I haven't posted in a few years, kind of been out of the game and just drinking Green Cheek, Pure Project and El Segundo IPA's. An occasional Bottle Logic shelfie(maybe they're all shelfies now). Meeting a buddy in Santa Rosa for a couple days, anything we should hit other than RR and Lagunitas? Last Santa Rosa thread was 6 years old so I thought I'd get some fresh eyes on this. Thanks
Hen House, Moonlight, and Cooperage are probably the best options in the area. I'd check the lagunitas tap list before you go. When I've looked at it in the last couple years it hasn't had nearly enough of the stuff I'm nostalgic for from them to make me want to go. Lots of seltzers and fruit sours and stuff. Also, Fogbelt isn't as consistently good as the other 3 I listed (in my opinion) but they're beer is solid and their food is very good. Maybe better than Russian River even.
Awesome, thanks for the reply. So I'm in Southern CA and he's in WA, he works for Alaska so we fly free and just meeting for the weekend, any suggestions of a better West Coast spot to hit other than Portland/Seattle/San Fran? Our options are pretty open.
Yes it’s been many moons. I thought maybe you dropped out and moved on. This is my only social media for beer info these days. Got rid of Facelift and Instagram back during Covid. Are you still in the same neighborhood, down the street? Nice to have a buddy that works for an airline. That’s why I fly often and check out beer destinations. Like @unlikelyspiderperson said Hen House and Cooperage and Moonlight. Both RRBC spots are nice. You going to be there for the Younger release? We are thinking about flying to SFO and driving to Windsor on a weekday for the release. All depends on the flights and how the crowds are this year. But it would have to be in March as we are going to Germany the beginning of April. I going for Starkbierfest in Munich and a concert in Frankfurt. Glad to see your back.
Yeah, dropped out in the sense that I don't really follow the latest breweries or trade or anything. I usually just relay on Windsor to clue me in to stuff I don't know about. We actually bought a house down the road from Riip on Garfield and Bushard. We mostly go for the pizza and wings, the beer kind of all tastes the same to me there. I just looked at the dates of the Younger release, looks like 3/21-4/3...we arrive on 4/5, will they still have it on tap by then?
I think the Santa Cruz/Monterey Bay Area would make for a fun visit. I’m saying this because I’d like to do it sometime!
I did this last Spring and it was great. Two SARA locations, Humble Sea, Private Press, Alvarado, Fieldwork and others I'm sure.
their taplist as of today looks pretty sweet. hop stoopid, Willettized , pacific ale, winter lager, ,blonde ale, pils, coffee stout, cold ipa and then some
Does Private Press have a taproom? I’ll be in that area in 2 weeks and would love to visit Private Press.
I was getting pours at SARA and other places but I believe they have a spot at/behind Mountain Rambler now?
I would also suggest checking out Pond Farm, although San Rafael is beyond Petaluma. Pond Farm is a newer small operation that has taken home a bunch of beer medals (GABF, etc) in competitions the last few years. Edit: Looks like Pond Farm brewmaster/co-owner used to brew at Fogbelt
I'm not willing to give them a nod over RR and Pliny Bites, but definitely agree they've got a strong good game.
The Moonlight taproom is nothing to write home about, but it's hard to beat some fresh Moonlight. If you haven't been to the RR brewery in Windsor, it's worth checking out, and the tour is pretty cool. But I prefer the downtown RR pub. Henhouse has a lot of nice semi hazies that appeal to a certain taste but the taproom is meh. Old Caz does a good job with a range of styles. Cuver, in Windsor near RR, does really authentic Belgian styles (the brewer is from Belgium).
