Hop GrailFeb 2 – Feb 8±
Side Project Stout Week
St. Louis, MO
A week of Side Project stout releases anchored by Beer : Barrel : Time. Dates confirmed annually.
The 2026 release calendar
Every pilgrimage date and release window that matters, in one place — from the people who read every new US beer label. Dates are confirmed by hand each year; approximate ones say so.
January
No pilgrimage dates — but 16 new beer labels were approved in January.
February
Feb 6 – Feb 19±
Pliny the Younger window
Santa Rosa & Windsor, CA
Two weeks, mostly draft, lines from before dawn. Exact dates confirmed by Russian River each January.
How to get it →March
Mar 14±
Hunahpu Day
Tampa, FL
Cigar City's festival release day. Date confirmed annually.
April
Apr 25
Zwanze Day 2026
Worldwide
Cantillon's one-day global tapping — every participating bar pours at once. 2026 is a Zwanze year (now biennial).
May
May 16±
Dark Lord Day
Munster, IN
3 Floyds' ticketed release festival — the only place Dark Lord is sold. Date confirmed annually.
How to get it →May
Marshmallow Handjee
Dark Lord Day variant lottery — The Dark Lord variant that eclipsed Dark Lord itself — the variant lottery inside the festival inside the release day.
June
Jun 6±
Firestone Walker Invitational
Paso Robles, CA
The invitational festival whose guest list doubles as a pantheon roll call. Date confirmed annually.
July
Jul 18±
KBBS Day lottery
Decorah, IA
Toppling Goliath's single-day lottery release. Date confirmed annually.
How to get it →August
No pilgrimage dates — but 1,807 new beer labels were approved in August.
September
Sep 1 – Oct 31
Fresh-hop season
Pacific Northwest
The annual scarcity window: wet-hop beers with a two-week shelf life and a six-week season. Regional grails by construction.
October
No pilgrimage dates — but 1,431 new beer labels were approved in October.
November
Nov 13 – Nov 14±
FoBAB
Chicago, IL
Festival of Wood & Barrel-Aged Beer — the barrel program showcase. Dates confirmed annually.
Nov 27
Bourbon County Black Friday
Everywhere
The Black Friday ritual — the lineup that already leaked through federal label filings months earlier.
How to get it →Nov
Bourbon County Proprietor's
Black Friday, Chicago-only — Chicago-only by design. The city keeps it; everyone else hunts it.
Nov
Bourbon County Rare
Black Friday, select years — The top of the Bourbon County pyramid — the vintage-years tier the trade circles.
December
No anchor dates. New labels show up in New this week the week they're approved.
Follow the brewery behind any of these and we'll email you when it has a new label approved — often weeks before the brewery announces the beer. Add a beer to your Grails and we'll tell you when it's first spotted.