Sure, every weekend is a beer weekend. But the official Portsmouth Beer Weekend only comes once a year. 

Good thing it’s a long weekend. The Portsmouth Brewery and Smuttynose Brewery have planned events around the city beginning on Wednesday, March 2, and culminating with Kate the Great Day on Monday, March 7.

On Wednesday, The Blue Mermaid is hosting a four-course dinner paired with Smuttynose beers and J. Lohr wines for $60. The reception starts at 6 p.m. and dinner is served at 7 p.m. Also that evening, representatives from both breweries will be at the Portsmouth Brewery to answer questions from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. 

On Thursday, March 3, a Smuttynose brewer will help tap rare and vintage beers at The Press Room from 6 to 8 p.m. and at RiRa Irish Pub from 8:30 to 10:30 p.m.

On Friday, March 4, an hour-long Smuttynose Brewery tour begins at 3 p.m. and includes a complimentary tasting at 225 Heritage Ave. in Portsmouth. Other tours during the celebration are on Saturday at 11 a.m. and Monday at 2 p.m.

A Smuttynose rare beer tapping will take place at The River House on Friday from 6 to 8 p.m., then at Poco’s Bow Street Cantina with this year’s Barleywine and a selection from the vintage cellar from 8:30 to 10:30 p.m.  

Saturday, March 5, is the Smuttynose Pub Crawl. It begins with “Tapping the Barrels” at The Coat of Arms at 2 p.m. The barrels are three cask-conditioned Smuttynose beers, the most on tap at one time in Portsmouth. Stops at The Blue Mermaid, Fat Belly’s, Poco’s, The River House, RiRa, and The Press Room will follow.  

Sunday, March 6, starts with a Smuttynose Beer Geek Brunch at The Chef’s Table, featuring vintage beers and giveaways from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.       

The day ends with “Smuttynose, Pizza, and a Movie” with beer and all-you-can-eat pizza at The Portsmouth Gaslight Company from 5 to 8 p.m. The featured film is “American Beer,” a documentary about the ultimate beer run: 38 breweries in 40 days. 

Monday, March 7, is the annual Kate the Great Russian Imperial Stout release. Doors open at 11 a.m., and the first Kate will be poured at 12:30 p.m. Details are available at www.portsmouthbrewery.com.   

In Dover, a full week of festivities is planned at The Barley Pub, where Smuttynose takes over the taps from Tuesday to Tuesday, March 1 to 8, for “Seven Days of Sin,” leading up to a Barley Gras Fat Tuesday bash.