Hey yall, the most recent "I'm headed to San Francisco" post I saw was from 2021, so posting this for assistance. I'm headed to the city at the end of the month, staying in the Marina, and have little intel on the beer scene (haven't been in over a decade). I've been to Toronado and City Beer Store (shuddered) but that's pretty much it. Any breweries or beer stores somewhat nearby that I should hit? Thanks in advance!
Not aware of anything notable close to you. A few miles away near Market you have Beer Hall Mason and Liquid Gold, both usually have strong draft and bottle offerings. bit farther from there Cellarmaker/Barebottle are under a mile from each other. Farther yet hop on BART across to Oakland where the most happening scene is at right now.
idk if they have a Berkeley Bowl in SF but i had a better time there than any of the breweries or bars in oakland or the city.
Thanks for all the intel. A few thoughts/questions: Is Lost Marbles Brewery any good? Do they have cans for takeaway (doesn't appear so)? I see good reviews of a beer store called Ales Unlimited in the Marina. Anyone been? Thoughts? What's the more consistent brewery for cans? Barebottle or Cellarmaker? I've seen mention of the The Crafty Fox Ale House. Anyone think that's worth a stop for draft and some cans to go? How much of schlep is it from the Marina to the ferry over to Oakland? If its relatively easy I'd love to hit up Humble Sea, SARA and Ghost Town. Good lookin!!!
Barebottle and Cellarmaker both put out tons of cans. I don’t drink enough of either to say one is a better bet. You are probably good either way. Cellarmaker is much more West Coast oriented, and BB is NE leaning, mostly but not all hazy. to get over to Oakland your easiest way is via bart. That’s a few mile walk from where you’re coming from, though there’s the streetcar option to get to embarcadero.
Lost Marbles is hardly a brewery. I haven't been but they are/were an offshoot of Barrel Head Brewhouse, which closed down last year - but they are mainly a beer bar. According to what I'm seeing here: Menu — Lost Marbles Brewpub - there is only one beer that they make themselves, a hoppy brown ale. I went once. It's an okay albeit pricey place for bottles and stuff. I'm not sure if they have a lot in cans, as I went before cans took over the beer scene. Depends on what you mean by consistent? Quality? Quantity? Cellarmaker has roughly 4 can releases a week that drop on Tuesdays. I'm not sure of Barebottle's cadence, but if you look at their instagrams, you'll see what they are releasing/just released. Love their taplist selection. I often find them better than Toronado's, albeit a bit on the pricier side. Being a beer bar though, they're not really a place to buy cans although they sometimes have some for sale. I think the last time I went they had Heady Topper for their once a year drop. By Ferry? It's easier/faster to just take BART over to Oakland/12th St station and then walk 5-10 minutes to SARA / Cellarmaker Oakland / Original Pattern / Jack London Scene. Humble Sea (Alameda) and Ghost Town are a bit further out and you'd probably need a ride hailing service.
Really helpful, thanks. I see there is a Healthy Spirits location on Clement St. which isnt too far from where I'll be. Any idea how they fare on can offerings?
Healthy Spirits on Clement was my go-to in the Richmond. Lots of options and mostly fresh. Hard pass on Lost Marbles. Unless they’ve upped their quality control and cleaned their draft lines I’d avoid anything on tap. From the Marina take a streetcar to the ferry and enjoy the beautiful ride to Oakland. It’s worth the extra time you’ll spend vs. BART (and you can enjoy a pint while doing so).
cellarmaker is garbage. tried to go once and their whole shit was "closed", with no signs letting anyone know of it, to some edgy event where you could only get a pour by buying a stein. couldn't even buy packs to go never went back. if in oakand, you could skip all the breweries and find all their shit at Berkely Bowl ( and get eggs!) . win win.
yea the beer selection is insane pliny,heady topper ,original patter, ghost town, Moonlight and all kinda other shit
Yeah, you want Berkeley Bowl West, not the OG Berkeley Bowl. Huge beer selection, reasonable prices. However, if you are going to trek over the bay, you might as well hit up Cellarmaker Berkeley (check their hours, they are only open certain days), Wondrous, and Tenma which are all just a few mins drive (or a long walk) from Berkeley Bowl West. SARA is in a not great part of Oakland, but is relatively close to Cellarmaker Oakland and Original Pattern. Both Cellarmaker locations have cans and bottles to go. Humble Sea is out on Alameda island, and is close to Almanac, The Rake at Admiral Maltings, and Faction. If you are driving, the freeways in this area are a hot mess of traffic between 2:30pm-7pm on weekdays.
Taking a step back...a lot of what's being said here is based on the questions you asked but here's my assessment: * The Marina area of SF where you're staying is the land of well-to-do young families and fratboys. There's definitely a drinking culture, but not exactly a refined one. As a result, as a craft beer fan, it's not the best neighborhood. * Ever since COVID, the San Francisco craft beer scene as a whole is in a comatose state. Established places either left town or closed down entirely. That being said, IMO the best SF breweries are Cellarmaker House of Pizza (although it really lacks the vibe and taplist of the old Cellarmaker in SOMA) and Olfactory Brewing. For beer bars, it's Toronado and The Crafty Fox for the combination of quality and quantity, although with Toronado likely being sold to a crypto-bro, I haven't been going lately. Holy Water is nicely curated too, but for beer-only not as large of a selection as Toro/Crafty. But they do have a mean spirits program so that might be an enticer. * The exit of craft beer from SF is a boon for the East Bay, with SARA, two Cellarmakers, and Wondrous. Ghost Town, Original Pattern, Brix and Armistice are good/solid as well. * For can-hunting specifically - other than going to the respective breweries for their own cans, yes Berkeley Bowl West is good. The Gus's Community Market stores throughout San Francisco are decent - just a bit smaller. I suppose Whole Foods is okay, but a lot of their shelf space is filled with run of the mill stuff so not really worth stopping into unless you're already there. Liquid Gold is a nice place to get a pint and 4-packs, but they don't have much refrigerator space. (Long gone are the days when City Beer Store (Folsom) was the forefront of can sales. RIP). Nevertheless, as great as some of these stores are, a lot of cans are still brewery-only releases that are not distributed to stores at all. So it really depends on what you're after.
I think @thuey summed it up pretty well. SF is better for beer bars and dives than actual breweries these days. One brewery that's good and not mentioned yet is Bartlett Hall in Union square. The beers there are very good across the board, but the vibes are touristy and the food is pricey. In your immediate area around the Marina, there's no craft beer destinations but if you need a pint within walking distance you could try the Bus Stop in Cow Hollow, a cozy sportsy bar with ok taps, or Monaghans on Pierce st, another sportsy, vaguely Irish-themed bar with a decent tap selection. And in Fort Mason there's Radhaus, a German restaurant with a great selection of German beers in a large, beautiful space with great views of the bay and GG bridge...but you will pay dearly for the view. And I also recommend taking the ferry instead of Bart to Oakland if you have time, it's way more fun.
Heyyo, just getting back from SF. Great jaunt given all your tips/tricks. I hit up Humble Sea, Original Pattern, Cellarmaker, SARA and Temescal. SARA was definitely my favorite with Temescal taking up the rear. One thing that was critical was @elNopalero 's co-sign on Healthy Spirits. I couldn't hit Oakland until the third day of the trip which worked out perfectly because I hit this liquor store right after landing; the proprietor had cans from all these breweries (plus Wonderous, which I didn't get to) AND they let me break up any four pack they had which let me try a can or two before I went over the bridge. A1 service. Salud yall.
