opalko

Recipes 

Wife & I will be in SF area in may for few days vacation. Looking for general recommendations of pubs, inns, b&b's etc. Prefer a hotel with a good pub/lounge/bar that makes it nice to end a day adventuring unwinding in the pub. Are there such places in N. California / San Francisco area!? Best I have found is James Bay Inn in Victoria, BC if you are familiar with that.

Also looking for recommendations for homebrew stores, microbrews, and just general "must see" places in the area (not necessarily beer related).

Cheers!

calpyro

Recipes 

Check these out:
21st Amendment - Brewery - Restaurant - Bar Great beer and fun place
Toronado Pub, San Francisco Best beer bar in the City. Lots of great beer on tap.
Beach Chalet Brewery and Restaurant - San Francisco View of the beach with great beer. The wife will like this place for a sunset dinner and beer. Weekends, they have a BBQ and music.


Out of the City North on Hwy 101:
http://www.moylans.com/1024X768.htm/ Great beer and fun place.
Lagunitas Brewing Company Great brewery! Free beer and tour every weekday at 3:00.
Russian River Brewing Company The worlds best hoppy beer. It is a must stop!
Bear Republic Brewery - Microbrewery, Restaurant and Catering in Downtown Healdsburg Ca. Great beer and food.

Best Homebrew shop: Beer Making and Home Brewing Supplies | MoreBeer

Have fun!

StunnedMonkey

Recipes 

Add Jupiter over in Berkeley. Great Pizza. It's even close to a BART stop. Jupiter-Berkeley: Home

And Thirsty Bear in SF, especially if you like Spanish Food. Thirsty Bear

If you find yourself driving South along Hwy 1, Half Moon Bay Brewing is worth a stop. Half Moon Bay Brewing Company

__________________
Tap 1:Traditional Bock
Tap 2:Robust Porter
Tap 3:California Common
Tap 4:Old Ale
Tap 5:IPA

throwbookatface

Recipes 

This post is old as hell, but I second Thirsty Bear! It's worth it for the cask-conditioned ale alone. They tap their cask on Tuesdays, I think. They have other interesting beers (a great IPA, citrusy and complex, and a vanilla lager), but the cask-conditioned ale is $3 on Tuesdays and incredible. I don't know how they do it in the UK, but this one wasn't too bitter - it was fruity and complex, and it knocked me on my a$$ after two glasses.

Also, I used to live a block from Toronado - it's like a grizzled beer heaven in there. And 21st Amendment's watermelon wheat is pretty interesting if you're into fruited beers.

jpc

Recipes 

However, don't attempt to go to HMBBC on a weekend, especially if the weather is nice, unless you have no other plans for the day. The place is positively overrun on weekends.