San Diego Brewers Guild Festival | Sipping Suds with the Mayor at the Broadway Pier


November 7, 2012

It was a gorgeous San Diego day for the grand kick off to the 4th Annual Beer Week - The Brewers Guild Festival - at its new venue, the Port Pavilion at the Broadway Pier.  We stuffed our faces with Slaters 50/50, drank plenty of delicious beer, and had the chance to hob nob with the likes of Mayor Jerry Sanders, Sam the Cooking Guy and even Stone CEO Greg "the Beer Jesus" Koch (who essentially refused a picture with me - I don't blame him!).  Let's recap and show you all some pictures so you know what you missed, whether you blacked out or simply didn't attend.

And that's just one section!!
We shot down to the Port Pavilion Promenade at the Broadway Pier using a Car2Go, knowing we would be too tipsy to drive home and wanting to forego the expense of a cab.  Being that last years' event was packed and held at the spacious Ingram Park at Liberty Station, we were worried about how the Broadway Pier would accommodate the crowd of thirsty, beer swilling patrons.  Fortunately, and unlike other events we've attended at this venue (Spirits Fest, SDRW2012Taste, Reader Feast!), they opened up the front of the pier, the back of the pier, and the Pavillion, including the top floor for VIPs...and it was still packed!

The VIP tickets came with 20 tasting tickets, while the GA were provided 15.  Since only about 2/3 of the breweries collected tickets, not many people ran out of sample tickets.  VIP's were also given access to the top floor of the Port Pavilion, where eateries served up a never ending plethora of tasty morsels.  It seemed like ground beef was the 'secret ingredient' for VIP food offerings.  Some of the highlights include Islands Restaurant's delicious sliders, Consortium Holdings' (Craft & Commerce, Underbelly, etc.) tasty mini meatball sandwiches, Urge American Gastropub's meatloaf and shepherd's pie, and Slater's 50/50's quarters of thick, amazing burgers oozing with fried egg and creamy avocado.

Vanessa and Mayor Jerry!
The commemoration included host Sam "The Cooking Guy" Zien and Mayor Jerry Sanders soaking themselves while tapping a keg of Karl Strauss Peanut Butter Cup Porter.  Even though he was not obligated to do so, Mayor Jerry took the liberty of serving the heavy beer until it ran out, including serving SanDiegoVille Co-Founder, Vanessa.

We tried our damnest to get through as many tasters as we could.  We appreciated the spiciness of Ballast Point's Habanero-infused Sculpin IPA and Stone Brewing Co.'s Habanero Ruination IPA.  By the end, we were stuffed and woozy, like most of the other participants at the 4th Annual San Diego Brewers Guild Festival.  We hailed an Uber car, hopped on in, and made our way back to Pacific Beach, ready to take a nap, recoup, and continue celebrating San Diego Beer Week.

For more information on San Diego Beer Week, visit the website, Facebook page, Twitter page, and check out more photos of the San Diego Brewers Guild Festival below (from the SDBW Facebook Page, mostly)