Victory at Sea is coming back early, and Ballast Point is throwing a party to mark the occasion. The brewery is bringing back Victory at Sea Day for 2026, a pirate-themed, three-day takeover built around the early return of its coffee-vanilla imperial porter. The San Diego leg lands tomorrow, Saturday, November 7, at Ballast Point Little Italy, right on the opening weekend of San Diego Beer Week.

“Victory at Sea is making an early return this year, and the fleet is taking over Ballast Point Little Italy and Long Beach for three days of beer, buried treasure, pirate-inspired entertainment and more,” the brewery says on its event page. “Three events. Two Ballast Point locations. One legendary return.”

The San Diego event runs from noon to 6 p.m. at 2215 India Street. General admission is free. First Mate tickets are $55 and VIP tickets are $99, and guests under 21 need to be with a legal guardian. Alongside Victory at Sea itself, the brewery will pour special variants and older favorites returning to tap for the first time in years, plus the full Ballast Point lineup, with themed food, games, and exclusive merchandise.

The timing is no accident. San Diego Beer Week 2026 runs November 6 through 15, and this is the first year with no central festival. Instead, the celebration is taproom-based across the county, which makes a big brewery event like Victory at Sea Day one of the anchor gatherings of the opening weekend.

For Ballast Point, the day is also a reminder of how long the brewery has been part of the San Diego scene. Founded in 1996, it helped define the city’s craft beer identity, and Victory at Sea, first released in 2008, became one of its signature beers: a big imperial porter brewed with coffee and vanilla that showed San Diego could do dark beer as well as it did IPA.

The celebration does not end on Saturday. Ballast Point Long Beach hosts an encore on Saturday, November 14, from 11 a.m. to midnight, with pirate crews, duels, cannon shows, a live band, and a costume contest, followed by a family day on Sunday, November 15, from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.

If you are planning your Beer Week weekend, this is an easy one to put on the list: a free event, a beloved beer back on tap, and a brewery that has been doing this longer than most. Just get there early. Victory at Sea Day has a way of filling up fast.

Sources: BeerAlien, Ballast Point Victory at Sea Day 2026, November 5, 2026, https://beeralien.com/ballast-point-victory-at-sea-day-2026/ ; Ballast Point, Victory at Sea Day 2026, https://ballastpoint.com/victoryatseaday2026/