SF-Los Angeles Road Trip: Brewery suggestions

A friend of mine is doing a San Francisco to Los Angeles road-trip soon and was looking for suggestions for craft breweries/brewpubs to visit. I told him Russian River was a must. Was also going to suggest Anchor, Central Coast Brewing Co. and Creekside Brewing (last two in San Luis Opisbo). Also Toronado in San Francisco for good tap selection.

Anything else? Not too familiar with breweries around LA.

I would say Firestone Walker in Paso Robles (just north of SLO) is a must, they have some great beers. If he happens to make it a little further south there is a small brewery in Fullerton that I like to go to, Bootleggers Brewery. If he ventures further south into San Diego he will of course be in the beer mecca of SoCal with breweries like Stone, Ballast Point, etc.

BryceL said:

I would say Firestone Walker in Paso Robles (just north of SLO) is a must, they have some great beers. If he happens to make it a little further south there is a small brewery in Fullerton that I like to go to, Bootleggers Brewery. If he ventures further south into San Diego he will of course be in the beer mecca of SoCal with breweries like Stone, Ballast Point, etc.

Click to expand...

Damn! How did I forget Firestone Walker, having been to their brewery myself!

I am from San Diego, and have been trying to get him to drive a little further south to visit this beer oasis. Apparently he has some schedule he needs to follow. Pfft.

Pfft is right...good beer should override the "schedule". I wish I lived in SD. I try to at least make it down to Stone every so often.

BryceL said:

I try to at least make it down to Stone every so often.

Click to expand...

Next time you should drive a little further south and try Alesmith, Hess, GreenFlash and Ballast. All within a ~10mi radius. Also Lightning which is somewhat on the way to these places.

If he is going to get up this way to go to Russian River, he might as well hit Lagunitas too (Petaluma)...and there are a couple in Marin County also who's names escape me at the moment.

MadHopper said:

Next time you should drive a little further south and try Alesmith, Hess, GreenFlash and Ballast. All within a ~10mi radius. Also Lightning which is somewhat on the way to these places.

Click to expand...

I friend of mine (and his wife) just got stationed down at Miramar, so I figure I can use that as a good excuse to say to my wife "hey lets go visit". All the above breweries of course are on the list to hit!

I-5 or 101? That will color my answer.

But in both of those towns, SF Speakeasy would be a good choice. In L.A. it may be worth it to hit the Bruery.

Kern River Brewing is in central Cal. They make an IPA is as good as anything in the state.

And yes, that is saying a lot.

Firestone walker is definitely a must. You'll be hard pressed to find a better brewery. I've heard great things about Kern, Never been. Russian River is quite a bit north of SFO, not sure if he's planning to head that direction.

If he's willing to head down to San Diego.... Good lord, where to start: Stone, Lost Abbey/Port (love their beers), Alesmith, Ballast Point, Green Flash, Pizza Port, the list goes on.....

Angel City brewery tap room right downtown LA. It's pretty new and real funky in a good way.

MadHopper said:

Next time you should drive a little further south and try Alesmith, Hess, GreenFlash and Ballast. All within a ~10mi radius. Also Lightning which is somewhat on the way to these places.

Click to expand...

This is where I live. I can walk to all of these places. You also left off Airdale and Rough Draft (and if you're not particular about your beer, Karl Strauss and Rock Bottom).

Anyway, I've been to Creekside, and I would skip it. Spent a lot of time in SLO, so I've been to all the beer joints around there- plenty of good beer bars, but not really an amazing brewery town. Downtown Brew (across the street) has better beers and edible food. The food at Creekside is terrible. Firestone is a must though, if you're in that area.

helibrewer said:

If he is going to get up this way to go to Russian River, he might as well hit Lagunitas too (Petaluma)...and there are a couple in Marin County also who's names escape me at the moment.

Click to expand...

Marin Brewing Co? Moyland's?

Bear Republic is also up in Healdsburg. Kinda near RR.

daksin said:

The food at Creekside is terrible.

