Sacramento Beer Week is what ten days look like when thirty-seven independent breweries each agree to do something different from their usual taproom rotation. There’s no single festival capstone, no master ticket, no big-tent finale. What you get instead is more than a hundred individual events spread across taprooms, brewery dinners, restaurant pairings, and the occasional out-of-the-way warehouse where a brewer is tapping a barrel they laid down two years ago. The 2026 calendar runs from Auburn down to Lodi and out to Davis. The work is sorting which events deserve your week.
Table of Contents
- ✦ Key Takeaways
- What Sacramento Beer Week Actually Is
- What Happened to the Brewers Showcase
- 2026 Spotlight Events Worth Building Around
- More Events Worth Putting on Your Radar
- A Map of the Sacramento Beer Scene
- Brewery Directory by Neighborhood
- A Sacramento Beer Style Primer
- How to Plan Your Beer Week
- Logistics: Getting Around, Eating, and Staying
- Frequently Asked Questions
- Article Updates
I’ve gone intermittently over the years. The breweries show up. The collaboration beers are usually worth tracking. The week rewards attention more than volume, which is the inversion most casual drinkers don’t expect when they hear “beer week.” Two breweries done well beats six breweries done in a hurry.
Sacramento Beer Week 2026 runs April 24 through May 3. This guide is the in-depth companion to the official rollout. The dates that matter, the curated Spotlight events worth building a day around, a directory of every Sacramento Area Brewers Guild member organized by neighborhood, a primer on the beer styles you’ll encounter, a decision tree for how much time to commit, and the logistical stuff (parking, designated drivers, food breaks) that benefits from being collected in one place.
✦ Key Takeaways
- Sacramento Beer Week 2026 runs April 24 through May 3. Ten days, 100+ events spanning breweries, taprooms, restaurants, and businesses across the greater Sacramento region.
- There is no single festival capstone in 2026. The Brewers Showcase happened in 2024 and has not returned since. The week is organized around individual brewery programming and a handful of curated multi-stop events.
- Thirty-seven breweries are members of the Sacramento Area Brewers Guild, the nonprofit that runs the week. They span Auburn, Roseville, Sacramento proper, Davis, Lodi, Folsom, and the foothills as far up as Nevada City.
- Most events are brewery-hosted, walk-in, and free to enter (you pay for what you pour). Festivals and pairings are the ticketed exceptions.
- Each brewery and venue programs its own events, posted to their own social channels. The Sacramento Area Brewers Guild rolls up the calendar at sacramentobeerweek.com and on Instagram (@sacramentobeerweek) in the run-up to opening weekend.
- If you only have one afternoon, pick one Spotlight event and build the day around it. The Sunrise Sippin’ Passport in Rancho Cordova, Passport to Pints at Geisthaus, and Brewers Olympics at New Glory are the strongest 2026 picks.
What Sacramento Beer Week Actually Is
Sacramento Beer Week launched in 2010, organized by the Sacramento Area Brewers Guild (a nonprofit founded in 2003 to represent the region’s independent brewers). The format borrowed from older beer weeks in San Diego and Philadelphia: turn ten days into a coordinated regional event, let each brewery run its own slate of programming, and draw on the collective scope to create something bigger than any single venue could pull off alone. The Guild ran a closing-weekend festival called the Brewers Showcase in 2024; that festival hasn’t returned in 2025 or 2026, and the week now hangs on individual brewery events plus a handful of curated multi-stop spotlights. Sacramento’s craft beer scene has grown into one of the densest in California, and Beer Week is the only stretch of the year you can sample the whole spectrum without driving four hours of loops.
The shape of the week is consistent across editions. Opening weekend tends to feature firkin nights, brewery anniversaries scheduled to coincide, and the first wave of collaboration beer releases. Mid-week is where the more curated events live: brewer’s table dinners, beer pairings, cellar tappings of vintage barrel-aged pours, food truck takeovers. The closing weekend stacks the densest programming: the Brewers Olympics at New Glory, multi-brewery passport events in Rancho Cordova, paired European-style tastings at Geisthaus, and most breweries’ biggest single-day pours. Sunday is recovery, but several breweries still pour through the afternoon.
