I just accepted a job down in the San Jose area and my wife and I are moving in about a month...going to miss the best beer region in the country...dont worry i wont tell anyone down there that..."oh yeah, the beer in California is AMAZING! nothing like this in the NW!" please let me know if any of you want to start trading or if you want me to bring beers up whenever I come back or if you are down in the area and need a tour guide. and let me know if you have any advice for the San Jose area (beer related or otherwise)...this will be my first time living anywhere but Seattle or Portland so I am a little rattled Cheers!
Not in San Jose, but not terribly far: Moonlight Brewing. I've loved the stuff I've had from them. Draft only I'm pretty sure. Haven't had anything from them, but I have to suggest Faction Brewing, based on the fact alone that Ben Johnson, formerly of Midnight Sun, brews for them. Great brewer, and even better person. Good luck down there.
My favorite (beer) places around the bay after living in San Jose for most of my life: (San Jose) Original Gravity Good Karma (Mountain View) Jane's Beer Store Stein's Beer Garden (SF) City Beer Store Cellarmaker Brewery (Oakland) Faction Brewery Fieldwork Brewery The Rare Barrel Albany Tap Room (Further) Sante Adairus - Capitola Russian River - Petaluma Would love to trade when you're down there, feel free to PM me for anything further anytime
The recommendations in this thread are all spot on. I think you'll be alright, frankly. I grew up in the San Jose area (Los Gatos and Santa Cruz), and never thought of myself as hurting for good beer options. The problem, IMHO, is that nothing really compares to the NW when it comes to craft beer availability. You may have to actually plan out where you want to go to find a decent tap selection (in the NW, it's more a matter of trying to narrow down all the different options to a manageable number). That being said, there are plenty of good places you can visit in bay area where you'll find a solid tap and bottle selection (primarily in and around SF and Oakland, but there are decent places down in SJ as well... you'll find them, I'm sure), and of course you're not all that far from Oregon, and so can make periodic visits back "home". Good luck and have fun!
Not ENTIRELY true anymore! The craft beer scene has been booming in San Jose since you've left for good taps Good Karma and Original Gravity are GREAT! They are absolutely my two favorite places to drink beer in downtown San Jose. Paired with these two (and only a couple blocks away) are O'Flaherty's (40-50+ taps), San Pedro Square Market (nice little craft bottle shop in here but they jab you on prices from time to time), and a horde of other really cool bars and food stops within it. I will say I never found a place like Chuck's other than the breweries themselves that will do growler fills... that in the bay is still kinda new. If you feel like taking a trek out to Livermore (25-30m), this is area where my company is located and LOADED with a lively downtown and tons of places to have great beers. (Along the way, stop by California Craft Beer in Fremont - 16 taps, 7-8 doors of beer). Check out: - Caps n' Taps (in Dublin, my hometown and favorite place to have beers) - Three Sheets (in Dublin) - Tap 25 - Perry's Liquors (Most extensive bottle room you'll find, with rare/limited releases/WHALEZ BRO on the shelves) - The Beer Baron - Sauced (Excellent BBQ) If I think of more, I'll be sure to post
Other places I'd recommend are Gourmet Haus Staudt in Redwood City and Ale Arsenal in San Carlos. They're both accessible by Caltrain too.
