Moonlight Brewing Company

Good place. Decent offerings with pretty good variety. Nice diversity of people sharing good vibes. Great musical duo provided some amazing notes that brought people together. Evidently they are frequent guests.

Wonderful experience. Bartender Don gave us a sample milk pour to try. Had a cask option and 4 side pours. All the beers were great.

 

You need to visit. That is all...

4th July weekend. People chilling playing games and enjoying family/friends (that would be us). Amazing selection and quality. Service was super friendly. Sadly, it has taken far too long to visit from the South Bay Area.

I schlepped up to Santa Rosa for the annual Pliny pilgrimage, a ritual that involves hours of waiting in serpentine lines with beer nerds—those lovable, obsessive hopheads I can’t help but poke fun at. But before subjecting myself to that circus, I had to make a detour, a necessary pilgrimage of its own: Moonlight Brewing.

This place isn’t just a stop on the way; it’s a shrine for those who understand that beer is more than just a drink—it’s an experience, a memory, a kind of religion. Moonlight sits tucked away, far enough from the downtown chaos that it feels like a secret, a haven. The taproom’s got this early 2000s vibe, dimly lit with a long bartop dominated by regulars who look like they’ve been here since the first keg was tapped.

The beer board is a testament to brewing’s roots—lagers that make you believe in purity again, old-world IPAs that scoff at modern trends, and a few hoppy experiments that push the envelope without tearing it apart. Every pint was a revelation, but the lagers... I could drink those forever and never tire of them.

Moonlight Brewing isn’t just an obligatory stop before the madness of Pliny—it’s a reminder that the craft is alive and well, hidden in plain sight, waiting for those who seek it.

This is a great little brewery which has earned a well-established reputation among beer aficionados but remains a bit off the beaten path and unknown especially to the general beer-drinking/brewpub-going public. It produces overall excellent, characterful and well-made beers in a broad range of styles, and including a lot of gruit-type beer (usual various plants in place of hops, such as redwood boughs and artemisia). They also regularly do a cask ale, and today this is the only place I know of in this region which produces this, true real ale. The place is small but comfortable, with a quiet, laid back atmosphere most of the time, plus good seating inside and out. Although it's in a light industrial park, the outside seating is nice, with plenty of tress and shade. Service is great and friendly.

 

 

Probably the most underrated/off-the-radar brewery in the area. The vibe here is chill and cozy. You're basically hanging out in the brewing area with an assortment of tables, chairs and some board games. Everyone is welcome of course, but this is not the place for hophead fanboys that stand in line all day for rare wax-dipped bottles of trendy nonsense. That is to say you probably won't encounter those types while you're here. This is the brewpub equivilent of a top notch dive bar. Real people drinking real beer. Inspired beer with real flavor and nuance. Poetry on draft.

Last time I was there I saw founder/owner Brian Hunt working on something or another. He was carrying a curved piece of pipe back and forth around the brewery, and he stopped to observe all the folks enjoying his work.. it brought a huge smile to his face as he stood there soaking it in. After a minute or so he (and his smile) disappeared through a door that I'm certain leads to a Willy Wonka style room full of wonder and amazement.

They have a few hats/shirts for sale (and some glassware too), but oh did I mention their beers are DELICIOUS?? They usually have 4-7 choices on tap, so I would call their selection adequate rather than overwhelming. The staff is friendly and the music is on point. The hours are somewhat limited, but this place is still one of my favorites. I like the way Moonlight does things, and this tasting room is just like their beer- NO NONSENSE.