Trip Planning - SF Bay Area

Toronado in the Lower Haight usually has Pliny of tap.

Other bars/bottle shops/breweries to consider:

CellarMaker (Brewery in SOMA)
City Beer Store (Bottle shop/bar in SOMA)
Mikkeller Bar SF (Bar in Tenderloin)
The Rare Barrel in Berkeley (Brewery/Bar)

 

If you make it nowhere else please go to rare barrel. A trip to anchor is also cool. And see the short list above. You should be able to find some pliney if you have your heart set on it. Word of advice, go to a brewery and ask them what the best beer bars are in the city, there are a few hidden gems that didn't exist when I lived up there.

 

Ps I will either be up end of January or early February if you just want to hitch a ride up to Santa Rosa one afternoon.

 

Use the search function.

 

If you're in Alameda, you should consider Oakland - Trappist, The Good Hop, Trappist Provisions, Barclays (usually has Pliny or Blind Pig on tap).

And always: http://beerbybart.com/

 

If you have any extra time, go to Sante Adairius in Capitola (basically Santa Cruz). Excellent beers on tap, and a bottle for sale is more likely these days. Just bring a bottle to share and you will have an amazing time, it is always basically one giant share.

 

It's an easy area to enjoy some good beer.... I don't know how easy it is to get Pliny in the bottle because I usually just get it up at the brewery. I just bought a bottle down here in so cal so I've gotta assume the shops in the city will have it as frequently as we do down here.

Use Facebook and Instagram leading up to your trip as well. Shops love to post and brag about what came in. I'll keep a look out when I am up there as well. I'm there for 75% work, 25% alcohol haha

 

I wanna check out the Rare Barrel in Berkeley next time I visit....all sours.
http://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/33018/?sort=avgD&view=beers
http://www.yelp.com/biz/the-rare-barrel-berkeley-3

 

It is not easy to get Pliny in bottles...pretty much sells out within a few hours of delivery everywhere so unless you know when and where and can get out of work in the middle of the business day, it's not likely to happen. It's very easy to on draft, though.

Also, since you'll be in Alameda, check out Faction. They make great hoppy beers and I'm told the location is really cool, but haven't got out there yet. They might have limited hours, though.

 

2nd for Faction and St. George spirits is right next door. Lucky 13 is in Alameda and they usually have Pliny and Blind Pig on. Mcgees is also down the street and they are the same. If you're looking for bottles, Encinal market has a great selection and always has Beachwood bottles in stock which doesn't happen in Northern California.

 

Your best bet at getting Pliny bottles is to set up an IP trade. Pliny sells out quickly, and if you do find some there's a good chance you'll be limited to 1-2 bottles.

 

I don't know why I did not include these on my original response, but other bottle shops to consider are:

Healthy Spirits (shops in the Castro and Richmond)
http://healthy-spirits.blogspot.com/?m=1

Ales Unlimited (Pacific Heights)
http://www.alesunlimited.com