There is a countdown clock on the web site for Arizona Beer Week (arizonabeerweek.com) and by the time you read this the numbers will show that there are around 30 days until Beer Week kicks off with the Strong Beer Festival. Sometime this week the folks that run Arizona Beer Week, the Arizona Brewers Guild, tell us that the event calendar will be posted for all to see. However, as of our deadline, the events were not yet up. That’s okay, because we have some inside information as to the best events going on so you can start putting your calendar together now. First off, the Strong Beer Festival is a must.

Held on February 18th at Steele Indian School Park (right off the light rail), this is the event that kicks off beer week. Last year, the event was marked by a torrential downpour, high winds and incredibly cold temperatures. Still, over 2300 people out of an expected 2700 braved the weather to enjoy what has come to be known as one of the top festivals in the state. The Brewers Guild keeps it small to prevent the lines associated with bigger festivals and the brewers that bring beer, always try to bring something special.

This year we expect to see quite a few rarities (at least to Arizona) as well as a few brewers that don’t normally distribute in this state…yet. Don’t let the name scare you away. While Strong Beer is the focus, and all breweries are encouraged to have at least one higher ABV beer, there will be plenty of lower ABV beers there as well. And in case you missed it, the park is right off the light rail stop at Central and Indian School. For those of you that like to lay down a nice base of food before a festival both O.H.S.O Brewery in Arcadia and Sun Up Brewing at 3rd Street and Camelback will be offering beer breakfasts that day.

You’ve got a few choices for Sunday the 19th. Both SanTan and Ska Brewing will be hosting pub crawls, but they’ll be doing it on bikes, allowing a little greater range. SanTan’s will start at the brewery and Ska will roll from TT Roadhouse in Scottsdale. If biking for your beer seems like too much work, head on over to Boulders on Broadway where they will feature their own mini-beer festival with seven or eight breweries and an opportunity to talk one on one with the brewery reps without the crowds associated with a bigger festival.

Monday is relatively slow, but there will be a variety of tastings and pint nights everywhere from Total Wine in Gilbert to Whole Foods in North Scottsdale to BevMo in Happy Valley. The two big events for the evening are probably the Manless Monday event (for ladies only) at SanTan featuring beers paired with gourmet cheese sandwiches from Wedge and Bottle; and the Ska Brewing beer dinner at Mellow Mushroom in Tempe. Tuesday of Beer Week is also Mardi Gras and what better place to celebrate than at Baby Kay’s at 21st Street and Camelback. Enjoy Fat Tuesday with Abita beer and some fresh crawfish just flown in from New Orleans. If Cajun isn’t your thing, AZ Wine Company in Scottsdale will have a beer dinner featuring Oskar Blues, and Oskar Blues will also be taking over the taps at Trophy’s Steakhouse in Queen Creek.

Wednesday night the fun continues with tastings and pint nights at BevMo in Tempe, Total Wine in Gilbert, and Whole Foods on Mayo Boulevard. Look also for a Big Sky event at Old Chicago on Alma School, a Bell’s Promo at Taste of Tops and a Craft in Cans event at Cold Beer and Cheeseburgers in the Greyhawk area of North Scottsdale. Whole Foods in Chandler has an educational event where Crispin Ciders will match up with Left Hand Brewing and Breckenridge Brewing to show you how you can enhance your drinking experience by blending cider and beer to create new and exciting flavors.

Thursday is when things start building up to the big finish. Anthem and Carefree get into the mix with events at Legends and AZ Wine Carefree. George and Dragon will be featuring Left Hand Milk Stout Nitro and for you downtown folks, Lost Leaf Gallery will have a Shmaltz Brewing event later in the evening. Two big events for the evening are taking place just 5.28 miles from each other. I know this because I am planning on being at both events and wanted to know how easy it would be to do that. So start at The Hungry Monk any time after 3:00 PM. Do this because Bell’s Brewing will be bringing their world famous Eccentric Day to Chandler. Look for approximately 20 different Bell’s beers on tap and plan on dressing in your most eccentric outfit as this event will be all about the “different”. Now go up Dobson, across Ray to McClintock and head north to Elliot to check out Flanny’s where they will be hosting “Colorado Night”. Six different Colorado breweries will be on hand each pouring three of their beers.

The secret here is that one of those beers from each brewery will be cask conditioned and gravity fed, a very special treat from the state that is known as the “Napa of Beer”. This event starts at 6:30, so start at the Monk and head to Flanny’s or the other way around, whatever you prefer. Just don’t miss either of these events. Don’t wear down now, because we still have two days of Awesome! left. Friday will feature Oskar Blues at Handlebar Pub and Grill in Apache Junction or you can also find Oskar Blues at Sun Devil Liquor. How about checking out the Bell’s event at Lux on Central or Bridgeport Brewing at Total Wine in Gilbert? If you are planning on a meal, hit up Trophy’s for their Alaskan Brewing dinner.

If you have never experienced a beer dinner with Alaskan Brewing, this may be the place to be. Or if you prefer to hang out with more than one brewery, head over to Papago Brewing where the Brewers Table Shuffleboard tournament will take place. Have a beer and heckle your favorite brewery while they pair up with non-brewers in an effort to take home first prize. And, Moto will be bringing their Big IPA Festival in the evening. Saturday, start off again at O.H.S.O. for a nice breakfast as you once again fortify yourself for a beer festival.

This time it is over in the parking lot at Papago where the Brewing Up Hope event will take place. Benefitting the MISS Foundation, annonprofit foundation committed to helping families discover hope and eventually heal from the trauma of a child’s death. So help out with a great cause and have some good beer while you are doing it. Also, at this festival will be the celebration of the 10th anniversary of the founding of Little Guy Distributing. This seminal craft distributor, now known as World Class Beer, was started by Bruce and C.B. McConnell in 2002 in order to bring high end craft and import beer to the Arizona market place. They have always been recognized as the leader in craft beer and specialty imports in the state, so expect there to be a pretty good party within the festival going on

. Don’t miss out on weeklong beer and food pairing specials at Garage Wine and Tap, Original Wineburger, Rico’s American Grille, Taps in Litchfield Park, Chop and Wok and more. Finally, expect to see Lauren Salazar, Sensory Specialist from New Belgium Brewing out and about at a few events which are still being planned. She is a world renowned expert in all things beer and is in constant demand to present at events everywhere. There you have it, a brief look at some of the key events each day of Beer Week. Check out the Beer Week web site for complete details and plan on attending as many events as you can. You have all day Sunday February 26th to recover from your week of festivities