Bay Area Re-Cap: North Bay Breweries V.1

Here is a re-cap of my visit trip to the Bay Area last week. Staying north of the GG bridge, I felt it was time to visit some of the “smaller” breweries and convinced the wife to join along while keeping her happy with a winery here and there. I know I missed plenty and barely scratched the surface so feel free to leave your feedback and include some places that shouldn’t be missed next time.


Marin Brew Co. -
10+ years of visiting this spot leaves me with expectations that don’t dissapoint when it comes to beer. Solid beers with mediocre food but just like service it can be on or off. Hoping to consume some White Knuckle or maybe a some sort of seasonal but standout was "Star Brew" a triple wheat ale. This was good enough that I grabbed some bottles to go.

Toronado-
Having been here before, I was knowing what to expect but was amazed at the tourist/local ratio as it seemed split 50/50. The weather was gray and chilly…I thought I was in Seattle! T-25 was not available on tap (tue 21st) however they did have bottles for $40. I opted out from buying any knowing I was going to RR in a few days. There was plenty of good offerings from usual suspects Moonlight, RR, etc. However one beer that stood out was the East Bay IPA from Ale Industries. Cloudy ass IPA that was blessed with citra hops and really stood out….YUMMY!!


Mill Valley Beerworks-
Not knowing much about this operation, I couldn’t help wonder how good this little place could be as it was based in the heart of this laid back posh village. Unfortunately they were not opening till 5pm for the next few weeks, due to creating a new kitchen and wanting to work the kinks out. One of the employees was kind enough to open the door and show me beer menu and told me a little about the place. I was hoping to get some bottles of their product but nothing available so I walked down to the Mill Valley Market and struck out there as well. However I was able to find some gems in the wall of reach-ins.



Carneros Brew Co.-
Located on a large farm/winery, isn’t open yet but one of the workers said a few weeks. The guts are there (15-20bbl?) fermenters are in location along with grain mill looking in place. The bar was complete but lonely. Hopefully this place comes to fruition as it is an awesome location with plenty of room to expand. The hop farm looked promising with ripe cones dangling from the tall trellises. I couldn’t help myself from walking over and getting a nosefull.



Sonoma Springs Brew Co.-
Operating on a well seasoned 7 bbl. copper system that was aquired used from TX these guys were producing some quality brews. The credentials from Tim the brewmaster stems from Chicago while also putting time in a few CA majors. He chuckled while we talked about one day acquiring a modern efficient system that doesn’t leak. With minimal signage and their bohemian brew system this place is under the radar and worth visiting again. The wheat ale "NomaWeiss"was bursting with flavor and the Black IPA "Enchanted Forest" was great as well. I feel it could have used a bit more body or maybe it was the lower abv. (5.7) that threw me off. Growlers only, no bottles at the time.

Old Redwood Brew Co.- Windsor, CA
This place just opened a few weeks ago. I remember reading about them on the Hess blog and really enjoy little places like this. Little it was, with only a 1 bbl. system!! Size didn’t matter here as they were off to a good start with some interesting brews. They were out of one of the offerings from their flight of 5, but gladly offered seconds of the others. Heavy Belgian influence with a standout being a wheat with fresh raspberries. Their swing top bottles to go were a bit on the pricey side ($15-$25) and we left empty handed. This place is grassroots as it gets with a glorified home brew set-up, plastic conical fermentors and all.

Third St. Aleworks-
This was a standard, generic-y establishment few blocks from Russian River. Ordered an IPA on cask and grabbed a few grilled oysters. Enjoyed both while sitting on the patio and people watched as the locals were scurrying in to catch their movie at the theatre next door. Nothing very memorable here and didn’t look at bottle or growler list as we were on foot and off to RR.

Russian River Brew Co.
Knowing that the farmers market was on Wed. night and it was going to be busy, we came in before 8pm and put our name in for a table. The tables were turning fast at this time of night so it only took 20 min. Ran into a fellow BA from up state NY ( I can’t wait for the Heady Topper ;-)) and thought it would be only appropriate to share a few bottles from the Alpine visit week prior that I have been lugging around (chilled of course). So I asked one of the bartenders if he would open some bottles to share and he seemed taken back at first but I assured him they were of decent quality and he gladly accepted. From both bottles (Nelson & Super IPA) I poured 3 glasses for the staff and 2 for us. We ordered some food and went through a few of the beers while the music blasted. The pizza was crisp and thin just perfect, while the wings were size-able and coated in a hot layer of dark spicy sauce. Don’t be swayed by bad food reviews on the web as the we found it to be above average pub grub. Sadly T-25 was kicked the day before and not offered in bottles so we grabbed some to-go’s and stumbled back to the hotel.

Iron Springs Brew Co.-
Last day in the area and struggling to keep my palate in check, I had to venture out through the heavily monitored Sir Francis Drake St. to get to this place set deeply at the base of Mt.Tam. The bartender said they just tapped J.C Flyer IPA on cask today and it has been a yr. or two since this has happened…done deal! I enjoyed a few on the outside picnic tables and chatted with some locals. Beer was damn good and picked up one to bring home.

To those I was fortunate sharing stories with here and there..Cheers!