What to drink in SEA and SFO

[NHatcbrewer]

I'm headed to Seattle and San Francisco in a couple weeks and looking for recommendations on what and where to drink. Hoping to try some great beers not available on the east coast. IPA being my favorite style but there is nothing I don't enjoy. Thanks in advance!

 

[kalinhennings]

If you are into IPA's CellarMaker in SF is Great, highly recommended!

 

[jeff62217]

See if you can do a drop in tour of Anchor brewing in SF. They told my wife and I we needed to make an appt, so we did but several that were on our tour were drop ins.

They have a good amount of beers they let you taste, if your guide is cool you'll get a few more than the standard 1-2 four oz pours of each.

 

[lupulinaddict]

I agree cellermaker has some good stuff. Sf has a bunch of good spots depending what you have time for. I'd throw in toronado, monks kettle, or mikkeller. You could also do city beer store or ales unlimited for bottles to go. Have fun.

 

[BentBrewer]

I have yet to make it out there, but Magnolia Brewing is getting some interest. And according to the BARF crew, other choices are:
The Rare Barrel
Drake's Brewing
Sante Adairius
Heretic

Have fun!

 

[NHatcbrewer]

Thanks for the recommendations! Looking forward to getting out there and trying some of the local offerings.

 

[SEABrewer]

A couple of good comprehensive lists of WA state breweries are available here:
http://www.washingtonbeerblog.com/washington-breweries/

http://washingtonbeer.com/breweries/

You might also be interested in this fairly recent list from Eater Seattle:
http://seattle.eater.com/maps/best-seattle-breweries

There are a few areas in Seattle with a fairly dense collection of breweries where you can spend an afternoon just walking from place to place. The Ballard neighborhood northwest of downtown is probably the best example of this. Take a bus or Uber up and spend the day sampling some great beers.

Some of my favorites in the city are Georgetown Brewing, Fremont Brewing, Populuxe, Seapine, Standard, Naked City, Reubens, Outlander and Schooner Exact. I've heard great things about Cloudburst and Holy Mountain and while I've had them on tap elsewhere I've yet to make it to their tasting rooms. We're also home to one of the early cooperative breweries in the country - Flying Bike, which is just next door to Naked City.

If you're willing to go out of the city a bit, I really like Triplehorn in Woodinville. There are a few other breweries up that way and tons of wineries too, if you're so inclined.

Bale Breaker and Pfriem make some nice regional beers too, but they don't have local tasting rooms. Still, you can probably fine them at one of our many beer bars. My favorite beer bars include Beveridge Place, Collective on Tap, Chuck's Hop Shop, Toronado, Brouwer's, and the Pine Box.

Feel free to reply or PM me if you have additional questions.

 

[rnm410]

Freemont in Seattle.
Almanac in SF.

 

[MrNatural]

I have yet to make it out there, but Magnolia Brewing is getting some interest.

^^^this^^^
Or more specifically, this: http://www.magnoliasmokestack.com/

Admittedly, I haven't checked out the Haight Ashbury location yet, but gotta think the Hippies are long gone. And after visiting Smokestack (attached to the brewery), I feel no need to try it. Great place with unique grub, spirits for miles and I encountered zero beers I didn't care for, and more than one I found awesome. It features much "local flavor", a friendly staff and Grateful Dead themed brews.

In the interest of full disclosure, my experience would be nearly impossible to duplicate. It was an AHA rally a year ago during SF Beer Week. Is there anything better than free beer/appetizers and Grateful Dead (live) background music?

Well, if you want to count a couple of one-on-ones with Chris White over the course of the afternoon

And if that wasn't enough, as the event was winding down, I found myself talking Grateful Dead with a guy standing by himself next to the primary serving station. Turns out he was the Head Brewer unwinding after the last tour of the brewery. I asked him what was currently getting his love. When I told him the experimental spiced (dang, I forget) he described sounded interesting, he asked one of the crew which station was pouring it and was told they didn't put any out. He asked if there was any "out back", found out there was, and asked him to fetch a keg. He joined me in a pint of the first pour, describing his intent, processes and results.

Great experience I digested on the drive home while periodically ogling the ice chest containing my jar of free yeast:rockin:

**WARNING** If you're into March Madness - the place has no TVs.

 

[deere322]

Magnolia has great English Session ales and a stellar Kolsch.
A few of their bigger brews I've tried were buttery and can be hit or miss.

Within walking distance is Toronado where I had my first Pliny the Elder and Blind Pig on tap. Great place to hang and drink. Bopped over next door to Rosemunde and had some great german sausage and kraut.

SF is a great city.

 

[NHatcbrewer]

Thank you for all the great input. Any tips on breaking the news to the wife that I'm turning this vacation into a beer trip?!

 

[NorthwestBrewman2013]

I'm headed to Seattle and San Francisco in a couple weeks and looking for recommendations on what and where to drink. Hoping to try some great beers not available on the east coast. IPA being my favorite style but there is nothing I don't enjoy. Thanks in advance!

SFO - Anything that's on tap from Russian River Brewing (Santa Rosa) or Lagunitas (Petaluma). Also, Bear Republic (Healdsburg) is awesome. Third Street Aleworks (Santa Rosa) is another. Most of these are on tap at most restaurants that serve suds.

Russian River - Pliny the Elder and Row 2 Hill 56 Simcoe Pale is great.

Lagunitas - Hop Stoopid, Lagunitas IPA (flagship IPA that's fantastic).

Bear Republic - Racer 5 IPA, Racer X (if on tap due to being seasonal)

Third Street - Bodega Head IPA and Stepchild Red Ale are awesome.

Seattle - Georgetown Brewery is fantastic. Also, Pike Brewing is a good one down on the wharf.

 

[Bryan83taco]

Another vote for Magnolia Brewing. I enjoyed the weather report wheat. Another great SF brewery is 21st Amendment. They have a brewpub near At&t park (soma). Their session IPA is one of my favorites. Enjoy SF!