as well.

You may want to drop an extra ten spot to secure a VIP ticket. This gets you in an hour earlier which gives you ample opportunity to sample the essentials and chat with the reps before the rest of your fest mates join in. If you need some solids to help revive your thirst, the space in front of the building entrance will have plenty of food trucks. The event sold out last year, so if you’re planning to go, buy tickets soon.

Fort Mason Festival Pavilion, Buchanan St & Marina Blvd.
General Admission: $40.00 (2 till 5), VIP Admission: $50.00 (1 till 5), Designated Driver Admission: $10.00