SF Beer Tour

[hooky]

We were in the Bay Area visiting my wife's family last week and since my birthday was the 10th, my wife and I went into the city for a day of beers.

Stop 0: Peets at the Embarcadero stop. New store and this was friends and family day as they got everyone up to speed. Everything was on the house, so we started with a good coffee and a cookie. I like cookies.

Stop 1: San Francisco Brewing Company at around 1 PM. After the walk from BART, I was ready for a beer. Ande had the winter warmer and I had the ShanghaiPA. The IPA was OK, not very hoppy. I liked the Pale Ale better. Ande's winter warmer had a strong alcohol smell and stronger taste. It could have used some more time in the barrel. Like a trooper, she finished it, but we then split a Pale Ale and both agreed it was the best of the bunch.

Stop 2: Magnolia in the Haight around 4. I loved this place. Had a Blue Bell Bitter on cask with calamari and hand cut fries. It was fantastic. After that I went with the Spud Boy IPA on cask and it was even better. Ande got a flight to try to figure out what was going to do it for her and I had a dab of everything. Everything was good. She decided on their Tripel, which I thought was very good, even with the IPA on my tongue. This was a great place and I wish we would have have just stayed finished off the night there.

Stop 3: 21st Amendment around 7:30. This place wasn't what we thought it would be. The beers were OK, but it was definitely not the type of place where we like to hang out. It was very bright and open, lacking that hole in the wall or neighborhood pub feel that we like. We asked the bartender for a recommendation and without hesitating, he replied "Watermelon Wheat." Tried to explain what we'd been drinking at the prior two places and still he said we needed to try it. Ugh! I had a 21A-IPA and it was good. Ande had a 563 Stout that she said wasn't as good as a Guinness. We'd come here based on the recco of the bartender at Stop 1 and he said the stout was to die for. I tried it before I had any of my IPA and it was pretty thin, without much mouthfeel.

The best story of the night came from 21st Amendment. This clean cut, well dressed guy complimented Ande's glasses. She'd just gotten them so she was all happy and started to tell him about the fact they were new. The guy then got up and went back to a table said something to the couple seated there. After a few minutes, he told Ande she had pretty hair. At this point the hair on the back of my neck is standing up and I've decided I don't really like the guy. I bite my tongue though and let it slide. He then gets up and goes back to the other couple. After standing at their table for a while, the bartender comes around the bar and tells him he has to leave.

I'm sitting next to a regular and he's telling me the guy will be back in about an hour dressed and drag so he can then hit on me and the other guy at the table behind us. The bartender came back behind the bar and proceeds to tell me the same thing, so I don't think it was a setup.

We had another beer each, but loverboy was a no show before we cashed out and left.

Sorry I don't have any grand tasting notes, but I can say for atmosphere and good beer it was Magnolia all the way. I probably wouldn't go back to either SF Brewing or 21st again.

[dparsons]

Sounds like a nice birthday. San Francisco has so many great eating establishments that you certainly don't have to put up with average. Even their airport has good food and good beer.

[Jinja]

I know I'm late seeing this, but next time you are in SF you must include a stop at the Toronado (down Haight from Magnolia). There's no food, but you can get takeout from any number of fun places nearby and enjoy it with some really excellent beers.

http://www.toronado.com/

It looks and smells a little like a biker bar, but the drinkers there have the most sophisticated palates in town!

I LOVE LOVE LOVE Magnolia. I just wish it were larger.

21st A is okay for a quick drink and some calamari. It can get really really crowded in the summer which adds some atmosphere.

There's also a Rogue Alehouse just up the street from the SF Brewing Co. that always has a huge variety on tap.

And then of course the Steelhead Brewpub in Burlingame is about 30 minutes south on Caltrain, and the Firehouse Brewpub in Sunnyvale is just about an hour.

Jinja Out

[hooky]

Thanks Jinja. We'll put Toronado and the Rogue Ale House on the list for next year.

Magnolia <sigh>...that's all I've got to say about that.

[L.H.H.H.Brown]

and Thirsty Bear near the Convention Center, and Gordon Biersch at the base of the Bay bridge, and Tied House on the Alameda side ( that one must be driven to ), then take the BART to Berzerkly for Triple Rock, Jupiter, etc....... too much to do in that area.

[hooky]

We passed up Thirsty Bear to go to 21st A. We regretted it.

Jupiter and and the rest of the Berkely stuff is a totally seperate trip, cuase it requires a visit to Rasputin and Blondies before indulging in the various offerings.

[Stodbrew]

Tied House in Alameda is no longer there. But Triple Rock and Jupiter are great places.

[L.H.H.H.Brown]

That's too bad. I always enjoyed that place, with the pool tables, dart boards, etc.. had good times there. I should know better. After Twenty Tank closed I knew anything was possible. I haven't been up north for a while and I miss going there. Maybe sometime soon I can check out all the new places you guys have mentioned..... hopefully. Would love to hit the Rogue spot.

[ScottKingofBeer]

Nobody has mentioned Bison, is it worth my time?

