Bay Area Thread

[RyanG1]

Heading your way Friday morning. Staying with some friends in the Mission Fri/Sat, maybe Sonoma or Napa Sunday, and then Oakland or Berkeley Mon/Tues (Radiohead at the Greek).

In SF I'm thinking Cellarmaker (Giants game Sat), Almanac, and maybe Barebottle; and then Fieldworks and Drake's (?) on the east side as 'must' hits, brewery-wise.

Anything I'm missing? Or, am I wrong? Looks like Rare Barrel is closed Mon/Tues and I don't see us going over there over the weekend if we will be staying there Mon/Tues. Also, obviously the focus of going north is wine, and we've been to RR/Bear Republic/Lagunitas, anything newer up there?

Oh, and where should I get a burrito?

If time allows, visit Crafty Fox and/or Toronado. Close enough to one another to hit both. Barebottle is open every day, so if you have time to kill visit there. Do the winery thing on Monday/Tuesday. Sonoma > Napa. Just drive around and check out places, but I like Porter Creek, Iron Horse, VML (for the chill grounds), and Arista.

Burritos are easy go to Cancun, Papalote, or Farolito. Yes, each one is different in some manner, but all worth it.

 

[AndresR]

Heading your way Friday morning. Staying with some friends in the Mission Fri/Sat, maybe Sonoma or Napa Sunday, and then Oakland or Berkeley Mon/Tues (Radiohead at the Greek).

In SF I'm thinking Cellarmaker (Giants game Sat), Almanac, and maybe Barebottle; and then Fieldworks and Drake's (?) on the east side as 'must' hits, brewery-wise.

Anything I'm missing? Or, am I wrong? Looks like Rare Barrel is closed Mon/Tues and I don't see us going over there over the weekend if we will be staying there Mon/Tues. Also, obviously the focus of going north is wine, and we've been to RR/Bear Republic/Lagunitas, anything newer up there?

Oh, and where should I get a burrito?

In Napa, the Oxbow market has C Casa, for some INSANE breakfast tacos. Slight chance I'll be there for breakfast on Sunday. Worth the drive. Oh, and a Fieldwork tasting bar is like 60 feet away. Win Win.

 

[pugsandsuds]

How crowded is Cellarmaker on Friday nights? I'm coming back this weekend for a quick visit and wanted to swing by on my way from SFO. Probably wouldn't get there until 10p, really just looking for a couple pours and a growler fill.

 

[RyanG1]

How crowded is Cellarmaker on Friday nights? I'm coming back this weekend for a quick visit and wanted to swing by on my way from SFO. Probably wouldn't get there until 10p, really just looking for a couple pours and a growler fill.

Good size crowd, especially since there is a baseball game that evening too.

But I have been in there when it is nuts to butts, and I can still get good service. Make your way over to the far right of the bar near the board.

 

[matedog]

Do the winery thing on Monday/Tuesday. Sonoma > Napa.

Totally agreed. Haven't been to Napa in forever, but I just remember it being tacky castle wineries. Those always turn me off.

Just drive around and check out places, but I like Porter Creek, Iron Horse, VML (for the chill grounds), and Arista.

Matey factoid: I got married at Arista.
Matey protip: Arista only does reservations for tastings now. Also, their bottles are expensive AF. $60 chardonnay? No thanks.

 

[pugsandsuds]

Good size crowd, especially since there is a baseball game that evening too.

But I have been in there when it is nuts to butts, and I can still get good service. Make your way over to the far right of the bar near the board.

Didn't realize there was a Giants game, thanks for the heads up. Probably will still brave it, hoping double dobis and mo' nelson are still available for fills.

 

[RyanG1]

Totally agreed. Haven't been to Napa in forever, but I just remember it being tacky castle wineries. Those always turn me off.

Matey factoid: I got married at Arista.
Matey protip: Arista only does reservations for tastings now. Also, their bottles are expensive AF. $60 chardonnay? No thanks.

It has changed a lot. Awesome spot for a wedding, smut have been a great day. We loved the grounds.

 

[CommanderofAwesome]

chardonnay? No thanks.

