San Diego Review: CityBeat Festival of Beers 2013

CityBeat Festival of Beers, San Diego Annual Event
www.sandiegomusicfoundation.org/beerfest/

When you think of San Diego you think of surf, sun and sand. And thanks to the flourishing homegrown breweries that have birthed within this past decade, San Diego has also respectfully and rightfully-so become synonymous with great craft beer.

The CityBeat Festival of Beers is the epitome of what a great San Diego event should be. Okay, so there isn't surf and there isn't sand, but who needs it when you have sun and plenty of handcrafted beers? With about 2,200 in attendance this year, this event has been going on 6 years strong and counting. With roots in North Park, the event was held once again in front of the historic (and recently remodeled) Lafayette hotel. This annual event features live music from local bands and brings in crowds from all over San Diego and beyond, mixed with a generous dose of the local neighborhood as the event stretches down the full block of El Cajon Blvd. between Texas St. and Mississippi.

For four straight daylight hours (or five if you can score VIP entry) beer geeks and novices alike can imbibe on a seemingly endless sampling of local and domestic craft beers. Although at first glance the tiny 4-5 oz beer cup for the event may surely appear to runneth over, you can't let the size fool you. Every brewery style from nano breweries to microbreweries to the big dogs were represented, and they came packing heavy weight 10-11% IPAs and Porters, to light and refreshing Pilsners and Belgians. If you came chasing a buzz, you will be sure to find it.

With over 60 breweries in attendance, each of the breweries offered 1-2 of their most popular and boldest brews such as Alesmith Horny Devil, Green Flash IPA, The Lost Abbey Lost and Found, Avery White Rascal, and Stone Ruination to name a few. But if you looked hard enough, amongst the crowd you could spot a few select breweries that offered limited tastings from their secret stash of prized and more hard-to-find beer styles. Some rarities we came across was an aged Old Stock Cellar Reserve barley wine from North Coast Brewing Co. and a nitro Porter from Rock Bottom Brewery. Now these are the types of beers that can make any beer geek swoon.

Speaking of swoon, as beer sampling usually evolves into a case of the munchies, I have to say that if you were one of the clever (and dexterous) people to string yourself a pretzel necklace before the event, more power to you and hopefully you didn't take the stares offensively; they were simply stares of envy as the rest of us watched you snack your way down the aisles of beer. But for those of us that weren't as pre-meditated with our planning, there were several food stands offering perfect beer accompaniments like hot dogs and brats for purchase. This is an event where you can drink, eat, sing, dance, and soak up the San Diego rays.

So if for some reason all this talk of delicious beer and fun in the sun isn't enough to encourage you to go next year, first, you'll be missing out on a great time. But second, maybe I don't mind because that just means more beer for me and the fellow Festival of Beer junkies.

And most importantly, please know that proceeds from the CityBeat Festival of Beers event goes to the San Diego Music Foundation, where donations help contribute to artistic growth and increased understanding, appreciation, enjoyment and interest in music, and its ability to enhance and enrich the City of San Diego. If that isn't a great reason to raise a glass, I don't know what is. So cheers to a lifetime of continuing music education and local music, and long live craft beer!