THE BREWSPAPER / HAPPY NEW BEER, SAMPLINGS & PAIRINGS

HIGH DIVE, a trendy Westside (San Diego) craft beer centric establishment is holding a women-only class in pairing food with craft beer on January 19.  Details below.

SOURCE: West Coaster Craft Beer magazine and website (www.westcoastersd.com)

New Year is upon us. Sure, most of us drank too much, ate too much, spent too much, etc., etc. Yes, January probably should be about the pinching of pennies and scrutinizing of calories, but schedule in some fun, too, with these premier beer-centric events.

January 2 | Brewery Opening: Bitter Brothers Brewing Company is getting a jump on the New Year, opening the doors to its tasting room little more than a day into 2016. Stop in to see what happens when a veteran chef establishes a brewery with beer-and-food pairability at the forefront along with a penchant for widely varying, but universally hoppy India pale ales. | Bitter Brothers Brewing Company, 4170 Morena Boulevard, Bay Ho, 11 a.m.

January 18 | Beer Dinner: The Cork and Craft has gained a stellar reputation for culinarily inspired beer-pairing dinners. It’s a team effort involving C&C’s kitchen crew, brewer Derek Gallanosa (of in-house op Abnormal Beer Co.) and inspired guests. This time around, top-notch chefs from Juniper and Ivy and top-shelf beers from The Bruery will combine for a truly special feast. | The Cork and Craft, 16990 Via Tazon, Rancho Bernardo, 6 p.m.

January 19 | Chicks for Beer: Ring the bell. School’s in! Fresh off the heels of releasing a tome all about experience beer and food in unison, the authorial duo of Gwen Conley (of Port Brewing Co./The Lost Abbey/The Hope Concept fame) and Julia Herz (from the Brewers Association) will lead a women-only class on this righteous subject matter on the High Dive’s patio. | The High Dive, 1801 Morena Boulevard, Bay Park, 6:30 p.m.

January 30 | Changing of the Barrels: Karl Strauss Brewing Company puts as much into its anniversary as it takes out—literally. Join San Diego’s oldest brewery as it celebrates 27 years in the beer biz by serving up bourbon barrel-aged double chocolate imperial stout and a 28th anny brew before siphoning that special concoction into oak vessels for next year’s soiree. | Karl Strauss Brewing Company, 5985 Santa Fe Street, Pacific Beach, 5 p.m.

January 31 | San Diego Fermentation Festival: The do-it-yourself spirit will be celebrated in tandem with goods born of creativity and elbow-grease at the second annual iteration of this event featuring beer, wine, mead, kombucha and more. Seminars on homebrewing and other domestic, yeast-based undertakings will take place throughout the day. | Coastal Roots Farm, 450 Quail Gardens Drive, Encinitas, 10 a.m.