FIFY

Not sure what is up with me, but I've never had a white wine where I didn't think, "I'd rather not be drinking this and stay sober, than continue to drink this". My GF and her family are big white wine fans (pretty much all they drink) and I think they're all bad. Works out for my GF tho, always has a DD at family events.

 

[coldstorage]

and we've been to RR/Bear Republic/Lagunitas, anything newer up there?

New Santa Rosa spots:
Cooperage (people are a little too pumped on this place, but it is great)
Henhouse (people are a little too harsh on this place, but it is great)
Moonlight (not new, but the taproom is, and its very close to Cooperage)
Beercraft (not new and not in Santa Rosa, but if you are driving up 101 and though Rohnert Park you will be driving right past it. Bottles and taproom. Worth a stop)

a 2nd vote for public house. cant beat hiking back to your seat with two blind pigs for less than a single bud light inside the park.

I think a trip to SF without a stop at Toronado would be a shame.

Have fun pal.

 

[matedog]

It has changed a lot. Awesome spot for a wedding, smut have been a great day. We loved the grounds.

The wife made us minimize the amount of smut at the wedding.

It was cool with the different tiers because we had the ceremony at the lowest area, the cocktail hour at the mid level near the tasting room, and the reception up top. Plus the grounds made for some great photos:

 

[jtmartino1]

The wife made us minimize the amount of smut at the wedding.

It was cool with the different tiers because we had the ceremony at the lowest area, the cocktail hour at the mid level near the tasting room, and the reception up top. Plus the grounds made for some great photos:

Nice shot man! Would look great printed onto a canvas instead of glossy

 

[RyanG1]

The wife made us minimize the amount of smut at the wedding.

It was cool with the different tiers because we had the ceremony at the lowest area, the cocktail hour at the mid level near the tasting room, and the reception up top. Plus the grounds made for some great photos:

I like my typo.

You are a tall drink of water

 

[chemman141]

New Santa Rosa spots:
Cooperage (people are a little too pumped on this place, but it is great)
Henhouse (people are a little too harsh on this place, but it is great)
Moonlight (not new, but the taproom is, and its very close to Cooperage)
Beercraft (not new and not in Santa Rosa, but if you are driving up 101 and though Rohnert Park you will be driving right past it. Bottles and taproom. Worth a stop)

a 2nd vote for public house. cant beat hiking back to your seat with two blind pigs for less than a single bud light inside the park.

I think a trip to SF without a stop at Toronado would be a shame.

Have fun pal.

Public house FTW. It is a bit of a hike though for sure (unless you're in the Club section, then its right there)

 

[matedog]

One winery that I love love love is Porter Bass: http://www.porterbass.com/

The place is rustic AF (overused term in the beer world, but there is no better word to describe it). I don't think there is any signage and you can see from the website, that they are pretty low key. The family runs the tastings (by appointment, unfortunately) and one time we went, the dad had clearly just come from the fields because his hands had lots of dirt and he did our pours. The wine is all great, but my opinion on wine isn't worth as much as my opinion on beer.

 

[pen15clubmember]

I would recommend for wherever you go on Saturday to look into appointments. Sonoma is generally less crazy, but still on a Saturday you can show up at a place and have to wait a while just to get a spot to start tasting. That cuts into your drinking time as all wineries close between 4 and 6pm. Sundays are usually calmer outside of holiday weekends. You can use the maps like this to see which ones require appointments and they'll usually have the info for how to make them on their sites.

There's also Cellarpass, which I've used multiple times. They have some nice options to get better experiences instead of just walking in somewhere and getting a tasting at the bar.

 

[MrDave]

Looks like my wife decided not to go to the saddest show in the world, so hit me up if you wanna fork over $20 to cry in a room with strangers on Friday night in Oakland.

 

[BrandoSF]

I think a trip to SF without a stop at Toronado would be a shame.

Have fun pal.

 

[drgarage1]

Public house FTW. It is a bit of a hike though for sure (unless you're in the Club section, then its right there)

Not a problem if you enter the ballpark through it...

 

[chemman141]

Not a problem if you enter the ballpark through it...

Huh? Its the same distance to your seat if you enter the ballpark through Public House or if you go through the gate adjacent. You still have to hike up that cattle ramp and then make your way to your seat once youre in the park. Depending on where your seat is that walk could be up to 10 minutes.

