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Author: Barry Pickard
Having been a convert to the Craft Brewing scene for almost twenty years, the holy grail of cities in the United States to visit, San Francisco, was on the TMI bucket list for some time! Home to the first uniquely American beer style to be produced - steam beer (sometimes referred to as California common beer) – San Francisco and its breweries have been leading the charge in popularising and developing craft beer in the US and abroad.
From the late 19th century, when steam beer was developed to suit the unique climate of San Francisco, brewing this type of lager without the use of refrigeration, Fog City’s pioneering breweries created a vibrant and creative brewing culture. The brewery scene, however, took a massive hit with Prohibition and the later consolidation and massive commercialisation of beer production by a handful of mega breweries.
The renaissance of beer production in the US arguably didn’t start until 1971, when Anchor Brewing’s owner, Fritz Maytag, decided to bottle and distribute their unique Anchor Steam brew. This became the clarion call for existing and potential brewers to develop their own small batch, traditional beers. Now, over fifty years later, San Francisco has become a hotbed of craft brewing, boasting many breweries, taprooms, and bars purveying a wide variety of styles to the highest quality.
Join us now in a trip through San Francisco’s craft beer scene and our favourite breweries, taprooms, and bars.
Don’t forget that Tailor-Made Itineraries delights in creating bespoke self-guided tours. So, if visiting the San Francisco craft beer scene appeals to you, reach out to me by email. I would be more than happy to design a self-guided tour around your requirements incorporating the city’s breweries and taprooms, or indeed, a general tour of San Francisco.
Breweries
Anchor Brewing Tour
Our guide starts with the craft beer trailblazer Anchor Brewing. Established by German brewer Gottlieb Brekle in 1871, Anchor Brewing conducts popular tours of their Mariposa Street facility at 3:00pm on a Friday and 11:00am, 1:00pm and 3:00pm on Saturdays and Sundays.
The tour delivered by Anchor Brewing doesn’t disappoint. The one-and-a-half-hour tour is fascinating, informative, and entertaining, taking you through every area of the brewhouse. The tour is also the most generous in terms of the number of tasters that were offered, giving you the opportunity to taste any of the 12 beers available. Although I tried my best, I was unable to taste all 12 within the allotted tour time!
Tailor-Made Top Tip: Following the tour, you can cross the road to the recently opened Anchor Public Taps and continue your beer odyssey! I particularly enjoyed the West Coast IPA and the Tropical Hazy while there.
Beach Chalet Brewery & Restaurant
Beach Chalet is located at the western end of San Francisco's famous Golden Gate Park, overlooking Ocean Beach. The compact brewery located on the first floor of the building, operated by brewer Mikey Paine produces a wide variety of styles. While eating at the restaurant, I requested the opportunity to view the brewery and I was lucky enough to go and see the operation and it was an absolute pleasure to talk with Mikey himself.
The meal at the restaurant was excellent, especially the fried oyster po’boy sliders, and they were beautifully complimented with pints of Riptide Red and Chalet Kolsch from the brewery.
Tailor-Made Top Tip: Take time to view the murals in the ground floor reception area of the Beach Chalet.
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San Francisco Brewing Co
Another brewery that I was lucky enough to get a personal viewing of was the San Francisco Brewing Co. & Restaurant in Ghirardelli Square, with Geff Perry, the General Manager, guiding me through their impressive facility. As well as being an innovative craft brewery, it is a bar, restaurant, and has an outdoor beer garden. Their pub food was excellent, and I also enjoyed two different flights of beer.
There was a great choice of beers that could be included in a flight, but here is my choice: Revenge of the Nerds Sour, DBL Happiness Milkshake IPA, Broadway IPA and Angel Island Apricot Ale for the first flight, then Stay Frosty My Friend Cold IPA, Alcatraz Amber Ale, Kable Kar (Kolsch) and Lombard Lager (Italian Pils) for the second.
Tailor-Made Top Tip: Ghirardelli Square is a popular shopping and restaurant area and a trip to the Ghirardelli Chocolate Experience is always advised.
Black Hammer Brewing SoMa
Black Hammer is a very popular central brewery and taproom offering a wide range of beer styles, with eye-catching décor. It certainly had a great vibe during my visit. The two beers I went for were the Hella Sexy (Munich Helles) and Puck Futin (Imperial Double Stout) and they certainly didn’t disappoint.
Tailor-Made Top Tip: Black Hammer Brewing SoMa is within easy walking distance of 21st Amendment Brewery and Local Brewing Co, so why not take a mini-brewery tour.
21st Amendment Brewpub
21st Amendment Brewpub has a large indoor area, with multiple TV screens and pub grub, make this brewhouse a firm favourite with both hopheads and baseball fans heading to Oracle Park.
