There are hundreds of events taking place during San Diego Beer Week (November 2-11), and the only way to do that right is to sift through the list looking for what suits your personal fancy (perhaps via our event page). We won’t tell you how to do SDBW…but we will tell you about some solid events taking place after November 11.
November 12 | Industry Night: The first thing local brewery staff want to do when SDBW is over is unwind with contemporaries who know the hard work that goes into creating a 10-day local-beer free-for-all. Societe Brewing (where I also work) rolls out the red carpet for them to do just that, so if you want to hang with loads of #SDBeer personalities, this will be the place to be. | Societe Brewing, 8262 Clairemont Mesa Boulevard, Kearny Mesa, 5 p.m.
November 17 | Novemberfest Beer, Mead & Wine Festival: In addition to unlimited local beer, plus mead and wine, guests at this fifth-annual event will get to partake in other enticers, including live music, dancing, a silent auction, myriad activities and an afternoon spent in the beautiful botanical gardens this fermentation fete raises funds to support. | Alta Vista Botanical Gardens, 1270 Vale Terrace Drive, Vista, 12 p.m.
November 21 | Black Wednesday: Fans of the old sitcom Parks and Recreation (like me) will be excited to test the limits of their stomachs and livers when Burning Beard Brewing has Biersal over to serve up a menu made up of dishes inspired by manly man and mega-carnivore Ron Swanson. Meat tornado, anyone? Bet it pairs well with Normcore Pilsner, which will debut in cans at the event! | Burning Beard Brewing, 785 Vernon Way, El Cajon, 12 p.m.
November 24 | Harry Potter-inspired Beer Festival: Fans of J.K. Rowling’s epic wizarding saga will be excited for the opportunity to spend a day at a venue transformed into the setting for those books, including Hogwarts’ Great Hall, Diagon Alley and the Leaky Cauldron and mingling characters. More than 20 beers will be available, including—you guessed it—butter beer. | The Irenic, 3090 Polk Avenue, North Park, 6:30 p.m.
November | Beer to the Rescue Fundraisers: A year-long campaign benefiting the Lupus Foundation of Southern California continues with a quartet of North County events, featuring specialty beers with a side of philanthropy. | November 17: Indian Joe Brewing, 2123 Industrial Court, Vista; November 23: Bear Roots Brewing, 1213 South Santa Fe Avenue, Vista; November 24: Papa Marce’s Cerveceria, 5840 El Camino Real, #100, Carlsbad; November 27: Belching Beaver Pub980, 980 Park Center Drive, Vista; Belching Beaver Brewery, 4223 30th Street; North Park; Times Vary