Beers in San Francisco to try?

This will be my first time to the west coast..... so what are some beers to try in San Francisco? We'll be going to Napa Valley too, but mostly staying in the city of San Francisco.

Thanks in advance

justabrewin said:

This will be my first time to the west coast..... so what are some beers to try in San Francisco? We'll be going to Napa Valley too, but mostly staying in the city of San Francisco.

Thanks in advance

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Try and go to some of the breweries. Russian river (near napa) , lagunitas, then in the city the thirsty bear is good. And Gordon biersch isn't bad but is more of a chain.

Russian river is my favorite though

Everything that isn't distributed around you. Seriously. Off the top of my head:

Russian River, Firestone Walker, 21st Amendment, Bear Republic, Lagunitas, Green Flash, Port, Lost Abbey, etc.

If there's a certain style of beer you really like I can be more specific.

scottland said:

Everything that isn't distributed around you. Seriously. Off the top of my head:

Russian River, Firestone Walker, 21st Amendment, Bear Republic, Lagunitas, Green Flash, Port, Lost Abbey, etc.

If there's a certain style of beer you really like I can be more specific.

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Ah yes I forgot 21st amendment has a restaurant in the city too. I haven't been there but want to go.

You can make a day trip and hit Bear Republic in Headlsburg, Lagunitas in Petaluma, and Russian River in Santa Rosa. SWMBO and I stay in Headlsburg once a year. We go up for the wine but we try and set aside one day for beers. If you go to Russian River get the sampler.

Fastmetal said:

You can make a day trip and hit Bear Republic in Headlsburg, Lagunitas in Petaluma, and Russian River in Santa Rosa. SWMBO and I stay in Headlsburg once a year. We go up for the wine but we try and set aside one day for beers. If you go to Russian River get the sampler.

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+1 to the above. I live in Windsor near Healdsburg and those are all great ones to visit. But do not leave ot Anchor Steam in SF. I have not made the tour yet but I hear it is a good one.

scottland said:

If there's a certain style of beer you really like I can be more specific.

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Any beer? IPA's are my favorite though.

Thanks to everyone for the suggestions. I am going to take a day with SWMBO and visit some of these places!

Anchor Steam would be a fun one for sure.

Only been to SF once. My band played at Cafe Du Nord. Great place for live music.

justabrewin said:

Any beer? IPA's are my favorite though.

Thanks to everyone for the suggestions. I am going to take a day with SWMBO and visit some of these places!

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Russian river. Bear republic both have awesome IPA's

Stop in at the Toronado

scottland said:

Lost Abbey

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Lost Abbey is in Northern San Diego County.

I was just up there and we hit Russian River and Lagunitas. I really wanted to do Green Flash and Bear Republic, but we just didn't have the time.

If you make it over to the east bay (Oakland/San Leandro), a cool trip would be:
Drake's Brewing (san leandro), then north to The bistro (Hayward), then up to Oakland for Beer Revolution.

Otherwise, if just the city you can't go wrong with Toronado, City Beer, Zeitgeist, for selection. I'm not a big 21st amendment fan, much better beer to be had in SF and the surrounding areas.

The north bay trip to RR/Lagunitas/Bear Republic/etc. is also a must do.

I just got back from San Francisco on Tuesday. Check out Mangolia's on Haight street. When we were there they were brewing in the basement so the entire restaurant smelt like fresh wort, it was fantastic. They have a really good Blue Cheeseburger and I really liked their Mild's.

Russian River in Santa Rosa is a must stop location. Get the Pliny the Elder(of course!) but they have have an awesome selection of sours. Supplication was my favorite there. For food, the Calzones were excellent! Also while you are in Santa Rosa check out the Bottle Barn. Huge selection of bottled beer and wine. It was the only place that I could find Pliny in the bottle and they also carry some of the sours from RR.

I also checked out 21st Amendment on 2nd street in San Francisco. The food was really good and they have a good selection of beer. Their Barley Wine, Old Glory, and Imperial Black IPA were all excellent!

I didn't go to Anchor Brewing Company but I did try Anchor Steam(wasn't a fan really) and Anchor Porter(very good porter)! I also purchased a six pack of Lagunitas Maximums IPA, it was good but I would stick with Pliny the Elder if you want a good IPA in that area.

If you are going to any wineries, I would suggest Robert Mondavi in Napa. The tour was very informative and their barrel cellar is beautiful!

Have fun!

mrdauber64 said:

It was the only place that I could find Pliny in the bottle and they also carry some of the sours from RR.

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Any Whole Foods in SF should have a large supply of Pliny in bottles.

Wow! Thanks for all the info guys. I will make sure to follow up with this and let you know which one I go to. I wish I could take off a few more days to visit everything!

