CA Craft Beer Summit Is Going Local in 2019—What the Ale!

Tap talks with craft-beer luminaries are a great way to relax and hear their stories while drinking their beer. Photo by Greg Nagel

Every September during the past four years, I hop in the ol’ black wagon of doom with a trunkload of shenanigans to make the fear-and-loathing trek to our state capital for the CA Craft Beer Summit. It’s a weekend packed with interesting seminars and talks, a trade expo, food and brew demos and sponsored events, all capped by one of the best beer festivals in the world, featuring more than 500 beers from the tip-top of California to San Ysidro.

But this year, I may just Lyft to it as the summit’s in Long Beach!

Chef demos can be sampled among live hop vines! Photo by Greg Nagel

The Long Beach Convention Center and Marina Green Park will be craft-beer ground zero Sept. 12-14. The event is put on by the California Craft Brewers Association (CCBA), a 30-year-old organization that advocates for the state’s $8 billion beer industry, with its nearly 1,000 breweries.

Ken Grossman of Sierra Nevada was one of last year’s keynote speakers. Photo by Greg Nagel

And unlike large national beer events such as the Great American Beer Festival, this one offers such craft-beer luminaries as the Lost Abbey’s Tomme Arthur, Russian River’s Vinnie Cilurzo and Sierra Nevada’s Ken Grossman. They and others like them are available for quick chats and photos over a beer, providing you’re not too star-struck.

The state’s many brewers’ guilds pour their best on the expo floor. Photo by Greg Nagel

For 2019, the CA Craft Beer Summit boasts 50 education sessions, which are separated into tracts directed at homebrewers, tasting, hospitality and more.

Lambic ice cream may be among the things you can try. Photo by Greg Nagel

Early-bird tickets will be available for one day only on May 14. Passes for the entire weekend are priced comparably to a trip to Disneyland, so getting a discount and planning to experience everything will get you the most value.

You also may get a tickle from Mikkel of Mikkeller. Photo by Greg Nagel

Head to www.californiacraftbeer.com/craft-beer-summit for more details.

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