Hello West Coast BAs! My wife and I are coming from Ohio to the Napa area for Bottle Rock in late May. Been a couple years since I've been there (2018), so checking in to see what breweries we should try to squeeze in between the wineries and music? Last time we went to Russian River in Santa Rosa and hit up Fieldworks at the Oxbow Market (was our concert pregame spot every day). Would love to go to Russian River again, however would probably need to squeeze in one or two more new breweries to justify the two hours in the car. Any advice would be greatly appreciated!
I highly recommend Mad Fritz in St Helena. I have been a member for 2-3 years and he just continues to push the envelop on providing quality, fresh, creative beers. The tap room is small, but if you are into something different, check them out.
If you're going to Santa Rosa I would recommend Hen House. Great clean saisons and good-great ipas. I also love their oyster stout. The other must from my perspective would be Moonlight. Absolute legends in terms of their lager brewing. There's also Cooperage and Fogbelt in Santa Rosa but I haven't really been super impressed with anything I've tried from them. Fogbelt does have tasty food.
Agreed. If you want a Napa take on beer, Mad Fritz is it. The owner/brewer works at a winery, and kinda takes that expertise into his beers. I believe they are reservation only during these pandemic times, so take a peek at their website: Visit and Purchase — Mad Fritz Beer
Oxbow Market in Napa has Fieldwork. You can grab some breakfast tacos and get a flight with them. win-win.
Good call out about the reservations. I forgot to add. He does most of his barrel stuff with Oak barrels which is a nice change of pace from whiskey barrels. Also, he tries to source locally or NorCal including hops, barley, and even different water.
If you’re in St. Helena, check out Erosion Wine and Beer… the world famous Patrick Rue’s new project. The beers are rock solid!
Totally recco Mad Fritz. Nile, their owner, is a college bud of mine - we studied Fermentation Science together at UCDavis. His ingredients are all local and organic. He's a super cool guy too. Make sure to ask him to play his old Phish tapes while you tank/barrel sample too. edit: call ahead and make an appt. Nile has a lot of things going on. It'll be worth your time for sure.
An Oxbow Fieldwork beer and a Ritual coffee double fist at the end of a work/play Napa day is a pretty sweet thing.
It used to be kind of interesting walking around the Oxbow, checking out the tap selection at the various food venues. There was always considerable variety. Once the Fieldwork spot opened however, I confess I pretty much lost interest going anyplace else in the Oxbow to drink.
Oxbow is pretty much the consensus given the convenience factor and the variety of food options. Fieldwork has a tasting room there and it’s always a good option. There’s a couple of places there with decent taps, one of which I was able to grab PtE or Blind Pig.
I think Gott's has a dedicated tap handle that always has PtE. It's right there next to the Oxbow, and the food there isn't half bad either.
Trade brewing across from Oxbow is hit or miss, but its fun to hang out there and play board games. St Clair Brown Winery & Brewery is worth a visit. Downtown Joes is just a plain and simple must stop when in Napa, has that early 90's brew pub vibe that is dying a quick death in this day and age. None of the above will blow your mind at all, but F it just grab a stout at each location and ejoy the scenery.