What’s worth understanding before you start: this is not a single ticketed event. Beer Week is a loose umbrella under which thirty-some independent breweries each program their own ten days. There is no master ticket. There is no single master app for the week. Each brewery posts its own schedule on its own social channels, and the Sacramento Area Brewers Guild rolls up the bigger picture across its website (sacramentobeerweek.com) and Instagram (@sacramentobeerweek). The shared collaboration beers the Guild releases each year and the multi-brewery passport events on closing weekend are what give the week its shape; otherwise it’s a self-curated tasting tour, which is where the curation work falls to you.
What Happened to the Brewers Showcase
The Sacramento Area Brewers Guild ran a closing-weekend festival called the Brewers Showcase at Heart Health Park (Cal Expo) in 2024. Thirty-five-plus Guild breweries pouring under one tent for four hours, ticketed entry, food trucks, the works. It was the closest thing Beer Week had to a single capstone event, and for one year it gave the week a clear festival shape.
The Showcase has not returned in 2025 or 2026. The Sacramento Area Brewers Guild has not announced plans to bring it back, though the door isn’t closed. If you came to this page expecting Showcase logistics, the closest 2026 equivalents are the multi-brewery Spotlight events below: the Sunrise Sippin’ Passport in Rancho Cordova, Passport to Pints at Geisthaus, and the Brewers Olympics at New Glory. The week is now organized around individual brewery programming rather than a single ticketed festival, which changes the planning math.
2026 Spotlight Events Worth Building Around
Beer Week 2026 is dense with programming, but a handful of events stand out for the format, the partners, or the way they reshape your day around them. Three to put on the calendar, all on the closing weekend:
More Events Worth Putting on Your Radar
The three Spotlight events anchor Beer Week, but the calendar runs more than 80 events deep across 10 days. Here are 17 more worth building a day around. The full list lives at sacramentobeerweek.com and on the Sacramento Brewers Guild Instagram @sacramentobeerweek, both updated through opening weekend.
Opening Weekend (April 25-26)
SAT APR 25
Fruhlingsfest at Geisthaus
Geisthaus Brewing Co. · 12 PM – 10 PM
A 10-hour Bavarian-style spring fest with German-tradition lagers, food, and Geisthaus regulars in their element. Worth the drive to South Sac if you want to start opening Saturday with lagers instead of hazies.
SAT APR 25
Triple P Challenge: Puzzles, Pizza, Pints
Movement Brewing · 4 – 7 PM
A jigsaw-puzzle competition with pizza on the side and Movement’s tap list pouring throughout. The kind of event that only really works at Beer Week.
SAT APR 25
First Anniversary Party at Moirae
Moirae Brewing Company · 12 PM – 8 PM
Moirae’s one-year celebration overlaps opening weekend. New brewery, new beers, the kind of milestone party where the brewers are usually pouring their own pours behind the bar.
SAT APR 25
Mini Pie + Beer Pairing
At Ease Brewing · 12 PM
At Ease pairs miniature savory and sweet pies with their core lineup. Easy way to add a small culinary anchor to a brewery-hopping Saturday.
SUN APR 26
Classic Car Show at Movement
Movement Brewing · 1 PM
A casual car show on the Movement patio. Lots of overlap between the Sacramento beer crowd and the local car community, especially on a sunny Sunday.
Mid-Week (April 27 – May 1)
MON APR 27
Drink Like a Judge: Guided Tasting
Alaro Craft Brewery · 6 PM
A guided tasting walking through how trained beer judges actually evaluate a beer (BJCP-style scoresheet, off-flavor recognition). The most educational mid-week event on the calendar.
TUE APR 28
Pints & Pilates
Drake’s: The Barn · 6:30 PM
A pilates class on Drake’s barn floor, beer afterward. The exact kind of crossover event Beer Week is good at running but the rest of the year is not.
