I'm from the twin cities and I'm heading out to Sacramento Wednesday and am looking for a couple brew pubs/bars to grab a few pints. Looking for some tasty IPA's. Any suggestions would be much appreciated. I could probably bring some fresh Surly if anyone had something they'd want to trade.
I can tell you do NOT go to Pangaea unless you feel like getting ripped off. I always have enjoyed Rubicon.
Rubicon was at the top of my list just from the little research I did. Any decent bars downtown with a good tap lineup?
Try Burgers and Brew too on 13th and R I believe. About a mile from Rubicon, so it's stumbling distance. Also highly recommend Pyramid on 11th and K, yes Pyramid. They had five of their IPAs on tap last week. Tried 3 and was very impressed with each one I had.
River Rock has a good list. They are more of a "bar" type atmosphere than "taproom/brewery" if that means anything. I would love to get my hands on some Surly, but I'm way out in Roseville and never know when I'll have time off...
I'd say you've got almost all the hotspots from other posters. Pangea's nice, but pricey, focused mainly on belgian beers, but they pretty much always have Pliny on tap--albeit at like $7.50 for an 8 oz pour. Rubicon's a standby: their beers are all pretty good, decent pub food. I've only been to River Rock once, but I was fairly impressed with their selection and look forward to going there again. And try this: Track 7 is one of the newer breweries in town, their stuff is all pretty good, and the vibe is nice there. It's in kind of a weird spot: literally a warehouse space, with the brewery in back, a bar, and a couple tables in front. For some reason, though, it's actually a really cool place to have a pint. Be sure to check hours, they're not open that much: http://track7brewing.com/ Oh yeah, pluse Davis Beer Shoppe is really great, if you don't mind driving about 12 miles down I-80 to Davis. It's an easy drive most of the time, but traffic can get backed up during rush hour and on weekends.
