SARATOGA SPRINGS – Beginning next Tuesday, February 18 the suds will be flowing throughout town as the Third Annual Saratoga Beer Week takes hold.
Todd Garofano, President of the Saratoga Convention & Tourism Bureau observed, “Saratoga Beer Week has quickly grown into one of Saratoga’s signature events. Having expended already to accommodate the growing crowds and participants from its first year in 2012, this year’s incarnation promises to build on that success. We expect more visitors filling hotel rooms, spending time in our shops and restaurants and enjoying the amazing variety of craft beers in the many venues Saratoga has to offer.”
A complete schedule of events appears online at saratogabeerweek.com. The event week all leads up to Saturday’s Saratoga Beer Summit at the Saratoga Springs City Center, with anticipated crowds so large that admission has been broken into two sessions: 1 to 4 p.m. and 5 to 8 p.m. During each of these 3-hour sessions you have the opportunity to sample over 150 different beers from over 80 American craft breweries, plus enjoy food samples and live music.
It all begins on Tuesday at 5 p.m. at Olde Saratoga Brewing Company at 161 Excelsior Avenue. This ‘Beer and Barbeque Bash’ kicks off a full slate of Olde Saratoga’s activities, which will see them take it on the road around town to venues like the Local on Beekman Street, Maestros and The Stadium on Broadway, The Olde Bryan Inn and Uno’s on Route 50. Some of these promotions, in the spirit of good cheer, will be in conjunction with other regional brewers such as Adirondack in Lake George and Brown’s in Troy.
The two Stadium Cafés each have their own promotions this week. At the Westside location, they will feature a special “Slides and Suds” promotion throughout Beer Week, which features four types of sliders with four different crafted beers selected by the Craft Brew Alliance.
Local craft brewers Druthers (381 Broadway), as expected, have a full slate of activities and events, including a brewery tour on Thursday, February 20 at 4 p.m.
Two music events of note precede the Beer Summit at the City Center. On Thursday evening at 7 p.m., fresh off their headlining gig at First Night, are Beatles tribute band Hey Jude.
On Friday at 7 p.m. the nationally acclaimed Irish band Black 47 will take the stage. This is extra notable as the band has announced that they will be disbanding this November after 25 years touring worldwide together.
As always, there are incentives for early ticket buyers to many events. You can avoid any day-of-event increases and order tickets online at saratogabeerweek.com