The wife and I are traveling to CA in mid-August for a honeymoon. She's not a beer drinker, but is willing to indulge me a bit. If possible I'd spend the whole trip barhopping and brewery-touring, but, it's a honeymoon, I've got to defer to her most of the time. Is Anchor Brewing worth going to? No reviews for it in Beerfly which seems odd to me. Magnolia or 21st Amendment? I've heard of 21st before and tried a couple of their beers, but don't know much about Magnolia. I figure Toronado has to be a stop. Is it worth the potential ill-will to talk the wife into taking a drive up to Russian River? Also, if you had any other non-beer related advice on must-see stops in SanFran/Napa, that'd be much appreciated. At this point we know we'll be hitting Alcatraz and a couple wineries, but beyond that we haven't planned much. Actually, if there are things to make the wife happy in good beer-adjacent locations that would be perfect.
Toronado is almost always worth a stop, but dragging your wife to a place like that on your honeymoon may be grounds for divorce. The most romantic/date-friendly place in SF out of the ones you mention is Magnolia, and it's great if you enjoy cask ale, particularly traditional English styles. Russian River: Hmmmmm, tough call. It's phenomenal, and a far better place in a honeymoon context than Toronado, but it's a definite hike from the city with traffic. Maybe hit Santa Rosa and do Russian River for drinks, and then Flavor Bistro for dinner, which is a perfect place for a nice special occasion (and it doesn't hurt that they keep a variety of Moonlight Brewing beers on tap).
Tons and tons of San Francisco ("San Fran" is nails on a chalkboard) related threads to search through that might help you. Can't tell you about the Anchor tour as I've never done it. I hear it books well in advance though. Personally, I would go Magnolia over 21st Amendment but it depends on your beer tastes. Magnolia is pretty much strictly English style with a few Belgians. 21st Amendment is a little more diverse beer wise. Food is much better at Magnolia IMO. Magnolia is close to Toronado too which is nice. Toronado is definitely worth a visit. City Beer Store might be as well. I think if you are into beer, you have to find a way to get to Russian River. You could easily do a day trip and see some other sites on your way up and back. There is also Lagunitas which is about 15 minutes South of RR. Are you staying in Napa or making day trips from SF? Tourists fixate on Napa because of the name (and great wineries) but it's a little bit like Wine Disneyland and I mean that in a bad way. I think mid week could be fun but the Summer weekends can be very crowded and feel like a cattle call. There are plenty of other wine regions in the area that are very good and much more laid back. Something to think about. Overall, my advice to any tourist in SF is to pick a few neighborhoods that look interesting and spend a few hours walking them. SF is a city made up of a bunch of tiny little towns. The Mission, Haight (Upper/Lower), Inner Sunset, North Beach, Chinatown plus many, many others. They are all great. My advice for traveling North is to get off the main highways and hit some of the smaller towns outside of Napa and Santa Rosa. This is where you'll experience the real Northern California. Have fun.
Can you do one night in Healdsburg? There are a lot of smaller, very nice wineries in that area and it's a pretty romantic place for a honeymoon. On the way to/from, you can hit Russian River and Lagunitas. Alternatively if you do end up north of the city, Santa Rosa -> Bodega Bay -> Point Reyes -> Bolinas -> SF is a beautiful drive. You feel like you're in a different world over there. Toronado may not be the best place to go if you guys aren't comfortable with dive bars, but I enjoy it there. My lady prefers City Beer. Anchor is awesome in a historical sense. Really cool history and it's an interesting tour. Book far in advance if you decide to do that one. Alcatraz/Fisherman's Wharf/Ferry Building are all very touristy but pretty fun. Head out to the Cliff House for a neat experience and do some sightseeing in Lands End. The best view of the city on a clear day is from Twin Peaks.
So much this. I feel sorry for people that travel a long distance to SF and never see the Marin or Sonoma coastline. Make it happen. I guarantee you it will be 100x more romantic than anything in Napa.
