Ace Hotel & Swim Club in Palm Springs hosts its Craft Beer Weekend, Aug. 6-8, featuring 35 breweries.
PHOTOGRAPH BY KATE NAYLOR
Craft beer enthusiasts will be treated to Coachella Valley brews among the 35 breweries participating in the ninth annual Craft Beer Weekend on Aug. 6-8 at Ace Hotel & Swim Club in Palm Springs.
The actual event will run from noon to 4 p.m. Aug. 7 in the Commune, but guests can also purchase pourings from the participating breweries while supplies last the entire weekend in the Amigo Room. The Amigo Room is open noon to 11 p.m. all three days. During the Aug. 7 event, guests can stay longer and hang out by the pool, says Charlie Jane, marketing and program lead at Ace Hotel.
Among the local brewers are Las Palmas in downtown Palm Springs, Desert Beer Co. in Palm Desert, 29 Brews from Spotlight 29 Casino, and Joshua Tree Brewing, which is making its first appearance.
“We have some special releases that are really hard to find out here in the valley,” says John Hardin, food and beverage manager at Ace Hotel & Swim Club. “It's not just about the event; it's about being here the whole weekend and tasting some of the rare beers.”
“Beside the Craft Beer Festival,” Hardin adds, “We have 22 taps at all times in the Amigo Room. We're featuring a lot of different brews year round from all over. Our taps are constantly rotating to offer new specialties. It's never just one brew that's staying around; we're always trying new things.”
PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY ACE HOTEL AND SWIM CLUB
Palm Springs Life chatted more with Jane and Hardin about the Craft Beer Festival.
How does it feel to return the Craft Beer Weekend after not being able to celebrate last year?
Charlie: The craft beer festival has always been a big part of our events calendar and our summer programming. It is also a big part of the Ace brand. We're really known for our programming and all the things we do with and for our community. It feels really good to get this back on the calendar. We’re very excited.
John: This year we're actually seeing a pretty uptick in breweries. The breweries come from all over Southern California and all the way from Belgium, and Michigan as well.
Palm Springs may be better known for cocktails – does craft beer have a fan base in the desert?
John: We seem to be about a year behind compared to other areas. Right now, we're starting to see a huge trend upwards in craft beer out here, especially with all the new breweries that are opening up.
What COVID practices are you putting into place with regards to tasting the beers, and are there any other practices attendees should know about?
Charlie: The event is going to be in our open-air Commune space. The breweries are going to be socially distanced. All the window walls are mobile and we can slide them upwards to the ceiling. The guests can enjoy the pool, or just sit at the side of it and let their legs hang in the cool water. We've also limited the capacity this year. We wanted to take it really back to its roots with being a really beautiful one-day only event. Tickets are limited, and we're just going to keep the flow consistent that whole day. And then we will be following local mandates that are in place.
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