Burp Fest at SF Beer Week 2026

When SF Beer Week launched in 2009, the concept of a citywide beer celebration was still novel — only one other beer week existed in the United States. The Bay Area Brewers Guild, a nonprofit organization founded in 2004 to support San Francisco's independent craft brewers, saw an opportunity to unite the region's growing craft beer community under one banner. That first year, approximately 150 events were organized, and the response was enthusiastic enough to prove the concept had staying power.

Over the following years, SF Beer Week grew exponentially. By 2017, the event had swelled to over 900 official events across 300+ venues, with more than 200 breweries participating. The Guild itself expanded from a San Francisco-focused organization to a regional trade association, extending membership invitations to independent breweries throughout the greater Bay Area and introducing geographically defined chapters.

The event weathered the challenges of the pandemic era and continued to innovate, eventually introducing the SF Beer Week Fest as a centralized opening celebration. The 2026 edition, held at Salesforce Park from February 20 through March 1, featured collaboration brews celebrating 30 years of the IPA style, with six Guild chapters each contributing unique takes. The festival has become not just a celebration of beer, but a vital fundraiser for the Guild's mission to support and promote the Bay Area's independent brewing community.

SF Beer Week's legacy extends well beyond the Bay Area. As one of the earliest and most successful beer week models, it inspired the creation of beer weeks in dozens of cities across the country, cementing San Francisco's reputation as a cornerstone of American craft beer culture.