MUST stops for beer near Sacramento?

[BmillaTheBrewzilla]

There's a new brewery at Feather Falls Casino in Oroville thats about 20 mins away from Sierra Nevada. I can't vouch for it yet but planning to go in a couple of weeks.

Checked out the website. It would be hard to imagine a better combination than craft beer and gambling. So now to go off topic from my own thread... are craps not allowed at casinos in California?? I checked out several website of casinos near Chico and Sacramento and noticed there was a lot about blackjack and other card games, but no mentions or pictures of craps??? If I'm going to stop in a casino, I wanna roll some dice!

 

[RenoDean]

The Auburn Ale House is a good brewpub. It's right off of 80 in Auburn, you could take the scenic route back to Sac from Chico.

 

[MrSnowman]

No craps in Cali. Just slots, and card games.

 

[BmillaTheBrewzilla]

Just got back to Chicago earlier today and wanted to extend a huge thank you to everyone who helped me with some nice beer tips for my trip to Sacramento and Chico. My fiancee and I had a great time, met some great people, and drank some great beer!

We started off with lunch at Pangaea. It was a beautiful day out, and this place was amazing. The windows were wide open, people were sitting outside, the owner / bartender was very friendly and helpful, and the other customers here were 100% quality people. We had a gueuze and a hefeweizen. And I had a wonderful turkey with cranberry sandwich. If you are living near Sac and haven't visited this place, I cannot recommend it enough. Great beer selection, great people.

 

[BmillaTheBrewzilla]

Later that day we went to Rubicon. Again, very friendly people and an all around enjoyable experience. We actually ran into a dude we had met earlier at Pangaea. Great man. I had a couple Monkey Knife Fight pale ales and thoroughly enjoyed them. Really well balanced.

We then made a drive out to Folsom. I should mention my fiancee did most of the driving on the trip, as I maintained a pretty steady buzz for most of the three days we were out there. In Folsom, we went to Samuel Horne's Tavern. We really loved this place. Great variety of beers on tap. I was disappointed not to see Pliny... I said something to the bartender- and she said they had a keg ready to go! So I got to taste my first Pliny and was not disappointed. I kept sticking my nose in the glass and inhaling. The aroma was insane!

The next day we made the drive up to Chico and took the Sierra Nevada tour. It was a great, informative tour... but no beer tastings! I'm used to places like Lakefront in Milwaukee, where they keep you well lubricated throughout the tour. But it was cool to learn about their sustainable brewing practices and to see all the hops! The restaurant was amazing. Delicious food and we drank plenty of SN beer. They had quite a few I had never tried before, including stuff that I'm pretty sure you can't get anywhere other than the restaurant.

 

[BmillaTheBrewzilla]

For our final full day in Cali, we drove back toward Sacramento, making a detour to check out the Auburn Ale House. Like everywhere we went, this place was great. Their beers were all really well made. I can say the IPA, pale ale, and brown ale are all outstanding.

 

[BmillaTheBrewzilla]

When we made it back to Sacramento, we checked into our hotel and then walked over to BonnLair. On a trip full of great places, this was one of my favorites. It had an awesome neighborhood feel to it and a couple ales on cask. The Fullers on cask was awesome.

Our final stop was Streets of London. I had never tried a Deschutes Mirror Pond pale ale, so I got one here. My fiancee got a Sierra Nevada PA. Check out the pic and notice the difference in head and lacing. Any guesses as to which is which??

Anyway- we had a fantastic time. I was really impressed at how friendly and helpful everyone was. And I was not let down by any of the recommendations all you Sacramento area HBTers gave me. So thanks again for that!

 

[gregger]

Glad you had a great time! Come back soon!

 

[Hex]

When we made it back to Sacramento, we checked into our hotel and then walked over to BonnLair. On a trip full of great places, this was one of my favorites. It had an awesome neighborhood feel to it and a couple ales on cask. The Fullers on cask was awesome.