WED APR 29
Bloody Beer Lab
Mindscape Fermentations · 12 PM
Mindscape’s wild and sour program is one of the more interesting under-the-radar projects in Sacramento. The Bloody Beer Lab is exactly what it sounds like: a deep-dive on fruited and barrel-aged sours.
WED APR 29
Beer Dinner at Taste Restaurant
Taste Restaurant · 5 – 7 PM
A multi-course pairing dinner at Taste, the well-regarded Plymouth restaurant. The fine-dining anchor of Beer Week’s mid-week run.
THU APR 30
Stout Float Flight Day
Alaro Craft Brewery · 11 AM
Stout floats: vanilla ice cream sunk in pastry stouts, served as a flight. Lean toward dessert at lunch.
FRI MAY 1
Taste of the Galaxy
Burning Barrel Brewing · 11 AM
A space-themed beer release featuring Galaxy hops, leading into May the Fourth weekend. The kind of brewery-day theming that gets the regulars in costume.
Closing Weekend & Beyond (May 2-4)
SAT MAY 2
2nd Annual LogOff Lagerfest
LogOff Brewing · 12 PM
LogOff’s second annual celebration of lagers, pilsners, and easy-drinking styles. Pairs naturally with the Sunrise Sippin’ passport since LogOff is one of the three stops.
SAT MAY 2
Cinco de Mayo Feast: Beer, Mezcal & Fire
Alaro Craft Brewery · 11 AM
Alaro’s Cinco-adjacent feast pairs Mexican-style lagers, mezcal flights, and live-fire cooking. One of the more ambitious one-day events on the calendar.
SAT MAY 2
Calligraphy Class: Sip & Script
Fort Rock Brewing · 12:30 – 2:30 PM
A 2-hour calligraphy workshop at Fort Rock. The crafty side of Beer Week, deliberately quiet on a noisy Saturday.
SUN MAY 3
Mother’s Day Charcuterie Workshop
Movement Brewing · 12 – 2 PM
A charcuterie-board-building workshop the Sunday before Mother’s Day. Make the board, eat the board, take the leftovers home for next weekend.
SUN MAY 3
Bird Watchin’ & Beer
At Ease Brewing · 10:30 AM
An early-morning birding meetup followed by beers at At Ease. Probably the most unexpected event format on the official calendar.
MON MAY 4
Star Wars Trivia & Beer Release
Multiple breweries · 6 PM
May the Fourth lands the Monday after Beer Week officially closes. A handful of breweries run Star Wars trivia with limited-release beers as prizes. Watch Instagram for the day-of list.
A Map of the Sacramento Beer Scene
One of the things that makes Sacramento’s craft beer scene different from, say, San Diego’s or Portland’s is the geographic spread. There is no single “brewery district.” Midtown has a respectable cluster, but the foothills on the I-80 corridor toward Auburn produce some of the region’s most awarded beer (Knee Deep, Moonraker, Auburn Alehouse), Davis has a small but serious scene, and a few outlying breweries (Solano in Vacaville, Three Forks up in Nevada City) are worth the drive on their own. The geographic spread is part of what makes the Brewers Guild’s regional reach so impressive. Here’s the map.
Brewery Directory by Neighborhood
Every brewery below is a Sacramento Area Brewers Guild member and participates in Beer Week each year. Several non-Guild taprooms (Burning Barrel, Movement Backstage, Mindscape Fermentations, the Rancho Cordova Barrel District collective) also program events during the week, and dozens of restaurants and bars across the region run ticketed pairings, tap takeovers, and themed dinners. Addresses are taproom locations; some breweries also have satellite locations not listed here.
Midtown & Downtown Sacramento
The most walkable cluster in the city. You can hit four or five of these on foot in an afternoon if you start at Touchstone and end at New Helvetia.
Alaro Craft Brewery
Midtown · Spanish-leaning
Spanish-leaning food menu, year-round outdoor space. 2004 Capitol Avenue.
At Ease Brewing
R Street · Veteran-owned
Veteran-owned, military-themed branding, R Street corridor. 1825 I Street.
Bike Dog Broadway
Land Park · Hazy IPA
Hazy-leaning lineup, easy walk from Land Park. 915 Broadway, Suite 200.