Click to expand...

Not so impressed with the beer either. Too many other great places, like Firestone, to waste time at Creekside.

If your friend decides to take the 101/FS walker route, I'd encourage a stop at Figueroa Mountain Brewing Co in in Buellton as well as LadyFace Alehouse & Brasserie in Agoura Hills. All three right off the 101 and well worth it. Another standout that comes to mind is Beachwood BBQ - they have two locations in the L.A. area. Cheers!

arturo7 said:

Not so impressed with the beer either. Too many other great places, like Firestone, to waste time at Creekside.

Click to expand...

It wasn't bad. I had a pretty decent bock there, actually, which surprised me. That's the sort of thing that may improve with time, though. The food they served will not improve, even if they manage to stick around. With the stuff they're putting on tables there though, I don't expect them to be around long.

[rant on] I got a burger (this is BASIC pub food, man) and I got what was clearly a reconstituted, frozen beef patty on a cold bun from a bag. It was so bad, I called the manager out and explained to him what I was thinking. He didn't seem concerned, didn't really get what the problem was.

It's too nice of a location, and too nice of a building/brewhouse to be putting that stuff in front of your customers. [end rant] Decent beer, but I still wouldn't go back.

If you want decent brewpub with tasty, simple beers, and tasty simple pub fare, Downtown Brew is great. A number of other local places have great selections of craft beer, but if you're really looking for a brewery tour/brewpub restaurant experience, you can probably skip SLO.

That said, I LOVE SLO and all of its food, so many good restaurants and excellent things to do- I try to go back 2-3 times a year.

The Brewhouse Brewery in Santa Barbara, CA. has a really nice place on the coast if your friend is taking HWY 1....

ddc said:

If your friend decides to take the 101/FS walker route, I'd encourage a stop at Figueroa Mountain Brewing Co in in Buellton

Click to expand...

+1. They're new and they are still trying to work some bugs out, but they have some good offerings and the tasting room looks really neat.

Thanks everyone for the suggestions. I have compiled a list to send to him.

daksin said:

This is where I live. I can walk to all of these places. You also left off Airdale and Rough Draft (and if you're not particular about your beer, Karl Strauss and Rock Bottom).

Click to expand...

How I envy you - especially the ability to walk to these places part! I work just down the street from the new(ish) GreenFlash location, but still have to be careful how much I can drink there and then drive home on my own.

Totally forgot Airdale, and did not know about Rough Draft - gotta check it out.

Karls is ok. I do like their Pintail Pale when fresh, and some of the casks aren't bad either. I also like going to their Sorrento Valley location mostly because it is close to work and for the nice 'beer garden'. Good for lunches or hanging out for a quick after-work drink with colleagues (though GreenFlash has recently taken over most of the after-work drink).

jocko's steakhouse on hwy 101 nipomo, california. the best steaks in california.

It all depends on the route between SF and LA. IF you go down the 5 you will be in a beer wasteland. If you go down the 101 Firestone is right off the freeway twice!! (Paso Robles and Buellton). Other good breweries near the 101 include Telegraph(Santa Barbara), Surf (Ventura), and Ladyface (Agoura Hills)

Phunhog said:

It all depends on the route between SF and LA. IF you go down the 5 you will be in a beer wasteland. If you go down the 101 Firestone is right off the freeway twice!! (Paso Robles and Buellton). Other good breweries near the 101 include Telegraph(Santa Barbara), Surf (Ventura), and Ladyface (Agoura Hills)

Click to expand...

Truth.

Ok since everyone is neglecting poor 'ol LA I'm going to have to represent. Definitely check out Eagle Rock Brewery. They have some great beers and are the nicest dudes (& dudette) around. They are the reason I started home brewing. Also just up the street from ERB is a brand new place (that I have yet to check out myself) called Golden Road Brewing. It was started by the guy that owns 2 great beer bars Mohawk Bend & Tonys Darts Away. Whew that was a longer post than intended.