With St. Patrick’s Day to its credit, March is widely regarded as a great month for celebratory imbibing, but there’s more (lots more) to March than green beer, corned beef and cabbage. Especially in San Diego, where not one, but three premier events are taking place…on the same day! Check out some of these high-profile brewhahas, then consult our full list of local beer happenings on our events page.
March 5 | Churchill’s Renaissance: It’s the best day of the year for Churchill’s Pub & Grille and its legions of hardcore beer fans. There’ll be 50 taps of rare brews, including the latest edition of white orca Churchill’s Finest Hour barrel-aged imperial stout. | Churchill’s Pub & Grille, 887 West San Marcos Boulevard, San Marcos, 11 a.m.
March 5 | Specialty Release Party: For the first time ever, AleSmith is releasing Hammerhead Speedway Stout (plus its Wee Heavy aged in Port wine barrels) in bottles and draft. Be there for their debut and try both plus variations and some fun rarities. | AleSmith Brewing Company, 9990 AleSmith Court, Miramar, 11 a.m.
March 5 | Festival of Funk: Get your fill of an array of acidic ales aimed at the adventurous (minus all the alliteration) when sour-beer crafters from far and wide descend upon the heart of downtown to share their terrifically tantalizingly tart treats (sorry). | Golden Hall, 202 C Street, Downtown, 1 p.m.
March 12 | Best Coast Beer Fest: With so many beer festivals in San Diego, key differentiators are often the charities they support. In this case, it’s Cancer for College, a non-profit granting scholarships to cancer survivors. Beer plus charity = winner! | Embarcadero Park, 2000 Marina Park Way, Downtown, 1 p.m.
March 20 | Stone Oakquinox: The prospect of a grand-scale outdoor festival where one can select from more than 100 oaked and oak-aged beers from around the world is super-exciting for any brew enthusiast. It’s no wonder Stone Brewing has wood. | Stone Brewing World Bistro & Gardens, 1999 Citracado Parkway, Escondido, 10 a.m.
March 26 | Mission Valley Craft Beer & Food Festival: Few festivals are so focused on celebrating local brews and restaurant offerings in unison as this stalwart. Throw in live music and hundreds of thirsty revelers and you have a successful Saturday. | Qualcomm Stadium, 9449 Friars Road, Mission Valley, 12 p.m.