Driving from SF to Sequoia/King's Canyon next weekend. Might have a little time on Friday before we leave to poke around SF and Oakland. Hoping to hop over to Wondrous and grab some cans. Cellarmaker too if I'm lucky. Any decent shops/breweries/whatever to hit on the way? Haven't decided which way we're going yet. Modesto, Fresno or San Jose, Fresno. What are my best options or should I just ship a case/half a case of something fun - thanks to this post for providing an up to date list - to where we're staying? Planning on heading to LAX from Sequoia too if there are any spots worth stopping on the way home.
Berkeley Bowl, if you have time! I thought Narrative in San Jo was worth a visit but it might be too much of a detour for your trip. Dust Valley in Turlock could be fun. I never visited myself but a neighbor had a great story about the time he ended up there.
Don't know about the first leg of your trip, but as for the Sequoia National Park to LAX part if you don't mind taking a little side trip there's Kern River Brewing in Kernville and further south Enegren in Moorpark. Both make excellent beers. Firestone Walker in Venice is a good stop as well when you get closer to LAX. Three Weavers Brewing in Inglewood isn't far from LAX and might be worth a visit. That's a few places off the top of my head, I'm sure others can chime in and suggest a few more. Have fun on your trip!
Not sure where you’re flying into, but Fieldwork has locations not far from both OAK and SFO. If you’re coming over the grapevine down to LAX, Shadow Grove Brewing is pretty cool and is close to the freeway where you’d split to start heading down the 405. Would definitely second Firestone, and you can just head down the coast to the airport from there. Otherwise there’s also Far Field and Common Space that are not too far away from LAX. Personally I think those both tend to have more interesting taplists than 3 Weavers (although 3W is the closest to the airport).
The best brewery you’re going to find near LAX is El Segundo Brewing. Not only that but it’s the closest to the airport. They have plenty of great light beers, WCIPA’s, and if you’re lucky a killer smoked altbier. They’re also home to Stone Cold Steve Austin’s Broken Skull beer. Sometimes he’ll even be in there having a beer. Far Field is excellent too but about a good four miles southeast of LAX.
I really enjoyed dust bowl. They make some great beers from lagers to IPAs. You should be able to find KRBC in the park, but feel free to make the detour to Kernville and come see us. If you have not had your fill of big trees, you can always take the road from Springville to Kernville and stop off at the trail of 100 giants. There is a brewery in three rivers as well. Can’t say I love their beers but it has been a few years since I stopped in. The fires in SNP have been devastating, but Moro rock is a great short excursion and the restaurant at the south boundary has a great deck overlooking the river if you want to stop for a beverage!
Figured I'd close the loop on this! Flew in, swung by Wondrous and grabbed a bunch of things - tried the Hell, Rassoodocks - a very hazy NZ pils, a schwarzbier collab they did with SARA, and the grapefruit radler which really hit the spot. Grabbed a four pack of Wondrous Pils, the Toronado beer - The T, and some random singles to go. Had dinner at Drake's, which was... fine. San Jose Whole Foods had a goldmine of RR: Happy Hops, Pliny, Damnation, Bring Back Brewer's Gold, Citra Flash Mob and Blind Pig. Stopped at Tioga-Sequoia in Fresno. Not really my vibe but can see how it'd be pretty popular during a baseball or football game. Around Sequoia, Three Rivers Brewery wasn't bad - was probably the most kid-friendly spot in town. Pupusas or tacos to-go from the trucks there and next door. A serviceable mango hazy IPA that people were loving - tasted a little adjunct-y but not bad! Didn't mind the margarita-inspired sour that folks were getting with a tajin rim either. Grabbed the only two cans of Kern in the park I saw. Just Outstanding and Chuuurch! Brewery too-far afield for this trip. Also grabbed some Firestone Oaktoberfest and Pivo at the market in town as pool beers, some Dust Bowl lager too... didn't quite hit like I was expecting, almost more like an amber - not that there's anything wrong with that. Stopped by Pita Kabob in Visalia - nice taplist, ordered a Humble Sea but definitely got served the wrong beer - also went to Salty Walrus Brewing, nice set up but couldn't spend much time there. Seems as if they contract brew a lot of stuff in Bakersfield? Ordered a half case each of Monkish and Green Cheek to scratch the hops itch, wound up taking most of them back with me in my checked bag. Took about two days to get to the Sequoia area. Not much time to spend in LA. Would have loved to have made it to Highland Park or something, maybe next time. Had to fetch a thing from between Venice and Beverly Hills so Firestone Walker Propagator fit in perfectly. Got a half pour of three brewery-only releases, Little Legend, What You Won't Do For Haze, and 12 Degrees of Pale Lager. Was surprised, didn't have any issue parking on a Friday night.
