Saratoga Beer Week, which takes place February 19-23, will excite local beer connoisseurs with its Rare Beer and Cask Ale event that will take place February 21. The event is from 7—9 p.m. at the City Center and will feature unlimited sampling of rare beers and ales from over a dozen breweries. The Tribal Revival Duo will be playing as attendees mill about the center tasting some of the finer beers the week will host.
“Some dusty bottles come out, which is cool,” said Garth Ellms, Beer Week organizer. “There are a handful of beers that will be in casks, which is a pretty good specialty item for that craft beer crowd. Other than that it’s just some funky stuff that these brewers have dreamed up or have made and just been saving it for special occasions.”
Beer Week won’t just have tastings of beer—for those who are exceptionally interested in learning more about beer, Friday’s Seminar Series will have five different classes on varied topics from 10 a.m. – 4 p.m.
“The Passion of a Brewmaster,” a class led by Anheuser-Busch brewmaster Adon Allen, will focus on how passion for beer can lead to an actual career in brewing. “Pure Ingredients, Delicious Beer: The Sourcing of Local, Organic Ingredients and Its Impact on the Quality of the Beer” will be presented by Craig Theisen, co-owner of Peak Organic Brewing Company, followed by a talk by John Carr of Adirondack Pub & Brewery and Max Oswald of Olde Saratoga Brewing Co. on how they collaborated to create and brew the official Beer Week Beer.
“We decide what’s going to be the most interesting topic for our attendees and what’s interesting in the market at this point, like with all the different hops—that’s a pretty big topic right now, since there is a shortage of hops,” Ellms said. “There are also topics like creating your own brewery and home brewing processes—those are kind of the hot topics in the brewing industry right now.”
Those who want to get some in-depth knowledge on the history of beer can do so at the 2 p.m. History of Beer class led by renowned beer director Greg Engert of Birch &Barley/ChurchKey. Engert will discuss the evolution of beer and how the major flavors of ales and lagers came to define each of the major epochs of beer.
The last class of the seminar will feature a panel discussion with some experts of the beer industry about the future of beer.
Ellms said Friday’s “New York State of Mind” event—a party with food, beer and a Billy Joel tribute band—will be one of the most appealing events of Beer Week.
“It’s really geared toward everybody and that’s why we did it,” Ellms said. “It has a lot of craft beer, but it’s also fun for anybody—especially if you’re a Billy Joel fan. It should be a really fun night.”
Another main attraction of Beer Week comes Saturday the 23rd with the two-session Beer Summit, both of which sold out at last year’s festival. The summit will again feature two three-hour sampling sessions of tons of beers from 78 different breweries from around the world. Vendors and artisans will also be on hand at the summit along with food from local restaurants, accompanied by live music provided by local musician Rich Ortiz.
“You don’t have to be a diehard craft beer lover,” Ellms said. “If you enjoy a good time and getting out and doing something, there are a lot of unique events going on around at the bars and restaurants around town.”
One such event is the Dogfish Head Tap Takeover taking place at Saratoga City Tavern February 19, the first night of Beer Week.
“[Dogfish Head] is very big and very popular in the craft beer world,” Ellms said. “For [City Tavern] to collect 30 kegs out of that and put that in their draft line—that’s going to be a very interesting evening to kick things off.”
Other local favorite Druthers Brewery will be hosting a $3 pint night the same evening, with a beer pairing dinner to come later on in the week. Saratoga’s new branch of the Merry Monk will host a Belgian Beer Blitz, while Henry St. Taproom will feature six kegs that have never been offered in the Saratoga region. Dozens of other local restaurants and bars will also have their own events and specials in honor of Beer Week, all of which can be found online on the Beer Week website.
The Saratoga Beer Summit sessions are from 1-4 p.m. and 5-8 p.m. Due to the fast-selling tickets, organizers of the festival are encouraging those interested in attending to buy their tickets as soon as possible. Tickets are $40 online at www.saratogabeerweek.com or $50 at the door.
A Beer Passport option is also available for those who want to attend multiple Beer Week events all week. The passport will let you into the Rare Beer and Cask Ale event, New York State of Mind event, Seminar Series and the Saratoga Beer Summit session of your choice. The booklet also gives you discounts at participating local stores, bars and restaurants. The passport is $105 and can be purchased online on Beer Week’s website.
For more information on Beer Week events and tickets, visit www.saratogabeerweek.com.
