City Beer Store

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Killer bar with great selection and helpful bar tender whish I could have spent more time in the bottle shop, if you are in SF it is must stop.

I made my first-ever visit to City Beer store in June 2018 after doing the short walk past the homeless people from Cellar Maker. If you're from out of town and not familiar with San Francisco, the sketchiness of the neighborhood can be off-putting. But this store has been in this location for years, and the employees and regulars seem to take everything in stride. The store is moving a couple of blocks away later this year into a bigger location. That will be nice, I'm sure. The biggest surprise to me about City Beer was how small it was. That meant their selection was limited. But what they lacked in quantity, they made up for in quality.

I didn't arrive on a Pliny delivery day, but I did come away with some nice local and regional bottles to bring home with me, including several BA stouts, quads, and sours. The staff and a couple of regular customers spent a lot of time helping me choose wisely, given the limited space I had in my luggage. This is definitely a beer geek mecca. If possible, allow some time during your visit to have a beer or two on tap, as they had a pretty sweet tap list.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Stopped by on a recent trip to San Fran. This was quite a hike from our hotel, but worth the trip. They had a huge fridge and several racks of beer. The selection was amazing. They had bourbon county, BA Ten Fidy, and lots of other limited releases. Someone walked in and asked if they had Pliny. He walked out with a case. The staff was nice (a bit busy since they just opened), and the prices seemed fair. By far the best place I have visited in SF.

 

 

 

A must stop for beer enthusiasts. Huge selection of bottles and cans of all styles, plus a nice tap selection, often heavy on local brews (all stellar). You can often luck into some real gems here.

City Beer Store was a nice find near the Civic Center area of San Francisco, a few blocks south of Market Street.

You enter, walk down some steps and you will find the retail bottle shop on the left side and an area to enjoy your purchases. The selection was solid. Most of their beers were refrigerated with some on shelves. The service was very friendly.

I found a nice beer to enjoy back at the hotel. I will definitely return when in SF and in this area again. Very nice.

 

So what kind of jerk tells you that you can't bring your kid in while you buy beer to go? This is the first time EVER in any of the states I have ever visited where anyone said anything this stupid to me! Or maybe it was my Red Sox shirt the guy was staring at?

No worries- I'll buy beer elsewhere. I won't make a second special trip to your "Mecca"... Do you know where you are? Good businesses don't turn away customers who are about to drop $1000 on beer and send them to a competitor....

No worries- they took my money with a smile on their face!

Buyer beware- not tourist or child friendly! A millions places to spend your money is San Fransisco- choose elsewhere!

 

Low key bar and bottle shop in downtown SF. Pretty small supply of bottles, but some pretty decent stuff included some vintage bottles.
Service was great and everyone there seemed to be having a good time. I was there to see the bottle selection, but if I ever go back I would love to sit down and see what's on tap.

 

 

After visiting again on 10/10/19, this now is an all new place that I will have to re-review.
They have added an almost fancy kitchen and tripled the bar seats and have 20 taps.
More review to come. Until then here is my review of the original store on Folsom Street

You would have to spend a lifetime to find a beer store with a higher concentration of great beers and knowledgeable staff... and you probably would not succeed. I was there twice, hunting for the beers that would put all me me over the top of my goal of drinking 500 of the "1001 Beers To Drink Before You die." I found the last six. Three were so rare that I had to consume them on-site from their behind-the-bar cooler (Cantillon Lou Pepe, Black Albert and The Dissident.) While much of what is in that cooler is expensive on a relative basis.... if you gotta have, well, you gotta Have it.

Also on my list and fortunate for me, Pliny The Elder, had just come in; so, I bought three (and I may save one as my first trade... but I didn't.)

The staff are, quite simply, the best. Helpful, extremely knowledgable and very patient in reading through my 1001 list and the 300+ on MJ's "Great Beers of Belgium."

If you live in SF, you know City Beer. If you travel to SF, visit City Beer.
I was a resident of SF for the first decade of Fritz Maytag's ownership of Anchor. Today, I am glad to have visited twice what seems to be a center of the third generation of SF's craft beer scene.

5/24/21 On-line ordered ten beers, eight from brewers untried by me. Since this was a Covid-era pickup, I could not go inside or eat their. Next time, for sure !

 

 

 

 

 

 

I always like to stop in here when in San Francisco and checking out Cellarmaker which is not far from here. There's a good selection of bottles and cans although I get the sense that their best beers get cleared out almost immediately upon arrival. If you can appreciate great shelf beers you'll find plenty here.

The tap selection here has never blown my mind but always has some good stuff.

If you are willing to spend some change, the on-site consumption bottles offer some serious, serious gems.