The Trappist would also be a better romantic spot. It really feels like the bars in Belgium I've been to, albeit with much nicer servers and no indoor smoking. So way, way, better, in fact.
If you do go up to Russian River, Flavor is a good stop (for Moonlight), I just don't know if that's the type of place I'd be going out to dinner for any honeymoon type event. A couple other close by restaurants in Santa Rosa that might be a little bit more cozy and romantic would be Zazu and Willi's Wine Bar. If you make it up to Healdsburg there are a ton of options. If you want to drive a few miles west from Santa Rosa, definitely check out Underwood Bar and Bistro in Graton, as that would be a great place to grab dinner. The advice on taking HWY 1 is also great advice. You have to see the ocean if you're coming all the way out here!
Thanks for the drive info heading north to Santa rosa in August and highway 1 sounds like a must. How much extra time should we allott for this drive along the coast heading back from Santa rosa to sf?
They are small, twisty roads. You should give yourself a few hours if you want to do the full stretch from Bodega down to Muir Beach and over to 101. There are other options which may be faster, such as Santa Rosa to Bodega south to Point Reyes and back to Fairfax via Sir Francis Drake. Totally worth the drive - it's a beautiful area.
On the shortest route between Napa and SF is http://www.dirosaart.org/ couldn't be much more non beer related but absolutely unique, if your wife enjoys this sort the tour of the home is special and as mentioned above The Trappist for romance and a fine brew cheers to you and your bride jd
Absolutely hit Lagunitas, Russian River and Bear Republic. There's tons of wine tastings in Healdsburg and wineries around Santa Rosa and Windsor if you want to mix it up with the Bride.
A Napkin here ... In Napa (the city), there is only one spot worth going to for beer, Bilco's. It's weird as it's pool hall and under 21 are allowed, but they have 50 beers on tap, usually always Pliny, Blind Big, Moonlight Death and Taxes, etc. Outside of Napa proper, there's not really much for beer. If you like cocktails, there are plenty of great places for cocktails all up and down the valley. For food, well, you're in food mecca. What wineries are you looking to visit? Make sure you get a game plan in advance, as many are by appointment only and tasting room fees are usually $10-20+ (per person), depending on the winery. Experiences range at each of them too, from a simple tasting to food and wine pairings, tours, etc etc. If you need any help or specific questions for Napa, just let me know!
In the middle of my own honeymoon doing this trip... notable items: Kayaking on the Russian River Dinner at Bistro 29 Happy Hour + Sampler @ Russian River (the food is mediocre) Wine tastings dry creek (Bella, Preston), Spring Mountain (Pride) and Howell Mountain (Neal Family***) Exploratorium California Institute of Sciences Toronado/Rosamunde for burgers on Tuesday (11:30) And you have to do some of the touristy stuff (ie Alcatraz) BM me if you want any other info from our trip.
In addition to the coast, try & hit Muir Woods...lovely redwood trees. The Alcatraz tour is pretty cool. The Anchor tour is well worth it & you get beer at the end! It fills up fast, so I'd try for a reservation ASAP. If you hit the Trappist in Oakland, wander down Broadway to Beer Rev. For public transit optiojns check this out: www.beerbybart.com Congrats & enjoy!
Honestly, quite a bit as you're going to want to stop and check out different towns and spots. There is GREAT food along the way on this drive. If you take Highway 12 West>Bodega Hwy>Highway 1 South you will pass world class bakeries, wineries, oysters, cheese, etc. Basically, every little town has something to offer and it is all amazing.
Thanks for all the advice. My brother-in-law is a chef at a restaurant in Napa, which is part of the reason we're headed there, to get out to visit him. Also, he's dating a woman whose family owns a winery, so we'll have VIP access there. Neither of us are huge wine drinkers so we'll hit some wineries since it's the thing to do there, but it won't be the main focus. I really appreciate all this info, it'll help me to put together a decent game plan for the trip.
Nice! What restaurant and winery? I work in the food/beverage industry and know quite a few people in the valley, curious of what places.