Mattie Groves
Midtown · Small-batch
Small-batch focus, intimate room, often-quiet weeknights. 1716 L Street.
New Helvetia Brewing
Land Park · City anchor
One of the city’s longest-running modern breweries, Land Park anchor. 1730 Broadway.
Oak Park Brewing
Oak Park · Corner spot
The Oak Park neighborhood corner spot, food menu beyond average. 3514 Broadway.
Touchstone Brewing
Midtown · Climbing-gym
Climbing-gym attached, urban industrial vibe. 116 North 16th Street.
East Sac, North Sac & West Sacramento
Beyond the grid. Several of these are destinations on their own, especially New Glory and Bike Dog East Sac.
Bike Dog East Sac
East Sac · Original location
The original Bike Dog location, neighborhood feel. 1210 66th Street.
Bike Dog West Sacramento
West Sac · Production
The production facility, biggest tap list of the three Bike Dog rooms. 2534 Industrial Blvd, #110.
Jackrabbit Brewing
West Sac · Beer Week heavy
Lots of programming during Beer Week, runs the Vintage Beer Market and Puppy Play events. 1323 Terminal Street.
King Cong Brewing
Del Paso Boulevard · Anchor
Anchor of the Del Paso Boulevard scene, walkable to nearby restaurants. 1709 Del Paso Boulevard.
New Glory Craft Brewery
South Sacramento · Stouts
Specialty stouts and barrel program, worth the drive south. 8251 Alpine Avenue.
Porchlight Brewing
East Sac · Neighborhood
Tucked into a residential block, neighborhood favorite. 866 57th Street.
Auburn & The I-80 Foothills
The Auburn cluster punches well above its size. If you’re driving up from Sacramento, you can reasonably hit three of these in a day. Knee Deep and Moonraker between them have shaped what Northern California IPAs taste like.
Auburn Alehouse
Old Town · Brewpub
The longstanding Old Town anchor, full restaurant. 289 Washington Street.
Crooked Lane Brewing
Auburn · Live music
Big space, regular live music programming. 536 Grass Valley Highway.
Knee Deep Brewing
Auburn · West Coast IPA
Hop-forward IPAs that put Auburn on the national map. 13395 New Airport Road, Suite H.
Moonraker Brewing
Auburn · Hazy IPA
Rotating hazy IPAs, cult following, lines on release days. 12970 Earhart Avenue, #100.
Two Ass Brewing
Auburn · Neighborhood
Smallest of the cluster, family-owned feel. 140 Hoffman Avenue.
Roseville, Rocklin & Lincoln
The Highway 65 corridor north of Sacramento. Moksa is the standout if you only have time for one.
5150 Brewing
Rocklin · Music-themed
Music-themed taproom with regular entertainment programming. 5150 Commons Drive, Suite 101.
Dueling Dogs Brewing
Lincoln · Family-friendly
Lincoln’s only entry, family-friendly room. 3030 Barrett Park Lane.
Moksa Brewing
Rocklin · Hazy IPA
One of the most awarded breweries in the region, hazy-IPA reputation. 5860 Pacific Street.
The Monk’s Cellar
Roseville · Belgian-inspired
Historic Old Town Roseville location, Belgian-inspired beers. 240 Vernon Street.
Davis, Yolo & Dixon
The west side of the river. Smaller scene than Sacramento proper, but Ruhstaller’s Dixon location alone justifies the drive.
Dunloe Brewing
Davis · Olive Drive
One of two Davis options, walkable from downtown. 1606 Olive Drive.
Ruhstaller Hop Gardens
Dixon · Hop farm
The hop farm taproom, an experience unto itself. 800 Business Park Drive, Suite G.
Three Mile Brewing
Davis · Brewpub
Davis’s downtown option, food and beer integrated. 231 G Street, #3.
Folsom, Rancho Cordova & the East Side
The US-50 corridor. Movement and Fort Rock anchor the Rancho Cordova industrial-park scene that has quietly become one of the most active.
