My personal brew bus trip (bay area addition)

[JoeBronco]

So, we have a few breweries here in the bay and a group of friends and i are going to test a few out. Most are going to be bigger breweries so if you think i should add one on the list (thats in the same area) let me know! We want to stay out of the city.

Bear Republic
Growlers – Depends on beer
Beers To Try –Hop Rod Rye
Apex™ IIIPA
Mach 10 IIPA
Double Rocket
Five Zero IIPA
Olde Scoutter Barley wine
Racer X IIPA

Russian River
Growlers - $13
Beers To Try –
Defenestration -Hoppy Blonde Ale
Pliny the elder – IIPA
Blind pig - IPA
Gaffers – English style bitter
Happy Hops Pale Ale – Hoppy pale ale

Lagunetias
$5 for any 4 tasteings!
Growlers fill - $12 ($4 for the glass)
Premimum Growlers - $18 ($4 for the glass)
Beers To Try –
Lucky 13
Lagunetias IPA
Harry Eyeball
Imperial Stout float
Little som'thing wild

Moylans
Growlers $15 - $25
Beers To Try –
Kilt Lifter Scotch Ale
Hopsickle Imperial Ale- Triple Hoppy
Old Blarney Barleywine Style Ale
Moylan's Extra Special Bitter

Iron Springs
Growlers - $18.00
Happy Hour 4-6pm every day – $3.75 a pint
Beers To Try –
Casey Jones Imperial IPA
Late Seasonal Draught

Drakes
Growlers - $15
Beers to Try -
Hopocalypse IIPA
Denogginizer Double India Pale Ale
Nyack Barleywine Ale – 12% ABV
Aroma Coma Ale

Schooner's
6-8 Beer sampler - $6.75
Growlers - $15
3 Gallon Kegs - $37.00
Beers to tryBARLEY WINE
IPA (CA state fair 1st place)
Honey Lemon Ale



Am i missing any good breweries? Beers from these breweries that i need to try? This is a one day trip so most drinking will be kept to 2-3 beers per brewery.

 

[Hex]

Great list, I'm printing it out, for my brew binder!

 

[JoeBronco]

Great list, I'm printing it out, for my brew binder!

I have the full list with addresses, distances between eachother, phone numbers and cost of food/pints if you want it.



Hey, i had the day off today

 

[swfc68]

Looks like you're aiming for strongest stuff on the menu at these places. Don't overlook some of the other things these breweries might have on tap when you visit. I went to Lagunitas, Russian River and Bear Republic recently and there were tons of other brews not on your list that were delicious too, just not at the stronger/hairier end of the scale.
I tried absolutely everything at Bear Republic and just about the only thing I didn't like was their Marie Laveau as it used some peppery odd tasting yeast that isn't really my thing. I love (*love*) Racer 5 and Hop Rod Rye but they had lots of other good stuff like Rebellion, which is their SMaSH - type recipe with rotating Hops which was more my thing as was the XP but they had an Alt and a couple of pilsners and all kinds of yummy goodness. I think Bear Republic is pretty much my favorite brewery - they just brew delicious drinkable beer and that's that. Lagunitas has a very good selection too and a cool beer garden and at Russian River, outside of the Pliny and Blind Pig the Russian River IPA is just as delicious and they had a very nice nitrogen-pushed Dry Irish Stout on the menu too.

 

[smagee]

From the looks of things, you're inclined towards hops. If they still have it, I strongly recommend you try Lagunitas' Maximus that was released within the past few months. It's delicious.

If you manage to make it into SF, you should definitely check out Rogue, but it's in the middle of downtown, so I imagine you won't want to swing quite that far in .

 

[jtakacs]

hop head much? its blasphemy but if you're a hop head, skip RRB (my favorite brewer bar none and my local, 1 block away) - the PtE is the best imperial IPA known to mankind imo, but you'll quickly find that on tap list of sour/belgians is double the typical brewpub offering.

if'n you're a hop head, head over to third street aleworks.. i would rarely recommend them (for personal reasons) but i do pop in on occasion (one block from RRB) - bear republic is the home of local hopheads (as is lagunitas for obvious reasons) - and hit lagunitas before they expand from 160k bbl to 660k bbls...

if'n it were me, i'd skip moylans entirely (just me) and spend more time at RRB. get the sampler there for sure, eat a ton of food (pizza is excellent) - you don't want to leave that place not having tried something. trust me.

