California Beer help

Anything they sell at the Toranado in SF should be new/rare/can't get in LA.

DEAN should chime in here shortly and should be able to tell you plenty of stuff.

Okay, before getting specifically into beer, here is a guide I put together for Saints fans a year or so ago.
DEANintheYAY's San Francisco Guide

Now for beer.

In SF Proper

Non-brewery places:

Toronado on Haight St.--Great beer selection with lots of good stuff on draft and tons of bottles. Be prepared for bartenders that are less than friendly. Kind of dive bar ish, but it has a killer beer selection.

La Trappe--Not sure how I almost forgot this place, but the list here is EPIC and the food is great!! Belgians galore including tons of sours. Place gets packed, but is crazy fun.

City Beer Store--opened by a husband and wife as a beer tasting room type place, this is where you can go and buy beer to go or buy beer to drink there. They pour 10 or 12 oz pours on draft and have a great selection of beers if you are looking to mule some back for the FBD crew. They also have a selection of bottled beers that you can only drink in the store. This is like their reserve selection. Really epic beers there including some that have been aged. It has turned into a bit of a hipster hangout, but the beer is worth it.

Ales Unlimited--This is a beer store only and they have quite the selectin, which can be seen HERE. The owner is very helpful if he is there and this has quickly become a favorite spot of mine.

Murio's Trophy Room on Haight near GG Park--The only reason this place makes the list is because you can get Pliney and Blind Pig on draft and if you are there for happy hour it is cheap, like $3 or $4. Place used to be a cool dive bar...now its kind of like a loungy place.

Breweries:

Magnolia Brewery and Gastropub--Local brewery that doesn't bottle or can their beer, but it could be the best beer in San Francisco. They always have 3-5 beers on cask and often will have the same beer on draft and cask, which allows for a taste comparison (which I think is cool, but likely hella nerdy).

21st Amendment Brewery--This is near the ball park and has a solid line of beers. Some here have tasted and enjoyed their Back in Black Black IPA. Their prohibition series tends to be their higher end beers.

Anchor--This is the SF classic. They do tours during the weekdays and its supposed to be real fun. Not sure what they sell there or how much they allow you to drink on premise.

Rogue Ale House--They don't brew beer at this location, but I put it here because they sell their own beer. Patio outside is cool on a nice day. Beer is Rogue...which means different things to different people.

Outside of SF:

Russian River Brewing--This is obviously the place that most want to go to and you won't be disappointed. No more needs to be said.

Bear Republic--20 or so minutes away from Russian River this brewpub is great and there are tons of good and exclusive brewpub brews to be had.

Lagunitas Brewing--40 miles North of San Francisco. I have never gone to the brew pub, but I know they have exclusive stuff at the brewery.

Anderson Valley Brewing Company--This one is 2 hours north of San Fran, but there is a disc golf course onsite at the brewery. Never been here, bu their beer is solid!


Well, I think that is all I have for now. I didn't even branch into the East Bay and the beer places there. I need to bookmark this site for future reference. Holla at me with any questions. If for some reason I disappear from the board my twitter handle is DEANintheYAY.

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Well, I think that is all I have for now. I didn't even branch into the East Bay and the beer places there. I need to bookmark this site for future reference. Holla at me with any questions. If for some reason I disappear from the board my twitter handle is DEANintheYAY.

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First off, Bookmarked


Have you ever been to the bistro in hayward?

Sounds like a nice place on The Brewing Network.

Thanks Dean....

I had Toronado on the list already, along with 21st....didn't know about the others but will try to check out La Trappe for sure.

I've got your guide printed out already. We are staying at the Hyatt Regency by The Ferry building and will only be in San Francisco two days but gonna try to do as much as we can.

Not beer but have you been to the Tonga Room at The Fairmont? Saw it on Anthony Bourdains show and looked kinda fun for the ladies that will be with us.

My wife was at the Tonga Room a few weeks ago with her niece and some friends. She enjoyed it.
Check out Laguanitas if you can. I can barely find Censored here but I love it.

Appreciate it! We will be in San Francisco next Thursday and Friday, flying back Saturday.

If you could only eat at two restaurants for dinner Thursday and Friday do you have any to recommend?

Hmmm. To be honest we don't eat out at fancy places too often, but R2R might be able to help. La Trappe is a place I would go to for my birthday. But I spend 2x as much on beer than food.

Bump for a report back by Kingwood Tiger.

How was your trip???

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told the guy I was from Texas and he brought us out 20 beers to try

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*takes notes*

I find this works well at many places. I wore a shirt that has "I am a Texas craft beer advocate" on the back, and had lots of people come up and talk with us in San Diego

Find Pliny the Elder and drink a shite ton!
really good stuff.... think its considered the best there is at the moment.