Fort Rock Brewing
Rancho Cordova · Beer Week heavy
Programs the most Beer Week events of any brewery on the east side. 12401 Folsom Boulevard.
LogOff Brewing
Rancho Cordova · Tech-themed
Tech-themed branding, modern industrial space. 3054 Sunrise Boulevard, Suite J.
Movement Brewing
Rancho Cordova · Live music
Big space, regular events, often hosts Backstage music programming. 11151 Trade Center Drive.
Red Bus Brewing
Folsom · Historic Folsom
Folsom’s main entry, walkable from Historic Folsom. 802 Reading Street.
Outer Ring: Lodi, Vacaville, Garden Valley & Nevada City
Worth the drive if you’re already passing through. Three Forks in Nevada City pairs a brewery with a bakery and is a destination on its own.
Barmhaus
Garden Valley · Farm-style
Farm-style taproom in the El Dorado County foothills. 3782 Winding Creek Lane.
Flatland Brewing
Elk Grove · Foothills
Elk Grove’s Brewers Guild representative. 9183 Survey Road, Suite 104.
Lodi Beer Company
Lodi · Brewpub
Downtown Lodi, brewpub format with full kitchen. 105 South School Street.
Three Forks Bakery & Brewery
Nevada City · Bakery + brewery
Bakery and brewery under one roof, mountain-town setting. 211 Commercial Street.
A Sacramento Beer Style Primer
Sacramento doesn’t have a single signature style the way some cities do (Portland’s IPA, St. Louis’s lager, Brussels’s lambic). What it has is a cross-section, with the regional bias tilted slightly toward hop-forward beers because of proximity to California’s hop-growing tradition (Ruhstaller actually grows its own hops in Dixon, an increasingly rare integration). What follows is the menu you’ll most often see at Beer Week pours, with notes on what to expect and which Sacramento breweries do each style well.
If you’re new to craft beer entirely, the safest way to start the week is the pilsner / lager end of the spectrum. They’re the easiest to drink, they tell you the most about a brewery’s basic technique (lagers hide nothing), and after a long afternoon of pours, your palate will thank you for not opening with a triple IPA. Most veteran Beer Week attendees alternate styles by ABV: a 5% pilsner, then a 7% IPA, then a 4% sour, then a 6% lager, repeating. Drinking eight pours of double IPA back to back is a rookie mistake that ends in a 4 PM nap on a brewery patio.
How to Plan Your Beer Week
The honest framework: ask yourself how much time and how much liver you have. Beer Week rewards a focused plan over a wandering one. Driving from Sacramento up to Auburn and back to hit one event is rarely worth it; clustering two or three breweries in a single neighborhood works much better.
If You Have One Afternoon
One Spotlight event · 3-4 hours
Pick one Spotlight event and time the afternoon around it. The Sunrise Sippin’ Passport across LogOff, Movement, and Burning Barrel in Rancho Cordova works on either Saturday or Sunday and gets you a custom glass for buying anything at all three. Passport to Pints at Geisthaus is the curatorial pick (a guided European-style flight on Saturday afternoon, plus a Brewers Guild fundraiser tie-in). Brewers Olympics at New Glory is the inside-baseball spectacle on Saturday afternoon. Whichever you choose, build the rest of the day around the event time, eat before you go, and bring a designated driver or budget for an Uber.
If You Have a Saturday
Cluster + Spotlight · all day
Spend the morning doing a neighborhood crawl somewhere walkable: three Midtown breweries on foot (Touchstone to Mattie Groves to Alaro is a tight loop), or three Auburn taprooms if you’ve got a designated driver. Eat a real lunch midday. Then point yourself at one of the Saturday afternoon Spotlight events: Brewers Olympics at New Glory or Passport to Pints at Geisthaus, both on May 2. The morning gives you flagship pours and brewery atmosphere, the afternoon event gives the day shape and stakes.
