29687 Sun Jun 06 12:18:38 -0700 2004 15 1 San Francisco Bay Area 0 126194 My out-laws from Illinois are coming and specifically requested sampling our microbrews. We are not big on this topic, so I thought I would ask for some help. We are planning a lunch at Beach Chalet (for building, view, acceptable food and brews) but I suspect there are better examples of beer around. The tip sheet lists Eldos (which I think is gone?), 21st Amendment, Magnolias (which has been panned here) and Toronado. What do you think of these offerings? Are there others? Is a tour of the Anchor Steam facility a fun filled trip? Thanks for your help in keeping them drinking and happy. Sun Jun 06 12:18:38 -0700 2004 0 deelish 1 126198 go to www.beeradvocate.com and poke around, you will be able to find reviews, beer forums for san francisco bay area, ect. Sun Jun 06 13:04:34 -0700 2004 126194 0 ba 1 126201 For still good views but somewhat better quality food and beer (if still not top of the world) consider Half Moon Bay Brewing Company. Coming from the flatland state myself (Illinois) they can enjoy the drive down Highway One along Devils Slide as well. Sun Jun 06 13:37:05 -0700 2004 126194 0 tomritza 2 126229 Second that notion. Half Moon has far superior beers to any found in SF IMO> the Pacific coast at Sunset! The drive is magnificent. Otherwise, I think Magnolia has the best beers. the nut brown is splendid. I still miss twenty tank. Let's not forget Gordon Biersch. Not exactly microbrews but the view and food is great. Sun Jun 06 21:31:36 -0700 2004 126201 0 bennyboy 3 126294 "Magnolia has the best beers"-compared to what? The corner liquor store at Eddy and Jones that features wine coolers. NinjaNick had it first and he had it right a while back.Great Beer at Magnolia? in 2001 maybe.In 2004, it is mundane and boring-the new brewer is a boyscout working on his merit badge. Toronado on Haight- previously known just for its huge selection and nasty long haired bartender. Now you can get homicide w/ your stout. 3 murders down the block in the last month. Mon Jun 07 20:48:30 -0700 2004 126229 0 dukedee 4 126303 "Now you can get homicide w/ your stout. 3 murders down the block in the last month." That's interesting. The SF Police Crime map only indicates only 1 homicide within the last 60 days. Link: http://gispubweb.sfgov.org/website/san_francisco_community/wizard.asp Mon Jun 07 21:39:58 -0700 2004 126294 0 Pssst 1 126202 The Anchor tour is great. Lanesplitter at 2033 San Pablo Ave. in Berkeley probably has the microbrew-geekiest selection of beer in the area. Sun Jun 06 13:41:24 -0700 2004 126194 0 Robert Lauriston 1 126208 I'll second the Half Moon Bay nomination, particularly for the chance to take visitors to the coast. I'd also recommend Barclay's Pub in Oakland...two locations--one on College Avenue in the Rockridge, one in Jack London Square at the corner of Broadway and the Embarcadero...good pub grub in addition to the beer selection. Sun Jun 06 16:34:21 -0700 2004 126194 0 Paulie 1 126213 I think 21st Amendment on 2nd is the best brewpub in the city, and the food is quite good -- more than just pub food. However, if you don't mind a bit of a drive, Moylan's in Novato has some great microbrew, possibly the best in the Bay Area on average. Good luck, and thanks for thinking craft beer! Sun Jun 06 18:49:47 -0700 2004 126194 0 Bryan Harrell 1 126215 Quality control and consistency is often a problem at many of the local nanobreweries (if relative behemoths such as Anchor and Pyramid can be considered microbrews, then a brewpub has to be an order of magnitude smaller). Places where the beer is made on premises: 21st Amendment has a wide selection and is often experimental but sometimes the brews have no body or little taste. But it works when your taste buds have been desensitized after many overpriced beers at a Giants game. I like Magnolia and the location is good to take vistors to. The place on Columbus (SF Brewing Co?) is average at best, but is convenient to Chinatown and North Beach. Triple Rock in Berkeley is acceptable. Bug Juice ale and Titanium lager are good. Plus the burgers are surprisingly good. If