For the first time, Visit the Santa Ynez Valley will be hosting Santa Ynez Valley Craft Beer Week from May 12-20th during American Craft Beer Week. Craft Beer lovers can delight in all-things beer with special beer tasting flights, a beer festival, educational classes, dinners and more.

The week kicks off with the Buellton Brew Fest on Saturday, May 12th from noon to 4pm in Buellton’s Riverview Park featuring nearly 30 breweries (www.buelltonbrewfest.com). Throughout the week both Wandering Dog Wine Bar and Bin 2860 will be hosting craft beer classes with topics ranging from ales vs. lagers to types of IPAs and home brewing basics plus a Cicerone Certified Beer Server Prep Class. Demonstrations will be held at the valley’s brand new home beer (plus wine and cheese) making store called Valley Brewers in Solvang. On Thursday, May 17th both wine and beer lovers can test their taste buds with the Figueroa Mountain Brewery Beer vs. Santa Barbara County Wine dinner at the Los Olivos Wine Merchant & Café. Attendees will try a beer and wine with each course and decide which one they prefer.

Craft beer and cheese pairings can be enjoyed at Wandering Dog Wine Bar or pair a local beer with dinner at Firestone Taproom or Solvang Brewing Company. If you haven’t experienced Figueroa Mountain Brewery, the fastest growing brewery in the area, sample a flight at their Buellton location or in Solvang at either Randy’s Taproom inside C&R Imports or down the street at Valley Vino Wine Bar & Merchant. For those craft beer drinkers that think they’ve tried it all, Bin 2860 in Los Olivos will be opening up a bottle of each beer in the store throughout SYV Craft Beer Week. With well over 100 beers for sale, even the pickiest beer drinker can find a craft beer to savor.

With so many events to choose from, craft beer lovers can delight in a full week of events. During the other 51 weeks of the year, why not plan your own Craft Beer trip throughout the Santa Ynez Valley with the brand new SYV Beer Trail Map debuting in time for Craft Beer Week. Grab a printed version at any valley brewery or find a printable map by visiting www.syvbeer.com. More information on SYV Craft Beer Week events and the Santa Ynez Valley can be found at www.visitthesantaynezvalley.com.

The tour begins at Buckman Village, a small brewery that shares space with a nano brewery and a distillery, located inside a SE pub that features 49 rotating taps. After sampling beers there, we then visit Cascade Barrel Brewing, a 7,000 square foot warehouse where beers are barrel aged and conditioned and unique sour beers are produced. We get a special behind the scenes peek at where the magic happens and taste unusual beers we never thought we would like! We then head NE to sample more beers and enjoy lunch at Laurelwood, Oregon’s first certified organic brewery. Our last stop is Upright, a production brewery with a casual tasting room at a brewery that specializes in farmhouse ales with a pacific NW twist. Tour is all-inclusive of beer, food, souvenir Brewvana Pilsner glass and safe and fun transportation all over town. Tours are 21+ with valid ID required. Cost: $75/person.

Rogue Ales and Spirits will be hosting the 6th Annual Brewers Memorial Ale Festival inside the Rogue Brewery. For three days come enjoy 50+ craft beers, food, and pup related vendors. Your four legged friends will be able to enjoy dog activities such as dog washes, doggy olympics, and a dog look-a-like contest. $10 will get you entry plus five beer tokens. This event is 21+ only.

During the third weekend in May, the boutique wineries of the Lake Chelan Wine Growers Association will host the annual Spring Barrel Tasting event, offering guests the chance to sample not-yet-released wines straight from the barrel. Various wineries will host live entertainment, vineyard tours, free wine tastings and other special events throughout the weekend.

To view a complete list of wineries, wine releases, tasting room hours and special event activities planned at each winery, please visit www.lakechelanwinevalley.com.

We begin at Coalition, a small 10 barrel brewery in the inner SE where we taste their handcrafted, highly drinkable beers that reflect traditional brewing techniques and NW innovation. Our next spot is Hopworks Urban Brewery (HUB), Portland’s first eco-brewpub that offers handcrafted organic beers in a sustainably built and operating building. We get a fully brewery tour with an in depth description of the brewing process as we sample beers. For lunch we travel north to Breakside Brewery, a small 3 barrel brewery where we sample their vast selection of beers and dine in the restaurant. Our last stop is Lompoc’s Side Bar, a special tasting room that features a variety of barrel aged and seasonal beers that are only available in the tasting room. Tour is all-inclusive of beer, food, souvenir Brewvana Pilsner glass and safe and fun transportation all over town. Tours are 21+ with valid ID required. Cost: $75/person.

Central Oregon has one of the largest per-capita number of breweries of any region around, and on top of that a thriving, exploding beer scene—so it’s only natural that we also have a Central Oregon Beer Week, a week-long celebration of Bend and Central Oregon’s amazing beer culture!

