West Coast Brew Fest

Beer is pretty freaking amazing in any time of crisis. The foamy companion kept people warm during the Little Ice Age and even avoided extermination during Prohibition. Now, beer is on the rise once again during these nasty economic times. Somehow, beer is always there to offer refreshing support. For the past 10 years, West Coast Brew Fest has been there, too, offering an unlimited sampling of brews from across the globe. You may not have enough cash for a plane ticket to sip German and Czech beer, and the gas it takes to get to Berkeley’s breweries might be hard to come by as well. But no doubt the $25 it costs to attend the West Coast Brew Fest, featuring 60 breweries from California, Colorado, Alaska, Canada and Belgium is somewhere in your budget. Plus, there’ll be food vendors and music by Shakedown and Aroarah. And since it’s an unlimited beer-tasting event, a designated driver would be a great companion and, for $5, a cheap date.