 

[rrryanc]

Huh? Its the same distance to your seat if you enter the ballpark through Public House or if you go through the gate adjacent. You still have to hike up that cattle ramp and then make your way to your seat once youre in the park. Depending on where your seat is that walk could be up to 10 minutes.

I think his point is that you have to enter the stadium one way or another - might as well be through Public House with a couple of fresh pours.

You're right that if you're headed back down for refills it can be a trek. Still worth it imo.

 

[mikehblack]

Public House had 2010 Older Viscosity on tap last night for Opening Night. Wasn't that great but I still thought it was pretty awesome drinking that at a game. Overheard some guy saying Public House sells the most Blind Pig outside of the RRBC taproom. Nearly everyone at the mobbed bar before the game was getting 2 Pigs each.

 

[theLostWizard]

Still worth it imo.

Can easily confirm.

 

[chemman141]

I think his point is that you have to enter the stadium one way or another - might as well be through Public House with a couple of fresh pours.

You're right that if you're headed back down for refills it can be a trek. Still worth it imo.

Oh yeah for sure, I was talking about the return trip for refills. Definitely enter through public house the first time!

Public House had 2010 Older Viscosity on tap last night for Opening Night. Wasn't that great but I still thought it was pretty awesome drinking that at a game. Overheard some guy saying Public House sells the most Blind Pig outside of the RRBC taproom. Nearly everyone at the mobbed bar before the game was getting 2 Pigs each.

Blind pig and a Giants win is PURE WIN.

 

[tosh1]

I don't know if this is relevant, but did I hear that they were stopping in and out privileges at ATT Park this year? Does that affect the Public House thing of going in and out for beer?

 

[coldstorage]

Overheard some guy saying Public House sells the most Blind Pig outside of the RRBC taproom.

 

[MrDave]

I don't know if this is relevant, but did I hear that they were stopping in and out privileges at ATT Park this year? Does that affect the Public House thing of going in and out for beer?

Good question. I'm curious as well.

Meanwhile in Oakland, the tarps are off and beer prices dropped to $10 each. They finally got some decent beer too. What used to be Budweiser counters are now Firestone, New Belgium, Founder's, St. Archer, Ballast Point, Drake's... I mean, it's no Public House, but it's a start. Good to see them making an effort to work with what they have now instead of waiting for that eventual new stadium.

 

[chemman141]

I don't know if this is relevant, but did I hear that they were stopping in and out privileges at ATT Park this year? Does that affect the Public House thing of going in and out for beer?

Well that's really effing lame if that's the case!

 

[pen15clubmember]

Good question. I'm curious as well.

Meanwhile in Oakland, the tarps are off and beer prices dropped to $10 each. They finally got some decent beer too. What used to be Budweiser counters are now Firestone, New Belgium, Founder's, St. Archer, Ballast Point, Drake's... I mean, it's no Public House, but it's a start. Good to see them making an effort to work with what they have now instead of waiting for that eventual new stadium.

Yeah, I went to an A's game when I first moved here in '13 and we walked around the entire lower concourse looking for a craft beer booth and couldn't find nary a tap. Think I ended up paying $14 for a 24oz Bud. Went back in August of last year and they had a some options and we had a few Pale 31s during the game. It was a nice upgrade. I like that there's a place to tailgate there as well.

 

[pen15clubmember]

Well that's really effing lame if that's the case!

To be fair, I've never heard of a park letting people do this before...at least not since like 9/11. That's anecdotal, but I'm confident it's rare. Still, I'm sure if they're changing that policy, it's another one of those find-a-way-to-milk-more-money-out-of-people-in-the-guise-of-security things.

 

[chemman141]

To be fair, I've never heard of a park letting people do this before...at least not since like 9/11. That's anecdotal, but I'm confident it's rare. Still, I'm sure if they're changing that policy, it's another one of those find-a-way-to-milk-more-money-out-of-people-in-the-guise-of-security things.

This is going to make the lower count giveaways a chore. Before we would just go in early, get the giveaway, then head back out to a local bar and then head back at game time.