Always a reliable tonic for the winter doldrums, SF Beer Week has released its initial schedule for next year's event. 2013's festivities will kick off with the Opening Celebration at the Concourse Exhibition Center on Friday, February 8, and run straight through to the Celebrator 25th-anniversary bash in Oakland on Sunday, February 17. A few other notable events along the way:

The Toronado Barleywine Festival, around which Beer Week was originally built, will take place on February 16 and 17.

Anchor will introduce the third beer in its Zymaster series of experimental brews, a "San Francisco stout" called Flying Cloud.

MateVeza will release a special collaboration Salted Caramel Ale with O.G. salted-caramel purveyors Bi-Rite Creamery. Yes, there will be floats.

The Alembic will resume their tradition of serving a unique beer cocktail every day for the entirety of Beer Week.

Out-of-towners currently scheduled for tap takeovers or other special events include Dogfish Head, Allagash, Shipyard, Ballast Point, Green Flash, Stone, The Bruery, and Ninkasi.

Pyramid Alehouse is hosting a competition for cupcake recipes that utilize their brews, which sounds...not great.

The Academy of Sciences will host a Beer Week-themed edition of Nightlife.

The Monk's Kettle is reprising their Trappist dinner, with beers from at least seven of the eight Trappist breweries. Will they be able to score enough Westvleteren 12 from the brewery's special Christmas release to complete the set? Stay tuned!

Head over to Beer Week's site for the full schedule. They've only got 80 or so events listed, and last year's event boasted more than 325, so there's plenty more activity to come. Last one to frantically tweet about a Pliny the Younger sighting is a rotten egg.

[SF Beer Week]

