I love a good beer. And I love good food. So what happens when you put an entire week and a half together of both? My head exploding, that’s what.

We in Sacramento seem to enjoy these themed weeks: Restaurant Week, Dine Downtown, Beer Week. I love them all!

The first unofficial stop I made was Friday night at Revolution Wines, but no beer was consumed, so I’ll skip that one.

The first official stop was BarWest’s patio for some Lagunitas. Now, if you know me, you’ll know how much this place IS NOT my scene; its nickname is “BroWest,” and I wouldn’t be caught dead there after dark. However, when they tell me they’re going to donate a dollar from every sale of Lagunitas to the Front Street Animal Shelter, and there will be some doggies on the patio… well, I have to go. Unfortunately I missed the pups, but I still got some drinks and my first food of the day (so what if it was 4:30?!): chili cheese tater tots.

Stop number 2: Der Biergarten. I was in the mood for some pretzels and this is THE spot for one. Sorry I don’t have a photo; I was too excited to stuff my face with one to remember to snap a pic. Guess you’ll just have to go there yourselves!

On the docket was a delicious stout, followed by a Weihenstephaner. Pictured here in the middle, like a tall tower of goodness, is their signature mix of grapefruit lager with cider on top. Kind of like a Maraschino cherry on top, but without the formaldehyde.

To close out the night… The Rind. It was either this or Broderick. The latter had a half hour wait, while The Rind miraculously had a table for four just sitting there! After some perusal of the menu, I settled on their beer flight with accompanying cheeses.

As always, The Rind didn’t disappoint. The three beers were delicious and expertly paired with the cheese. For the life of me, I can’t remember what they were, other than the first one was like eating coconut cheese, the second one was a creamy Brie-ish number, and the third was a smoked cheddar. Beer and cheese make awesome bedfellows!

Stay tuned for more Beer Week adventures! I’m heading to Rocklin to check out Out of Bounds Brewery and Cousins Maine Lobster food truck, followed by more fun later this week!