If You Have a Weekend
Saturday cluster + Sunday day trip
Saturday is the heaviest event day of the week: anchor on a Spotlight (Brewers Olympics at New Glory mid-afternoon, Passport to Pints at Geisthaus midday, or the Sunrise Sippin’ Passport in Rancho Cordova which you can hit either day) and build a cluster crawl around it. Sunday, point the car at one outlying group you wouldn’t normally hit. Auburn is the obvious play: five breweries within ten miles, Knee Deep and Moonraker as the anchors, and the drive up I-80 through the foothills is scenic on its own. Davis works if you want a smaller, quieter day. Lodi is wine country adjacent and worth pairing with a winery stop. Two breweries on Sunday is the right ceiling. Eat between them.
If You Don’t Drink Much (Or At All)
Brewery taprooms · low-alc taps
Several Sacramento breweries (notably Mattie Groves and Touchstone) have started programming non-alcoholic taps year-round, and Beer Week often pushes those onto the main board. Most brewery taprooms have free water, sodas, kombucha, or cider with low-alcohol options. The brewer’s table dinners and beer pairings spread across the week are worth attending for the conversations alone, even if you’re sipping water with the courses. Beer Week is about the production scene as much as the drinking, and the talks with brewers about their work are worth showing up for.
Logistics: Getting Around, Eating, and Staying
Transportation. Most Midtown brewery spots are bike-accessible, and Sacramento’s bike infrastructure is consistently usable across downtown, Midtown, and East Sac. Uber and Lyft are reliable for evening brewery events; budget around $15-25 each way within central Sacramento, and expect surge pricing on Friday and Saturday nights after 9 PM. The Rancho Cordova breweries (LogOff, Movement, Burning Barrel) and the Auburn cluster require a car. If you’re stopping at three breweries in one neighborhood, walking or rideshare beats trying to find parking at each one.
Food. Eat before you start drinking. Start with a real Sacramento breakfast rather than a granola bar in the parking lot. Most brewery taprooms either have full kitchens (Auburn Alehouse, Lodi Beer Co, The Monk’s Cellar) or rotating food trucks that work the Beer Week schedule. The Sacramento restaurant scene is also worth using around brewery stops, and late-night happy hours stretch the dinner window if a brewery closes earlier than your appetite. Midtown in particular has dozens of options within walking distance of the Touchstone / Alaro / Mattie Groves cluster. Don’t try to do a brewery crawl on an empty stomach. Four-ounce tasting pours add up faster than you think.
Lodging if you’re visiting. Midtown hotels (Citizen, Kimpton Sawyer downtown) put you within walking distance of seven or eight breweries and the food scene, and they’re the strongest base for any Sacramento-centered Beer Week trip. If you want to base in Auburn for a foothills-focused trip, the Holiday Inn off I-80 puts you within ten minutes of all five Auburn breweries. For a Davis trip, the Hyatt Place near UC Davis is the most convenient. For the Brewers Olympics or Sunrise Sippin’ Passport in Rancho Cordova, the Hyatt House near the Folsom Boulevard light rail stop is the closest reasonable option. Book early; spring brings other events to Sacramento that push lodging prices up.
Frequently Asked Questions
When is Sacramento Beer Week 2026?
April 24 through May 3, 2026, ten days. Saturday May 2 is the heaviest day for events, including the Brewers Olympics at New Glory and Passport to Pints at Geisthaus. Confirm specific event details with the Sacramento Area Brewers Guild on Instagram (@sacramentobeerweek) before you book travel.
How much does Sacramento Beer Week cost?
Most events are walk-in and free to enter. You pay only for what you pour. The ticketed exceptions are mid-week dinners, ticketed pairings, and the European-style Passport to Pints tasting at Geisthaus, which range from $40 to $100 depending on the brewery and format. Budget $80-150 for a single full day of brewery hopping plus one Spotlight event, or $200-350 for a weekend.
Is Sacramento Beer Week 21 and over only?
Most ticketed Beer Week events (brewer’s table dinners, Passport to Pints at Geisthaus, beer pairings with restaurants) are 21+ and IDs are checked at the door. Individual brewery taprooms vary; many are family-friendly during normal hours, and several program kid-friendly Beer Week events (food trucks, live music, paint nights) where children are welcome. Check each brewery’s social media or website for specific event policies.