Central Oregon’s very first Beer Week takes place the last full week in May, leading up to Memorial Day weekend with Mt. Bachelor holding their two-day Brewski festival featuring great beer from Central Oregon’s fantastic breweries. We have other events in the works, including tastings, meet the brewers, beer dinners, some special tours, and much more! Check out the full calender of events here http://www.centraloregonbeerweek.com/events.

Home Brew is a casual event, have some fun, enjoy a beer and get your real estate questions answered! Please join me, Susanne Stauffer from RE/MAX Metro Realty, at Naked City and I will buy you a beer or beverage of choice. Please do RSVP as I may not be there if nobody is coming. RSVP susannestauffer@remax.net or (206) 412 4663. Hope to see you there!

The tour begins at Buckman Village, a small brewery that shares space with a nano brewery and a distillery, located inside a SE pub that features 49 rotating taps. After sampling beers there, we then visit Cascade Barrel Brewing, a 7,000 square foot warehouse where beers are barrel aged and conditioned and unique sour beers are produced. We get a special behind the scenes peek at where the magic happens and taste unusual beers we never thought we would like! We then head NE to sample more beers and enjoy lunch at Laurelwood, Oregon’s first certified organic brewery. Our last stop is Upright, a production brewery with a casual tasting room at a brewery that specializes in farmhouse ales with a pacific NW twist. Tour is all-inclusive of beer, food, souvenir Brewvana Pilsner glass and safe and fun transportation all over town. Tours are 21+ with valid ID required. Cost: $75/person.

This summer, Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. and Tenaya Lodge at Yosemite will co-host a signature new event, the Sierra Nevada Beer Fest.

The inaugural Sierra Nevada Beer Fest events will take place on Memorial Day (May 25-27) and Labor Day (Aug. 31-Sept. 2) weekends. Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. is one of the nation’s premier craft brewers and with Tenaya Lodge is sure to provide Beer Fest guests with a memorable and “hoppy” time, with mystery beer releases, food and beer restaurant pairings, special treatments at Ascent Spa at Tenaya Lodge, and BBQ with live music from country-rock band “Hired Guns” – all just two miles from Yosemite National Park’s South Gate.

Friday events begin at 5:00 p.m. and include a welcome reception on the Grand Terrace with music, food, beer tastings, prizes and stargazing from Tenaya Lodge’s cozy bonfire. Saturday events get going at 2:00 p.m. with beer and appetizers at “Summerdale,” Tenaya Lodge’s open-air event venue surrounded by towering Sugar Pines and Incense Cedars, Sierra Nevada Info Booth, blind beer tasting competition, and spa chair massages. From 3:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m., there will be a “cowboy cookout” BBQ at Summerdale, an unveiling of Sierra Nevada mystery beers, music from the “Hired Guns,” prizes, archery and horseshoes.

Ascent Spa at Tenaya Lodge will get in the Beer Fest groove by offering a special Sierra Nevada Treatment during both event weekends – a signature mineral wrap infused with Sierra Nevada’s own Cascade Hops. The nourishing and relaxing, 60-minute treatment finishes with a frosty Sierra Nevada Pale Ale, Macintosh apple and Swiss cheese. Ascent’s “Sierra Nevada Wrap with Mac ‘n Cheese” is available exclusively during the Sierra Nevada Beer Fest events for $130 per treatment (relax in the sauna and steam room too!).

Friday’s Beer Fest admission is $55 per person, and Saturday is $85 per person. A la carte event pricing is available to Tenaya Lodge guests and the general public, with reservations required. Please call toll-free, (877) 247-9241 or stop by Tenaya Lodge’s concierge desk to purchase tickets. For more information on the events, visit TenayaLodge.com/SpecialEvents.

Tenaya Lodge’s two-night Beer Fest Lodging Package may be the best way to “tap” into the festivities, starting at $415/night for two and includes three days of beer and culinary events, prizes and exclusive VIP logo merchandise for two adults. Memorial Day overnight packages are nearly sold out; Labor Day Beer Fest Packages are still available. To book your Beer Fest Package, go to TenayaLodge.com/Specials or call toll-free, (888) 514-2167.

We begin at Coalition, a small 10 barrel brewery in the inner SE where we taste their handcrafted, highly drinkable beers that reflect traditional brewing techniques and NW innovation. Our next spot is Hopworks Urban Brewery (HUB), Portland’s first eco-brewpub that offers handcrafted organic beers in a sustainably built and operating building. We get a fully brewery tour with an in depth description of the brewing process as we sample beers. For lunch we travel north to Breakside Brewery, a small 3 barrel brewery where we sample their vast selection of beers and dine in the restaurant. Our last stop is Lompoc’s Side Bar, a special tasting room that features a variety of barrel aged and seasonal beers that are only available in the tasting room. Tour is all-inclusive of beer, food, souvenir Brewvana Pilsner glass and safe and fun transportation all over town. Tours are 21+ with valid ID required. Cost: $75/person.