I pass through SF quite a bit and I like 21st amendment. I like the modern and open pub and I think the beer, while not outstanding, is pretty good. I usually hate American style hefeweizens, and I am not a huge fan of fruit beers, but I really liked the Watermelon Wheat. I Found the Watermelon to be a perfect contrast to the tart wheat taste. Watermelon is mostly water and has a thin not overpowering taste. This basic attribute makes it a good flavor for beer in my view. It doesn't overpower the beer at 21A, just gives it a slight sweetness and a nice aroma. The beer finishes dry and crisp like a wheat beer should but the watermelon flavor that goes along with it makes it even more thrist quenching. This was not the best beer, I have ever had, not by a long shot. But it was definately the most refreshing. It also looks beautiful in the traditional hefeweizen glass they serve it in, with the little square of watermelon haning on the side of the glass. The watermelon taste does stick with you after a pint or so though. It killed my palate a bit and I found other beer flavorless as a result. Next time I will have the Watermelon last.

[L.H.H.H.Brown]

Forgot about Bison. They were closed for a while then reopened. The times I was there they had an interesting line up. Herbs and spices in their beers. It has been a while but I remember liking their stout. The place is the antithesis of East India Trading Co. ( are they still open?? ) and the street it's on is pretty neat also.

[Jinja]

Bison does not have a brewpub, but you can arrange a brewery tour by appointment.

But Berkeley requires a day of its own anyway.

I'm not a big fan of the Thirsty Bear in SF. It always seems a little too trendy. And that Vanilla beer is effin scarey :eek:

There is a Tied House about an hour south on Caltrain in Mountain View.

I only went to Twenty Tank twice (ooh nice alliteration). It was before I was really into craft brews. Dammit.

L.H.H.H.Brown, did you mean E&O Trading Company?

http://www.eotrading.com/

I've eaten there a few times, but I don't remember an extensive beer list.


Jinja Out

[L.H.H.H.Brown]

Thank you Jinja, that's what I meant. It was not my style of place but I thought I would mention it. I seem to remember it was close to the entrance to Chinatown. I also remember that Bison changed. I have not been there for a while. :(
As for Thirsty Bear, a couple of the guys here have stated that they did not care for it much either. I was with a very good friend, we played dominoes, they had a very good IPA and barleywine ( at the time ), the bartender was a very pretty woman, and I was only there once so I really must say I have a somewhat biased opinion. As I recall the food menu was a little too froo froo for my tastes. We just drank ( I KNOW a vanilla beer would irk me ). Oh yeah, there's another Tied House ( I've been to 3 ) but it escapes me now. Oh well.

[Jinja]

A pretty bartender (male or female!) always adds to atmosphere, doesn't it? :D I don't mind TB, but if given a choice it would not be my first. I think I have had their barleywine and enjoyed it. They don't make bad beer, but it's never as wonderful as I want it to be (given their ultra-convenient proximity to the Caltrain line, which is my primary mode of transport when drinking in SF!).

There is one Tied House in Mountain View and one in San Jose.

How often do you find yourself up North? My husband (StarOnStage is his username here on Realbeer) and I have started a new website:

http://wetyourwhistles.com/

It's an online guide to bars and brewpubs along the Caltrain line on the SF Bay Area Peninsula.

Jinja Out

[L.H.H.H.Brown]

I used to go 3 or 4 times a year. Then I broke up with the woman who's grandma lived right next to the south S.F. BART station. Ever since then I've been up there once, to Oakland. I now have 2 youngsters and it's hard going on a road trip with them and a wife that makes fun of my affection for beer. I WILL make it up sometime this year ( famous last words ).

[tarelki]

Could somebody recommend a great beer store that carries microbrews from Russian River and other interesting west coast breweries?
we're in SF right now - so far went to City Beer - a little quirky beer bar/store and enjoyed it very much but coudn't find any beers that are not available on east coast (got a bottle of Russian River Damnation)

thank you.

[Jinja]

I found this list on RealBeer:

http://www.realbeer.com/destinations/sanfrancisco/stores.php/

Beverages, & more
201 Bayshore Blvd., San Francisco, (415) 648-1233

Cannery Wine Cellars
2801 Leavenworth, San Francisco, (800) 756-9463

Caruso
4011 24th St., San Francisco, (415) 282-3841

Jug Shop
1567 Pacific, San Francisco, (415) 885-2922

Mr. Liquor
250 Taraval St., San Francisco, (415) 731-6222

Urban Cellars
3821 24th St., San Francisco (415) 824-2300

Wine Cellar
4190 24th St., San Francisco (415) 647-0293


I don't know when it was last updated - maybe our moderators know?

Jinja Out

[brewhauler]

For an SF trip you barely need to leave the Haight (upper and lower.) Toronado is really the only place that one needs to visit, but Magnolia brews their own and dos a fine job. Bison and thirsty are mediocre at best and 21A is on and off and only enjoyable if you enjoy/ don't mind THAT crowd... get's really busy during baseball season (Giant's stadium is 2.5 blocks away) and oddly seems to brew their best then.

For a rowdy hole in the wall, look no further than the Zeitgeist and down the street is the new Gestalt with tasty taps and decent sausage. Though Ancor is not my favorite, Anchor Brewery puts on the best tour ever... If you happen to be in town during a Friday Giant's home game, Speakeasy puts on a pre-game BBQ and has their beer on tap. Tip the pourers well because the beer is FREE!!! the brew a damn fine IPA.

If ya head to the east Bay, It's o.k. to skip Triple Rock as their beer consistantly sucks. definately hit Jupiter's, the Albatross for a good tap selection and Lanesplitter's Pizza for more fine taps, weekly cask and some good za.