Hoppy Valentine’s Day

Nothing says Hoppy Valentines like beer, and beer lovers have an extra reason to celebrate, since Valentine’s Day falls squarely in the midst of San Francisco Beer Week.

Barclay’s Restaurant and Pub is celebrating Valentine’s Day with more than eight beers from Sierra Nevada, including hop stars Hoptimum, Big Foot and Harvest, along with two surprise specialties, all paired with a special menu. The festivities start at 5 p.m. and go until midnight, and there’s no charge for admission.

Beer Revolution might not seem like the most romantic venue for Valentine’s Day (although proprietors Fraggle and Rebecca really are sweethearts, even though Fraggle might not admit it). Beer Rev will host an evening with De Proef Brewing of Lochristi, Belgium. De Proef rep. Alan Shapiro will be in-house at 6 p.m. to answer any and all your queries about this enigmatic Belgian brewery. Beer Revolution will offer a collection a De Proef beers, including collaborations with Bell's, Terrapin, and Allagash. Beer Revolution doesn’t serve food, but you can order out or bring in your own food.

For “An Imperial Kind of Love,” head over to Pyramid Alehouse in Berkeley, where you can “ignite a new spark on Valentine's Day with Pyramid’s Ignition Beer Series.” You’ll be able to sample Live Wire Imperial Hefeweizen and Outburst Imperial IPA side by side with Haywire Hefeweizen and Thunderhead IPA. $10 includes samples of all 4 beers, tokens for three pints of your choice, face time with Pyramid brewers and an optional brewery tour at 4 p.m.

What? You didn’t get her a rock for Valentine’s? How about a Triple Rock? For an extremely hoppy Valentine’s Day, Triple Rock is hosting a SoCal vs. NorCal gravity-fed Imperial IPA “hop throwdown” at 4:30 p.m. that pits its own IIMAX against Sculpin IPA from Ballast Point in San Diego. You can also meet the owners and brewers from

Ballast Point. While you’re waiting for the hop-off, you can try Triple Rock’s annual lovers day nitro "stout" and see what exactly a White Chocolate Milk Stout is. Triple Rock also says it will be making a “strange new beer.” There’s no charge and the festivities begin at 11:30 a.m.

Barclay's Restaurant and Pub

5940 College Ave.
Oakland, CA 94618

http://www.barclayspub.com/

Pyramid Alehouse Berkeley

901 Gilman St.
Berkeley, CA 94710

http://www.pyramidbrew.com/alehouses/berkeley

Triple Rock

1920 Shattuck Ave.
Berkeley, CA 94704

http://triplerock.com/