It is a common belief that St. Patrick, patron saint of Ireland and the inspiration for countess pints of green beer, banished all the snakes from the Emerald Isle. He used a wooden staff to herd the serpents into the sea, banishing them forever. In reality, snakes never lived in Ireland. The climate is just too frigid for the cold-blooded reptilians. Midtown Sacramento boasts a much warmer climate, but, don’t worry, you will probably find a lot more corned beef and cabbage than you will snakes. For this year’s St. Patrick’s Day festivities on March 17, many Midtown businesses will be celebrating with their own takes on honoring the saint. One such place that will be showing off their Ir

There are many kinds of beer drinkers in this world, and Sacramento Beer Week caters to each and every one of them. Starting Friday, restaurants, bars, cafes and brewpubs all around Sacramento will be stocked with great beers for great prices. Beer Week will continue through Sunday, March 6. Until then, the citizens of Sacramento and the surrounding areas will be able to satisfy their liquid palate with regional and local brews, world brews and even a few rare and vintage brews. While their website is a wonderful place to browse for the perfect SBW event, it can be difficult to orient yourself among the 300 or more events. In hopes of eliminating any stress the plethora of drinking event

We call it the Crown Jewel of Sacramento and are stingy about keeping it polished and protected. It generates an estimated $365,000,000 annually and more visits than Yosemite, yet it is underfunded and undervalued as a regional asset. The American River Parkway provides our water, improves our air quality and supports diverse wildlife, including some of the last West Coast salmon runs. We go there to rest, recreate and reflect. The 23 mile stretch from Nimbus Dam to the confluence with the Sacramento River is officially designated as a Wild and Scenic River. It is the most heavily used recreation river in California.  TV news crews try to scare us silly when the river rises "near Flood S

Thousands converged on Discovery Park Saturday afternoon for the 16th annual California Brewers Festival to taste the ales, lagers, porters and craft brews from over 60 brewers. The festival was organized by Sacramento's Rotary Club of Point West to benefit the Assistance League of Sacramento. All festival proceeds will be donated to the league’s Operation School Bell — a program providing underprivileged youth with adequate clothing for school. Velvet Tongue and Utz! and the Shuttlecocks provided live music as festival-goers sampled beer with 4-ounce glasses and sought refuge in the shade from the summer sun. The participating brewers were mostly local, though there were some from as

Brewers from Maine, Vermont, Ireland and, of course, California will fill Discovery Park Saturday for the 16th annual California Brewers Festival. Around 60 brewpub, distributors and home brewers will be pouring ales, lagers and craft beers for what festival organizers anticipate will be more than 3,000 attendees. Although the festival attracts brewers from across the nation and overseas, the Sacramento region is heavily represented. Rubicon Brewing Company, Hoppy Brewing Company and Brew It Up! are a few locals participating. You can view the full list of brewers here. The festival is organized by Sacramento's Rotary Club of Point West to benefit the Assistance League of Sacramento. A

 Good spirits were all around at the Rubicon Brewing Company, located at 2004 Capitol Ave., on Saturday for their annual Women in Brewing event. The event, which features women brewers from the area and around the world, with proceeds from the sales and a silent auction supporting WEAVE, drew several thousand beer enthusiasts throughout the day to sample some good brews. Several of the brewer s attended the event, including Denise Jones, the Brewmaster for Moylan’s Brewing Company, who brewed the Hell’s Export Lager for the event. “Usually, beers are turned over in 14 to 21 days, whereas this beer took probably about six to seven weeks before I released it to the public,” Jones said of t