Monks Kettle in Mission, Toronado. Make the trip up to Santa Rosa and visit Russian River if you can!

bruin_ale said:

Any Whole Foods in SF should have a large supply of Pliny in bottles.

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The Santa Rosa Codding Town Whole Foods has Pliny.

The Toronado is classic, check out their cellar book as they also sell bottles to go, and right across the street is a very good BBQ restaurant Memphis Minnie's.

ktblunden said:

Lost Abbey is in Northern San Diego County.

I was just up there and we hit Russian River and Lagunitas. I really wanted to do Green Flash and Bear Republic, but we just didn't have the time.

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I know, but they distribute to the bay area. It's probably not a brewery he can find in GA.

Ok, if you like IPAs.
Russian River Blind Pig and Pliny the Elder
Firestone Walker Union Jack and Double Jack
Bear Republic Racer 5
Lagunitas IPA
Green Flash West Coast IPA

Not all of those breweries are in the bay area, but they distribute there. Breweries in the area: 21A, Russian River, Bear Republic, Lagunitas, and even though it's not exactly close, Sierra Nevada is worth mentioning.

Soma knows what's up.

First, where in the city are you staying? And where in Napa are you goin?

In the city, definitely hit up Toronado, and you can save a trip to Russian River, they have most of their beers on tap, including some bad ass sours. In fact, they have the best taps I've seen in the city. It's a must-stop if you're a beer lover. Grab a sausage next door and bring it in, cash only.

Also, Monks Kettle - one of my favorite places in the city, its in the Mission.
Just a great spot.

Toronado is in lower haight, and you can walk (long but a cool walk) from Toronado to Magnolia in the Haight. Lots to check out along the way, and it'll give you a real great feel for San Fran...plus Magnolia usually has a few on cask, and some decent grub. Jerry's house is 2 blocks from here !

If you're with your wife or something, total tourist thing to do, but go to the Top of the Mark for a $7 Anchor Steam, and some ridic views of the city. Then you can check off Anchor Steam.

If you're stayin around Financial or North Beach, grab a beer at Churchkey on Grant & Green, and walk home.

Have a great time !

meatwad said:

First, where in the city are you staying? And where in Napa are you goin?

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We are staying at this hotel: http://www.argonauthotel.com/

We are taking a day trip to Napa for wine tastings, and not planning on staying there for too long.

Looks like I will check out Tornado and maybe Top of the Mark. I'll make sure to have some of those IPAs scottland was talking about. Maybe stop at 21st Amendment and Monks Kettle.

Thanks again guys!

justabrewin said:

We are staying at this hotel: http://www.argonauthotel.com/
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Thanks again guys!

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My favorite beer bar near where you are staying is ChurchKey. It has a great beer selection.

Here is my list of places I recommend to people within SF city in order of preference...
- Toronado (Definitely checkout the bottle list, its truly amazing collection, you can buy bottles to go)
- Anchor Brewing (need a reservation, and recommending getting it 1 monthin advance. Take the morning tour so when they are bottling)
- Magnolia Pub (I think the best beer brewed in the city)
- 21a
- Speakeasy (further away from downtown, but HIGHLY recommend stopping by on friday or saturday afternoon. $3 full pints and you're drinking in the production brewery, they also have a tour on friday and saturdays)
- Southern Pacific Brewery (just opened, house beers ok but their guest taps are awesome)
- Thirsty Bear
- Monk's Kettle
- City Beer Store
- Pibar

Pretty much all the breweries offer tours by request. Shoot me a pm if you want contact info for any of the breweries.

justabrewin said:

We are staying at this hotel: http://www.argonauthotel.com/

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Ha! My best friend got married at that hotel a couple years ago. I recommend stopping in at Jack's - practically next door across the courtyard from the hotel. It's got a decent taplist - not going to replace a trip to Toronado or any of the other places but if you're in the mood for a nightcap or you want a drink after wandering fisherman's wharf it's a pretty decent pub.

oh, and iandh's list is pretty good, but I would put city beer way above thirsty bear - much more interesting stuff on tap if you like sours/belgians. Thirsty bear was just okay the last time I was there.

Gunrunner said:

The Santa Rosa Codding Town Whole Foods has Pliny.

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It also has a tap room inside the store. When I was up there a few weeks ago they had Abyss on tap.

scottland said:

I know, but they distribute to the bay area. It's probably not a brewery he can find in GA.

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Ah, got it, I misunderstood you. Definitely hit up Whole Foods or BevMo up in the area, the amount of beers available is staggering. I live in SoCal and I was floored by how many more great micros are available in NorCal.