I opted, as usual, for a flight of beers. There was a large menu of inhouse beer, but finally decided on Hell or High Watermelon Wheat, Curve Ball Saison, Orange & Black Amber Ale, X1400 DDH IPA, Brew Free! Or Die Blood Orange IPA, and El Sully Mexican Style Lager. Easy drinkers, with lots of interesting flavours.
Tailor-Made Top Tip: A great venue to watch sports while enjoying your favourite libation.
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Local Brewing Co
Local Brewing Co. are a small batch brewery hand-crafting innovative and approachable brews. I found this small brewpub to be really friendly and relaxed, complemented perfectly by their tasty ales.
Tailor-Made Top Tip: Loved my flight of beers, which included SF Lager, Baycation (a tropical blonde), Plaid Pajamas (spiced amber lager), Air Hugs (DOH hazy IPA), Loud n Clear (modern West Coast IPA), and Bluxome Black Lager.
Cellarmaker Brewing Company
Constantly experimenting with production of small batch beers, Cellarmaker Brewing Company is a popular little hangout in SoMa. Just a ten-minute walk from the Asian Art Museum and City Hall, Cellarmaker is an ideal break from the culture and architecture of Civic Center.
Tailor-Made Top Tip: I tried their Pineapple Peak, an Hazy West Coast Pale Ale, and it was quite delicious.
Bartlett Hall
Handily located just off Union Square, Bartlett Hall is more of an upscale bar than a taproom. Their beers are welcoming and complimented with an excellent menu.
Tailor-Made Top Tip: I tried two interesting Saison style beers that I haven’t come across before and thought they were great – Saison Chauncey (a Petite Saison with flaked Rye) and Biere Nez Bleu (a farmhouse-inspired Saison with spelt).
Magnolia Gastropub and Brewery
Magnolia Gastropub and Brewery can be found in the heart of the Haight Ashbury district and offers its brews alongside a great selection of bar food. The building itself has an interesting history, starting off as a pharmacy, before turning into the Drugstore Café in 1964, becoming one of the original hippie hangouts in Haight Ashbury. A few years later it became the famous Magnolia Thunderpussy’s, named after its proprietor, a larger-than-life legend still talked about today.
For my flight, I chose Witching Hour (Dark Lager), ESB the Change (English Extra Special Bitter), Szyslak (Pastry Stout), and Dear Haight Street (Brown Ale), all of which were great.
Tailor-Made Top Tip: Magnolia’s Dubs Golden Lager can be bought in cans at many supermarkets around San Francisco, so if you can’t make it to the bar itself, buying a can or two is a welcome option.
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Seven Stills - Brewery & Distillery and Outer Sunset taproom
Seven Stills Brewery and Distillery is a warehouse-style destination featuring both beers and whiskeys made on site, as well as great food and cocktails.
Sticking to the pattern, I ordered a flight of beers, choosing a Slo Flo Pilsner, Apricot Wheat, Kolsch, West Coast IPA, and Udderly Delicious Milk Stout.
Now, going to a brewery that is also a distillery, is quite unique, so to mark the occasion, I also had a flight of their whiskeys which they had distilled from their own and guest beers. The beers are brewed, then boiled, removing the alcohol (a spirit called white dog). The white dog is then poured into a barrel to receive its colour and flavour.
I delighted over their Eau De Oyster (distilled from an Oyster Stout), Sour Swap (distilled from a Red Ale), Five Pounds (distilled from a Hazy IPA), Chocasmoke (distilled from a Chocolate Oatmeal Stout), and 1.21 Gigawatts whiskeys (distilled from an Imperial Oatmeal Stout).
Tailor-Made Top Tip: If you can’t get enough of Seven Stills, they also have a taproom at Outer Sunset, which serves house beers and Mexican cuisine in a chill, eclectic environment, just a few short blocks from the beach, and, quite conveniently, it was just around the corner from our accommodation - perfectly planned!
Standard Deviant Brewing
Standard Deviant Brewing has house-brewed beer, food-truck fare & pinball in a low-key setting with an indoor beer garden vibe. Not only was their beer refreshing, but so was their attitude to naming their beers, with no gimmicky monikers, just beers called after their styles. My choices were the Kolsch and Porter. Simply stunning!
Tailor-Made Top Tip: I was lucky enough to visit while the Dry Rub Republic were serving food at the outside the taproom. Their Texas Brisket was to die for!
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New Belgium Brewing
Located in the trendy Mission Bay neighbourhood, New Belgium Brewing is a cool hang out for beers and food. Spacious, with a lovely contemporary décor, it has a great view of Oracle Park.
Tailor-Made Top Tip: I only had time to sample one beer, but it was a lovely fruity little number called Razor Rhizome (Juicy IPA).
