American Craft Beer The Best Craft Beer, Breweries, Bars, Brewpubs, Beer Stores, And Restaurants Serving Serious Beer.
It’s official. Your American Craft Beer San Francisco correspondent will be packing up his pint glasses, traveling across the country, and relocating to Chicago in January. After spending two and a half years in the Bay Area, I’ve realized that this place is an oasis for craft beer lovers. Heck, the breweries on the West Coast rival the best beers in the rest of the world combined. From traveling up North to visit Elysian and Deschutes to heading the opposite direction to meet the guys at Stone and Green Flash, I’ve never lacked a delicious barely pop to quench my thirst out here.
Since my days in the Bay are numbered, I’ve put together a short bucket list of beer-related places I must visit before I pioneer across the country. Some of these I’ve done before while others are suggestions from the beer community in San Francisco.
1) Anchor Brewing Tour
There’s not much to be said about Anchor Brewing that hasn’t already been said. It seems like the founder of any brewery that’s been around over a decade (including the founders of Stone) will tell you that Anchor Steam introduced them to the brilliant flavors that beer could offer and profoundly inspired them to brew their own liquid.
“Currently we offer two public tours each weekday, free of charge, by reservation only. The walking tour of the brewery lasts about 40-45 minutes. The tour guide will give you a brief history of the brewery and walk you through three floors of our building. Children are welcome to come on the tour, but of course may not taste the beer during our tasting session, which follows the walking tour. You may have up to ten in your party, depending on the availability of space. Altogether, the tour and the tasting last for about 1.5 hours, and tastings are only available to those who take the tour.”
2) Russian River Brewing Company
The Russian River Brew Pub is located in Santa Rosa, California, just two hours north of San Francisco. With several sours on tap including Consecration, Supplication, and Temptation, a craft beer lover could spend days here. It’s also quite the experience to sip on a pint of the famous IPA, Pliny the Elder, straight from the source.
725 4th Street, Santa Rosa, CA 95404
Hours: Sun-Thurs 11AM-12AM Fri-Sat 11AM-1AM
Happy Hour: Mon-Fri 4-6:30 and All Day Sunday!
3)The Toronado Pub
Toronado Pub is the place to drink beer in San Francisco. It has all of the options you want in a good craft beer without any of the pretentiousness. Prices here are unbeatable — around $5 or $6 for a non-specialty pint — and they often have tap takeovers where one brewery will showcase 10 or so beers. Check out the events calendar to see what’s coming up next.
547 Haight, San Francisco, CA 94117
Hours: 11:30AM – 2AM daily
4.) San Francisco Beer Week
The opening celebration for San Francisco Beer Week is February 8, 2013 so I won’t be around to participate, though it brings back fond memories from 2012’s events. Beer Weeks brings beer-related events to the entire bay area, including beer dinners, homebrewing classes, and bar nights where you get to meet the brewers. Think of it as an extended (9 day) happy hour with some of the best beers in the country on tap.
