CA Craft Beer Week Launches to Support Independent California

CA Craft Beer Week, a statewide co-marketing initiative headed by the Bay Area Brewers Guild and the California Craft Brewers Association, in collaboration with six other regional brewers’ guilds, launches today to lend support to California’s hard-hit neighborhood breweries, restaurants, retailers, bars and bottle shops. CA Craft Beer Week officially takes place February 12-21; however, the platform is immediately rolling out virtual events, activities, and product offerings on its website now through February, lending support to struggling businesses during the tough winter months and a challenging past year of closures due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Providing a platform for co-promotion and rekindling lost community connections, CA Craft Beer Week is rolling out curated, aggregated listings and self-produced craft beer-centric events, activities and offerings, including:

• Special Auction showcasing California’s most popular craft beer scenes and featuring mixed-pack ‘tasting tours’ of award-winning breweries, shipped to consumers throughout the state: SF Bay Area, San Diego, Central Coast, Sacramento, and Los Angeles, Orange and Inland Empire counties.  http://cacraftbeerweek.com/tastingtours
• Online events and activities, including a virtual Kick Off Event on February 12 featuring California craft beer luminaries, produced in partnership with The Brewing Network, an international craft beer media outlet headquartered in Concord, CA.
• A unique competition-based fundraiser to benefit California’s craft beer industry and community charities. In collaboration with over a dozen social media influencers representing regional teams, a Zen and the Art of Beer “challenge” will encourage craft beer fans to de-stress and find their (beer) zen. Categories include Pet Zen, Yoga Zen, Outdoor Zen, and more.  http://cacraftbeerweek.com/beerzen
• Coming soon: tasting packages, gift boxes, take-home pairings, meal offerings, merchandise bundles from dozens of California breweries, restaurants and bars, centered around five CA Craft Beer Week themes: Community & Collaboration, Diversity & Inclusion honoring Black History Month and our diverse communities, Valentine’s Day gifting and ideas for an intimate evening at home, Culinary beer and food pairings and take-home menus, and Creativity spanning music, art, fashion and other creative areas.

“It’s vital our industry, community leaders, and those who don’t want their communities to become ghost towns do all they can to save neighborhood businesses,” says Joanne Marino, Executive Director of the Bay Area Brewers Guild, the lead organizer for CA Craft Beer Week. “Studies have proven that local breweries play vital roles in reviving neighborhoods and local economies. But as manufacturers–running a brewhouse, packaging, paying for larger spaces, investing in capital equipment, and maintaining a larger work force–breweries incur higher costs to stay open,” Marino continues. “Most cannot afford to hang on much longer. And once a local brewery closes, that business won’t be coming back.”

Reflecting the collaborative spirit of CA Craft Beer Week, a curated list of breweries are participating in a regional auction and guild fundraiser, with mixed packs featuring releases from rising stars and rock-solid favorites alike: Humble Sea Brewing Co., Monkish Brewing Co., Silva Brewing, The Lost Abbey, Three Weavers Brewing, GameCraft Brewing, and some 65+ more. See partial list of participating brewers below.

Still more participating breweries to be announced, along with beer release details, plus many more event, activity and product listings — with dozens posting weekly leading up to the February 12 Kick Off. Visit CACraftBeerWeek.com and watch for frequent updates.

CA Craft Beer Week wouldn’t be possible without leading support from Whole Foods Market as a principle sponsor, as well as support from trade partners Barretto-co, Whale Pod, Visit Santa Rosa, BSG Craft Brewing, White Labs, Briess Malt & Ingredients Co., The Printed Image, Custom Label, Hollingbery & Sons Hops, GigaYeast and Admiral Maltings.