Tag: Beer

Sac Rag sponsors Sacramento Beer Week

The Sac Rag is happy to announce that we are one of the first sponsors to jump on board to support Sacramento Beer Week. Check out the official website and get on the mailing list to keep updated as more than 100 beer-themed events are added over the next month.

Sacramento Beer Week will not only feature Sacramento’s fantastic local breweries, but will present domestic and international breweries in beer tastings, beer dinners and more. What beer or brewery do you hope to see featured during Sacramento Beer Week?

Kings game to be nationally televised

A Kings-sized mixed message
A Kings-sized mixed message

Tonight’s Kings game versus the Washington Wizards will be nationally televised on ESPN starting at 7:30 p.m.

Much has been made about the dollar beer promotion, but times are tough and folks gotta do what folks gotta do, right?

“Our fans’ response to our dollar beverage promotion including beer, water and soda has been phenomenal,” said Kings co-owner Gavin Maloof. “Sacramento and ARCO Arena will look awesome on national TV tomorrow night.”

Hmm, dollar beer night or dollar beverage night? Come on, guys, own it.

NOTE: Fans will be able to purchase 12-ounce domestic draft brews for $1 through halftime and can purchase two at a time. No word on whether this applies to water and soda, too.

Holiday beer tasting at The Shack

The Shack is kicking off December with their annual Christmas and Holiday Beer Tasting this Tuesday at 6pm. If you have not been to one of The Shack’s Tuesday night parties, you are missing out on Sacramento’s best opportunity to try beer that you have probably never had. Every Tuesday, owners Gary and Jen Sleppy feature anywhere from five to a dozen different beers, frequently with a food pairing for the offering, be it Belgian, German, or other.

This Tuesday, The Shack will offer a dozen different holiday beers, mostly Belgians with a few Americans. Chef Sleppy (that’s Gary) will have a buffet spread of food (bigger than appetizers, smaller than a meal) to accompany the beverages, and patrons will also get to take home a Belgian beer glass, all for $25. If you have not been to The Shack in the four years since the Sleppys have owned it, you are missing out on one of the best American pubs in the area, with handmade food and impeccable selection of beer and wine. I am expecting that the evening will be topped with Gary’s homemade truffles.

Check out the list of the delicious beers they expect to serve. A few others will be added before Tuesday. RSVPs are strongly encouraged.

Continue reading “Holiday beer tasting at The Shack”

Sacramento Beer Week

Mark your calendar for the first annual Sacramento Beer Week, February 24-27 2010!

Following in the footsteps of incredibly successful beer weeks from San Francisco and Philadelphia, Sacramento area beer folks are planning the first annual Sacramento Beer Week for February 24-27, 2010.

This is nothing more than a mark-your-calendar kind of advisory, as this event is still in the early planning phase, but it would be interesting to hear from readers about what kind of events you would be interested in attending. Beer history? Brewing demonstrations? Food and beer parings? Beer sampling? Beer pong tournament? Pub crawl? Beer trivia contest?

If you are interested in hosting an event for Sacramento Beer Week, drop me a line at Stickie(at)sacrag(dot)com with your idea and I’ll pass along any serious inquiries.

Hoptoberfest at Rubicon

While dodging the ghosties, ghoulies, and drunk drivers this weekend, beer lovers should take note of Rubicon‘s annual Hoptoberfest celebration. Throughout October, they have featured pale ales, IPAs and double IPAs from brewers across the West Coast. This weekend, all of these beers will be available along with two versions of one of Rubicon’s hoppiest offerings, Hop Sauce.

In addition to well-known standouts from Anchor, Speakeasy, Bear Republic, Firestone Walker, Lagunitas and Deschutes, make sure you sample some great beers that are rarely seen in the area. Sierra Nevada’s new Estate Harvest Ale is creating a huge buzz among beer lovers and is in limited supply. Russian River is best known for the legendary Pliny the Elder, but less appreciated is their stellar house IPA. Moonlight Brewing Bombay by Boat has been a Bay Area favorite for almost two decades but Sacramento native Brian Hunt generally limits his distribution to that section of California. Another Sacramento expatriate, Matt Sager, brewed the impressive Hopsaur for Great Basin. Iron Springs Casey Jones Imperial IPA will make you want to drive that train up to Fairfax to check out their small brewpub with an incredible beer menu.

Complete list of Hoptoberfest offerings after the jump.
Continue reading “Hoptoberfest at Rubicon”

Our name is Sacramento, and we have a problem.

When I first moved to these fair parts several years ago, one of the things I took note of was the casual attitude where DUI was concerned. People here don’t take drinking and driving very seriously compared to where I’ve lived before. It’s so commonly done and accepted that I’ve seen off duty cops do it (and even a certain coach of your Sacramento Kings). I’ve had difficulty understanding how unconcerned people here are with impaired driving and the risks that come with it.

It’s no surprise our region is rife with buildings crashing into our moving vehicles.

I felt some vindication about my feelings on this issue when I came across Marcus Breton’s article in Bee today:

Continue reading “Our name is Sacramento, and we have a problem.”

Sacramento Brewing Company RIP

Patrons of Sacramento Brewing Company were met today by a simple note on the door thanking them for their patronage and informing them that SacBrew has closed due to the economy. Let’s hope that someone wishes to re-open the doors to Sacramento’s most award winning brewery and the best selection of tap beer in town, but that is likely nothing more than a pipe dream.

Good luck to the former employees and please know that we will miss you.

Bikes and Brews

If it’s October, that means Oktoberfest! Enjoy the brewed bounty of the season from brewers like Rubicon, Hoppy and Pyramid this Thursday with an Oktoberfest Bike Crawl. Bring your cruiser or 10-speed, rent a bike for the occasion for only $15, or ride in style in a pedicab sampling fall’s best beers and free appetizers. At each location there will be prizes, giveaways, and drink specials. And remember, it’s a furlough Friday this week, so you state workers can really let your hair down. Pre-party starts around 5pm, with the crawl starting at 6. Meet-up is at 1013, 12th Street. Cost is $20. Check out http://www.grubcrawl.usa.com for more info.

Alternatively, hit up Sacramento Brewing Company, Flaming Grill, and Sam’s Hof Brau, for some hardcore suburban Oktober’ing if you happen to be closer to that neighborhood.

Congrats local brewers!

EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEVIL BEER!
EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEVIL BEER!
The Great American Beer Festival was this weekend in Denver, CO. Beer lovers from around the world converge annually as this event is beer heaven, with 2100 beers from 457 breweries across America served over three days. The only people happier than the attendees are the brewers who get to pow-wow with their brethren and sistren (sistern?) brewers and, hopefully, bring hope some accolades.

This year, Sacramento has two winning breweries at GABF. Rubicon Brewing brought home the Silver Medal for their multi-award winning Winter Wheatwine in the Strong Beer category. Sacramento Brewing Company won the Bronze for their Collaborative Evil in the Belgian and French Style category. This is currently on tap sold out but coming back in the future at SacBrew and is delicious.
Continue reading “Congrats local brewers!”