How many breweries are in the Sacramento Area Brewers Guild?
Thirty-seven member breweries as of 2026, spread from Nevada City and Auburn down through Sacramento, Davis, Lodi, and Vacaville. Several non-Guild taprooms (Burning Barrel, Movement Backstage, Mindscape Fermentations, the Rancho Cordova Barrel District collective) also program events during Beer Week. The Sacramento region has more breweries per capita than any major California metro outside San Diego.
Is the Brewers Showcase happening in 2026?
No. The Sacramento Area Brewers Guild ran the Brewers Showcase as a one-time festival at Heart Health Park (Cal Expo) in 2024. It hasn’t returned in 2025 or 2026, and there’s no announced plan to bring it back. The closest 2026 equivalents are the multi-brewery Spotlight events: the Sunrise Sippin’ Passport in Rancho Cordova, Passport to Pints at Geisthaus, and the Brewers Olympics at New Glory.
What kinds of events run during the week?
The full programming spans firkin nights (cask-conditioned pours), brewer’s table dinners, beer pairings with chefs, vintage cellar tappings, food truck takeovers, live music nights, art markets, charity fundraisers, and themed events ranging from karaoke to puppy adoption fairs. Each brewery sets its own schedule. The variety is the point.
Where do I find the official 2026 event calendar?
The Sacramento Area Brewers Guild rolls out the official Beer Week calendar at sacramentobeerweek.com and on its Instagram account (@sacramentobeerweek) in the run-up to opening weekend, with #SBW2026 as the official hashtag. Once the week is underway, the most current information lives on each individual brewery’s own Instagram, where they post their daily event lineup, food truck rotations, and special pours. Following four or five of the breweries closest to you is the most efficient way to stay current.
What is the best brewery for someone new to craft beer?
For a soft introduction, head to a brewery with a wide stylistic range and food on-site: Auburn Alehouse, New Helvetia, or The Monk’s Cellar in Roseville all fit that profile. They each pour something approachable across pilsner, lager, IPA, and seasonal offerings, and a full kitchen helps you pace yourself. Avoid starting at Moonraker or Knee Deep if you don’t already enjoy hop-forward beers; they’re spectacular at what they do, but it’s a deep end of the pool.
Are there alternatives to Sacramento Beer Week if I miss it?
The California Brewers Festival, presented by Point West Rotary, runs in September at Cesar Chavez Plaza in downtown Sacramento and follows a similar single-day-festival format with most of the same Guild breweries pouring. The Sacramento Republic FC’s BrewFest at the Cal Expo soccer matches is a smaller seasonal option. Otherwise, individual brewery anniversaries and release events run throughout the year; following four or five of your favorite breweries on Instagram is the easiest way to stay current.
Article Updates
April 26, 2026: Significant correction. The Sacramento Area Brewers Guild PR contact confirmed that the Brewers Showcase is not running in 2026. The Showcase was a one-time festival held in 2024 and has not returned in 2025 or 2026. The first version of this article framed the Showcase as Beer Week’s central anchor, which was wrong. Substantial rewrite to remove the Showcase as the closing-weekend capstone, reframe the planning section around individual brewery programming and the curated Spotlight events (Sunrise Sippin’ Passport, Passport to Pints at Geisthaus, Brewers Olympics at New Glory), and update the structured data (FAQ + Event @graph) to match. The Showcase now appears in a single dedicated section explaining the 2024 history. Sincere thanks to the SBW PR team for the catch.
April 25, 2026: Initial publication. Sacramento Beer Week 2026 dates confirmed (April 24 through May 3). All thirty-seven Sacramento Area Brewers Guild member breweries listed and verified against the Guild directory at sacareabrewersguild.org/breweries/. Three closing-weekend spotlight events added on day-of: the Sunrise Sippin’ Passport across LogOff, Movement, and Burning Barrel in Rancho Cordova; the Passport to Pints European tasting at Geisthaus benefiting the Brewers Guild; and the second annual Brewers Olympics at New Glory.
