Comments on: So-so beer in the Bay Area? A Washingtonian is mostly unimpressed

By: William Brand

William Brand — Thu, 15 Jan 2009 19:00:34 +0000

You are right; the shopping center’s a ways away. I’ve stopped there many times and my wife always heads for the stores…while I’m content with a pint and a burger.

By: Renee

Renee — Thu, 15 Jan 2009 18:19:09 +0000

Moylan’s Brewing Company isn’t in a strip mall, lad. It stands free and independent of any other buildings. It happens to be near a shopping center which I hear is kind of good for business. Perhaps you were being driven away with a little bit of a stout buzz…oh the joys of beer in the North Bay!

By: Brian

Brian — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 04:29:10 +0000

I agree with most of his comments… except the Anchor tour. If you don’t want to hear about the history of Anchor, don’t bother with the tour! And, yes, the Steam beer is a fragile beer and doesn’t travel well. I’ve had a lot of stale Steam on the east coast, but when fresh it is outstanding. It has nothing to do with their bottling process, its simply a difficult beer to serve fresh on the other side of the country. I’ve toured a lot of breweries across the US, and I think the Anchor tour is the most informative, interesting, and the facility is just beautiful… not to mention the intense tasting session at the end.

I strongly agree with the previous post about Triple Rock. It has improved tremendously since Rodger took over the brewing. The IPAX is now one of the top local IPA’s, on par with Moonlight’s and in my opinion a notch above racer 5.

By: William Brand

William Brand — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 05:33:45 +0000

About Third Street Aleworks, I really like to eat a late lunch there on a nice day. Their outside patio can be very pleasant; I often order the Blarney Sisters Dry Irish Stout, which was conceived, I believe, by Denise Jones, when she brewed there. It’s won tons of awards and is most excellent. Food is quality pub food as well . But agreed, Russian River is a …beer sink… hard to resist. Hell, it’s impossible to resist.

By: William Brand

William Brand — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 05:28:05 +0000

I really like the 21st, especially their IPA and their various strong beers and Bitter American, the 3.5 percent mild. Also, their hamburgers and sweet potato fries. Marin Brewing is super. White Knuckle Ale is a knockout.

Getting there is dead easy. Take the Larkspur Ferry. There’s a pedestrian overpass from the ferry building and it’s a five minute, painless walk to the pub. The only problem is the last ferry leaves Larkspur weeknights at 8:50 p.m. on weekends it leaves even earlier, 5:30 p.m. So it has to be a day trip. But you do get a great view of San Quentin.

By: craig

craig — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 20:03:30 +0000

i’d say this guy hit it spot on..especially 21st amendment…he should have taken the ferry to marin brewing…than he could have considered it part san fran….i disagree with his rogue…i find the staff rude and the beers over-priced

By: James

James — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 20:00:09 +0000

I agree, it’s nice to have an unbiased tasters opinion although I disagree somewhat with his comments. I would like to note that unfortunately Marin Brew Co. is not accessable by BART, but there is the Larkspur ferry station right across the street.

By: Todd

Todd — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 18:31:41 +0000

I think it’s a great idea to have feedback from outsiders with no personal or emotional connections to SF breweries or brewpubs, though they invariably hurt some feelings. Locals-only opinions can be very mom-like: all my kids are my favorite, and they’re all geniuses!

He did make a couple puzzling comments, I thought, both positive and negative, but his remarks about Sonoma and Marin County breweries were mostly spot on. Well, I can’t say much about Third Street Aleworks – RRBC’s gravity well sucks me in every time I’m in the area – but his review may finally get me out of that rut and into the other brewpub in Santa Rosa.

By: William Brand

William Brand — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 17:41:46 +0000

Got this e-mail from AT:

Hey Bill, I just read your post about the somewhat disgruntled brew tourist from our North. It seems worth mentioning that his own notes may be wrong; as the Wine Exchange is on the Plaza in the town of Sonoma proper, and not in Healdsburg.

Dan does maintain a fantastic selection of beer in his shop. Aside from a great wine selection, one entire wall of the store is dedicated to craft beers from around the world.

Here’s what I have for the Wine Echange: The Wine Exchange of Sonoma, 452 First Street East, (800) 938-1794., Sonoma. Sizeable import selection. Also, Wine Exchange, 9600 Bell Road, Windsor, 707-938-1794, and San Francisco Wine Exchange, 510-527-37904, Albany.

By: Mario (Brewed For Thought)

Mario (Brewed For Thought) — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 15:41:05 +0000

Vinnie has said many times in print that he’s happy in Santa Rosa. He likes staying local and has made it clear he’s less interested in profits than being comfortable.