you show up on a weekday, you may get to see the brewer in action. Related to Triple Rock (same owners) is Jupiter down the street. The house beers are brewed in Walnut Creek and there are lots of other outside beers on tap. (The Big Time Brewery in Seattle is also owned by these guys and the beer is better than what Triple Rock or Jupiter offer) Pacific Coast Brewing Company in Old Oakland. The beers are brewed downstairs but they use malt extract! But it's a short walk to BART and a good meeting place before an A's game. Drake's Brewing in San Leandro. No attached pub but tours are available on Fridays (call 510-562-0866) and usually don't require the several week in advance reservation that Anchor demands. Sun Jun 06 19:59:55 -0700 2004 126194 0 hoppy 1 126238 If the goal is to sample as many local beers as possible, go for the bars with the multiple taps--Toronado in the City and Barclay's or Cato's or Pacific Coast in Oakland. Toronado is also known for their selection of Belgian beers. If they want to visit brewpubs, then the best are (in my opinion) 21st Amendment and Magnolia in SF. Berkeley is an easy BART pub crawl with Triple Rock and Jupiter at Downtown and Barclay's at Rockridge. A more involved pub crawl could take you north to Marin Brewing in Larkspur, Moylans in Novato, one in Petaluma on the river (forgot the name), Russian River in Santa Rosa, Bear Republic in Healsdburg and then over the hills to Calistoga. All quite good really. Mon Jun 07 11:31:20 -0700 2004 126194 0 Bryan Gros 2 126301 Dempsey's is the name of the brewpub in Petaluma. The food is really good, much better than the usual pub grub. Another brewpub with good food as well as beer is Ross Valley Brewing in Fairfax (Marin). 21st Amendment's food is pretty good too. If you are looking just for beer, Toronado is a fantastic alehouse. The Marin Brewing (Larkspur), Seabright (Santa Cruz), and Bear Republic (Healdsburg), are my favorite brewpubs for beer. Mon Jun 07 21:29:17 -0700 2004 126238 0 KZ 1 126239 A recent thread here suggests Magnolia's gone way downhill. Link: http://www.chowhound.com/topics/show/29292#123881 Mon Jun 07 11:55:46 -0700 2004 126194 0 Robert Lauriston 1 126241 Many good recommendations so far. I'll repeat what I said in the post that Robert linked. Do not go to Magnolia. Thirsty Bear makes their own beer. A couple are pretty decent, I think the ESB is my favorite. The main problem there is that they serve the beers teeth-shatteringly cold. Toronado is definitely a world class beer bar. While they do have a good selection of West Coast microbrews, their focus is really international. Great thing about Toronado is, they very selective on what they pour so you'll never get served a bad beer there. You will however receive bad service from the grumpy curmudgeons behind the bar (try not to take it personally), and you'll probably be asked for money or sold drugs on the street outside. Baclays in Oakland and 99 Bottles in Santa Cruz I would say have larger West Coast selections. 21st Amendment is my favorite brewpub in the city. There's now a Rogue brewpub in North Beach, though they do not actually brew there (it all comes down from the brewery in Oregon). I posted a few weeks ago about it. If you end up in the wine country at all, I highly recommend Bear Republic in Healdsburg, but only if your guests like heavily hopped beers (even by West Coast standards). Here's an interesting website I found that lists the bay area brewpubs: Link: http://www.jetmoon.com/brewpubs/ca/sfbay.html Mon Jun 07 12:26:43 -0700 2004 126194 0 nja 1 126242 The Anchor Steam brewery tour is exceptionally informative and a lot of fun. It's offered every weekday afternoon by reservation only. The number is 415-863-8350. Mon Jun 07 12:33:16 -0700 2004 126194 0 Tetnanger 1 126268 In SF, I agree that 21st Amendment is the brewpub of choice. I also like Half Moon Bay Brewing in Princeton. Nice drive, very good beer and food. Stick to the pub food -- make sure you get the batter fried artichoke appetizer and the calamari, also good fish and chips. Link: http://www.hmbbrewingco.com/ Mon Jun 07 15:10:22 -0700 2004 126194 0 Nancy Berry