September 20-22 | Wet Hop Festival: There is no greater champion of local, wet hop beers than Tom Nickel. For the fifth straight year, he’ll load the taps at O’Brien’s Pub with beers from San Diego breweries made with freshly harvested whole-cone hops procured within the county, including a number brewed and with his Julian brewery, Nickel Beer Co. | O’Brien’s Pub, 4646 Convoy Street, Kearny Mesa, Times Vary
September 21 | Two Takes on Oktoberfest: Churchill’s Pub & Grille will birth an Oktoberfest/sour-beer festival hybrid dubbed Sourtoberfest featuringfestbiers and funk, while Societe Brewing (my other employer) will kick-off its 16-day Bavarian brew-ha-ha by converting its tasting room to a bier hall with steins, German food from Biersal, a stein-holding contest and the release of its Oktoberfest lager. | Churchill’s Pub & Grille, 887 West San Marcos Boulevard, San Marcos; Societe Brewing, 8262 Clairemont Mesa Boulevard, Kearny Mesa; Times Vary
September 21 | San Diego Festival of Beer: Driven by philanthropy and an idea that was ahead of its time, the local volunteer group behind this suds soiree came up with the idea for an annual beer festival that is now San Diego’s longest-running event of its kind. A quarter-century later, it’s still going strong and, more importantly, still raising money to fight cancer. Cheers to that! | Broadway Pier, 1000 North Harbor Drive, Downtown, 1 p.m.
September 28-29 | Oktoberfest: With German heritage dating back over a century, it’s no surprise Eppig Brewing goes big for O-fest. They’ll do up their dockside patio in blue and white, serve their popular Festbier (and other lagers) in collectible steins alongside pretzels and brats. And that’s all on top of an Oktobefest bash at its North Park HQ on Sunday, September 15. | Eppig Brewing Waterfront Biergarten, 2817 Dickens Street, Point Loma, 12-7 p.m.
Disclaimer: In addition to his work for West Coaster, Brandon Hernández is employed by Societe Brewing.