It is that time of year again. The sun is out, the grilled is all warmed up, and it is time to get the boat in the water. That can mean only one thing: It is time for another Craft Beer Week in Gainesville.
While the annual Hogtown Craft Beer Festival is canceled, breweries all around Gainesville are still showing up in spirit if not in person. This year’s Craft Beer Week will still be more impressive than ever, with a range of beer flights, food specials and pairings and all the merchandise needed to stock summer wardrobes.
Blackadder Brewing Company kicks off Craft Beer Week with a stand-up comedy show by Laughs on the Go at 7 p.m. Sunday. Tickets cost $12 in advance and $18 at the door, for people ages 21 and older, of course. As for the beer, Blackadder will tap Edmund’s flying circus and eisbock brewed with animal crackers, then casual sects American IPA later in the week. Strega Nona pizza will host a beer and pizza pairing on Friday, and as if that was not enough, Blackadder will give away merchandise every day.
Next up is the ever-trendy Big Top Brewery with a $5 flight special for their eclectic beer selection and core beers such as the circus city IPA and conch republic key lime wheat. In addition to Big Top’s vast selection of award-winning beers, the brewery also keeps the full kitchen open all week long. Specials include $3 tacos for taco Tuesday, $5 burgers on Wednesday and half price appetizers on Thursday. Big Top also hosts jazz on Mondays and live music on Fridays and Saturdays.
High Springs Brewing Company will not disappoint, with the usual offerings of red-eye rye’d IPA, and for fans of darker beer, the molar express hot chocolate porter and midnight train American porter. This family-owned brewery will offer up local favorites alongside food from its sister-owned food truck, Sister’s Swank. Enjoy live music all week long from the likes of Hanna Love and Faster than Flash.