Next Week is L.A. Beer Week

With summer beer patio sessions winding down and Oktoberfest on the horizon, it's always nice to be able to slip a full week of drinking into the schedule. Or, rather, eleven full days, but who's counting? Well, we are. LA Beer Week kicks off on September 20 and runs all throughout the Southland, so we'd like to enjoy every single hour we can.

Don't think for a moment that there won't be enough events happening around town to keep you occupied. The event organizers have teamed up with everyone from local craft brewers to Westside beer taverns, the Pasadena arm of the Stone Brewing company store and at least one Mongolian BBQ spot -- and that's just the first day. Weekend events include barrel-aged beers at City Tavern in Culver City, tap takeovers from Whittier to Calabasas, and a sour beer fun run with the folks from Firestone Walker. Basically, they'll be pulling names out of a hat between Golden Road, Verdugo Bar, 38 Degrees, Far Bar and Blue Palms to determine where to go next on Saturday the 22nd, unloading a single barrel of their special pours at each stop.

Other sure-to-be-popular events cascading into next week include a Dogfish Head Ancient Ales Dinner, happening at Little Bear downtown. KCET already loves Little Bear and the Midas Touch ancient ale from Dogfish Head is one of the best we've tasted, so get your tickets now. Tony's Darts Away in Burbank is using the LA Beer Week as an excuse to host an IPA festival from Sunday the 23rd through Friday the 28th, which overtakes (but doesn't outshine) Cismontane Brewing's Night Beer & Bacon happening at The York. Wowzers.

The pièce de résistance, of course, is the Sunday night unlimited tasting event, happening at downtown LA's Union Station. Your $50 presale ticket gets you unlimited four-ounce pours from more than 70 different beer brewers. The locals are sure to be heavily represented, but fantastic international breweries like Schneider-Weisse, Affligem, Chimay and Birra Moretti will also be on hand for the fete. You can also expect plenty of food trucks and snack stations to be set up around the perimeter, making sure you spend your time -- and money -- wisely over the course of the four-hour event. And since it's all happening at Union Station, public transportation is practically a must.

You can check out the full event calendar here, although more great nights of fun and beer are being added all the time. And since these great events are happening all over the land, there's likely one right in your backyard. Not that you needed an excuse to fill up your week with beer.

For more food and drink events visit kcet.org/events/food.