Sacramento Beer Week, an annual array of parties, festivals, and bar tap takeovers that showcase the Sacramento region’s craft beer scene, will be held on April 22-30. Kicking off the festivities will be the 6th annual Elk Grove Brewfest that’s happening at Elk Grove Regional Park on the afternoon of Saturday, April 22.
More than 45 breweries are currently signed up to offer unlimited samples of their ales and lagers. Elk Grove breweries Flatland, Tilted Mash, and Waterman are expected to be there. Homebrew fans can also taste locally made concoctions from members of the ABV Brewers Guild, the Elk Grove Brewers Guild, and Hats Off Brewing. The Dust Bowl Brewing Company, a Turlock-based brewery that opened a popular taproom in Old Town Elk Grove in 2021, will also serve beer at the festival.
Enrique Silva, the co-owner of Elk Grove’s upcoming Coatza Brewery and the 31 Taps craft beer bar, plans to bring his customized truck that has beer taps to the Elk Grove Brewfest’s VIP lounge area.
“(I’m) just excited to be part of this amazing event,” he told the Citizen.
Jonathan Martinez, owner of Tilted Mash Brewing, said that his crew will pour samples of their award-winning Red Placement lager, a guava-flavored sour ale, and a hazy India Pale Ale called, Straight Ahead.
For the Straight Ahead IPA, he said his brewery used a new thiol yeast strain and added Nelson Sauvin hops, which “brought out intense hop aromas of tropical and fruity juice flavor with a dose of mouthwatering guava.”
Also on tap at the festival are a stein-holding contest, a mechanical bull, and a beer-chugging contest. Whoever chugs the most pints can win tickets for a Sacramento Republic game, while the bravest and the boldest who last the longest on the bull will walk away with bragging rights.
Proceeds from this year’s festival will benefit the City of Refuge, Sacramento, which is a nonprofit that supports at-risk youths and provides housing for human trafficking victims.
Misty Alafranji of the festival’s organizer, Beers in Sac, said that the festival will also raise funds for the Cosumnes Recreation Opportunity Fund, which gives scholarships to Elk Grove residents to participate in sports.
The city of Elk Grove, Elk Grove City Council Member Darren Suen, and the city promotion agency, Explore Elk Grove are also sponsoring the festival.
More than 4,000 beer aficionados mobbed last year’s Elk Grove Brewfest since they honored presold tickets from the planned 2020 and 2021 festivals that were cancelled, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Many ticketholders ended up waiting in a long line for more than an hour after the party started.
“It was not a good scenario, and we knew we could do better,” Alafranji said.
She told the Citizen that her crew has a new system for admitting attendees. Staff members will now check people in while they wait in line so they can smoothly enter the festival when the general admission time begins at 3 p.m. VIP ticket holders can enter at 2 p.m.
“We have a new, more efficient check-in process that we tested out at two large events,” Alafranji said.
The 2023 Elk Grove Brewfest will last from 2-6 p.m. on Saturday, April 22 at Elk Grove Regional Park, 9950 Elk Grove-Florin Road. VIP admission begins at 2 p.m., followed by general admission at 3 p.m. VIP tickets are $75, General Admission tickets are $50, and Designated Driver tickets are $15.
For tickets, visit www.ElkGroveBrewFest.com
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