 

[JoeBronco]

Looks like you're aiming for strongest stuff on the menu at these places.

Im not looking for the strongest beer but i am indeed a hop head. IIPA's are my thing. Lagunitas beer is good im my opinion but most of there beers i just dont care for. To sweet. Going there is more for the Swmbo's brother. Bear Republic is also one of my favorite breweries. Bring on the Racer X!

From the looks of things, you're inclined towards hops. If they still have it, I strongly recommend you try Lagunitas' Maximus that was released within the past few months. It's delicious.

If you manage to make it into SF, you should definitely check out Rogue, but it's in the middle of downtown, so I imagine you won't want to swing quite that far in .

I didnt really care for the Maximus last time i had it. I thought that there standard IPA was better. Rogue is at the base of Russian hill. There Smoked Chipotle Ale is one of the beers that got me to start brewing out of the box. My "Screaming Creaming Ale" is my interpretation of the chipotle ale. I also LOVE there I2PA. The swmbo likes the Hazelnut. I will be going to the brewery next time im in Oregon.

hop head much? its blasphemy but if you're a hop head, skip RRB (my favorite brewer bar none and my local, 1 block away) - the PtE is the best imperial IPA known to mankind imo, but you'll quickly find that on tap list of sour/belgians is double the typical brewpub offering.

if'n you're a hop head, head over to third street aleworks.. i would rarely recommend them (for personal reasons) but i do pop in on occasion (one block from RRB) - bear republic is the home of local hopheads (as is lagunitas for obvious reasons) - and hit lagunitas before they expand from 160k bbl to 660k bbls...

if'n it were me, i'd skip moylans entirely (just me) and spend more time at RRB. get the sampler there for sure, eat a ton of food (pizza is excellent) - you don't want to leave that place not having tried something. trust me.

The Swmbo and I had PtE when it came out this year. (thats me drinking it in my avatar) Russian River will be a staple in all my northern brewing trips as there pizza is delicious and beer is top notch! I wont be skipping them. I am also taking someone who has never been to RRB and enjoys sours. I will be sporting my RR Pliny the Elder long sleeve when im on the trip. I have herd good things about 3rd street aleworks, in fact one of the servers suggested it to me last time i was at the RRbrewery.

Why Skip Moylans? I hear great things about there beer. Kilt lifter is supposed to be great. I have never had it before. There food seems to be good to. Mostly looking at finger foods since we will be eating at RRB. They are one of the only breweries that i have not been to in Northern CA.

 

[smagee]

Why Skip Moylans? I hear great things about there beer. Kilt lifter is supposed to be great. I have never had it before. There food seems to be good to. Mostly looking at finger foods since we will be eating at RRB. They are one of the only breweries that i have not been to in Northern CA.

I wouldn't recommend skipping Moylans, particularly if you've never been before. The Kilt Lifter and Barleywines are excellent. The Hopsickle... I love IIPAs, but it's too much. You should definitely try it, but it's so far out of balance that I just don't feel like it works. Plus, the food is pretty good.

Have you considered hitting Lucky Hand? I've had good experiences with them, but relatively limited, so I can't recommend anything offhand.

 

[JoeBronco]

I wouldn't recommend skipping Moylans, particularly if you've never been before. The Kilt Lifter and Barleywines are excellent. The Hopsickle... I love IIPAs, but it's too much. You should definitely try it, but it's so far out of balance that I just don't feel like it works. Plus, the food is pretty good.

Have you considered hitting Lucky Hand? I've had good experiences with them, but relatively limited, so I can't recommend anything offhand.

Lucky hand huh... Where are they at?

 

[smagee]

Novato, a few miles south of Moylan's: http://www.luckyhandbeer.com

EDIT: Might want to call and see about their hours though; they were somewhat limited when I last made the trip out there.