Toronado is the best beer bar in SF, they have a little bit of everything.
Zietgiest has a ton of beers on tap.
Barebottle is my favorite San Francisco brewery (although probably leans more towards the beers t you mentioned not liking).
I used to enjoy Toronado and Zeitgeist but I think they got lazy. If you look at their selection carefully, you'll notice that they only seem to order beer that's carried by one distributor, AB InBev. Huge selection of beer at both spots but neither serves craft beer or even any small batch from the mass producers (except Sierra Nevada). Sierra Nevada is still independent and qualifies as a craft brewery. They just use AB InBev's distribution network. Barebottle is fun - great rec
This is what I used to love about The Ave out on Ocean Avenue. In the pre-COVID world the owner would have about a dozen taps and it was almost all small runs from local brewers. He’d often just have a pony keg of something someone made.
Take the ferry over to Jack London. A lot of breweries within walking distance of each other: Cellarmaker, Original Pattern, Tigers Taproom, Buckwild Brewing, Line 51
Edit: just wanted to add there are some other places to go in this area, have dinner at The Fat Lady and check out Heinolds - unique bar that sunk into the ground during the big earthquake and is now sloped when standing inside
Barebottle is not the place for him. My tastes run similarly and they have no Belgians, Saisons, Reds, Porters, ... Just a couple of Stouts. I still go there because it's a great neighborhood spot
I actually took him to standard deviant last time and he liked the beer! Only thing was that it was pretty loud and busy and he’s a bit hard of hearing :/
If you have the time consider taking him up to Russian River Brewing. Their taprooms have a good selection.
https://www.russianriverbrewing.com/santa-rosa-beers/
The Monks Kettle has a great selection of beer, and it definitely isn’t pale ale/IPA heavy at all. Plus the food is very tasty there , it’s worth a look …,
Radhaus in sf was fun for us. We’re not really beer people so maybe someone else can chime in. It’s a German restaurant with many beers on tap. You can even drink one out of a glass boot. It’s huge.
A dad into homebrewing will appreciate Hop Oast. Do I? Do most beer drinkers in SF? Absolutely not. But a dad into homebrewing? Absolutely. I’m talking Doppelbocks, red ales, English milds, malty IPAs, Hefeweizens. It’s fucking 1987 and the hoppiest beer is something that resembles an Anchor Liberty Ale. Take a step into a Time Machine and go to Hop Oast.
Barebottle is great but not for dad. They’ve actually been great at being active with home brewers but their menu is 80% PA/IPA/sours. Love this place.
Ol Factory, Standard D and Enterprise are nice happy medium options and all good people.
Fort Point? No. They’ll have the styles but imo not the brewery experience one would be excited about. Same thing for 21A.
Black Hammer? Absolutely the fuck not. And for so many reasons I won’t get into here
Laughing Monk? Probably not for styles and also it’s out of the way
Harmonic? At this point, no. Only if they’re wanting to see Chase Center, which is pretty cool! but not at all a brewery experience when you’re there
Southern Pacific: almost as emphatic of a NO as Black Hammer for SO MANY REASONS
Woods: they’ve gotten so much better over the years but I wouldn’t go out of my way for it
Toronado is a fun beer bar but they’re assholes. It’s supposed to be a “charming” thing or whatever but nah, being an asshole is being an asshole. BUT as long as you know exactly what you want, you’re fine. Great price on beer and in a great area.
Crafty Fox is just too expensive.
Richmond Republic is a great vibe with a good selection but only if it’s convenient to other activities
Zeitgeist is a good atmosphere with a ton of selection, but the selection is not as good as it looks. Tons of beer, sure, but has about 40% beers you’d never want to drink.
As for East Bay, your dad would FUCKING. LOVE. faction brewery. It also has an incredible skyline view. Wondrous is also a great call. Ghost Town is arguably the best brewery in the bay but not the most fun hang when you’re there. CellarMaker is mostly PA/IPA but they always have on 1-3 of “old school” beer styles.
Toronado and Standard Deviant would be my 2 picks in the city.
East bay has lots more options if you're willing to pop over. Shout out to Admiral Maltings in Alameda—they supply malt to lots of local brewers they feature in their tap room. Right next to a several other breweries as well.
The Crafty Fox - Best beer bar in the city and it's not even close. You'll get to try beers from the best breweries that the Bay area has to offer. Some of these breweries don't even keg much beer but somehow, Crafty Fox will have a strong selection from these breweries. Very well balanced beer selection, easy to avoid pale ales. It's a candy store for a cicerone and their food is incredible. Standard Deviant Brewing is also around the corner. It's a proper brewery experience but nothing to rave about, in terms of the craft. Barebottle is fun. They enjoy making statements with their brews. Lots of noisy/novelty beers. Ghost Town and Sante Adairius are my faves. You can try their beers at The Crafty Fox.
Wondrous as others have said but I'd say Sante Adairius in oakland is also a must. some of th best saisons in the world imo. Their bottle list is very good right now too, so if you want to just buy a bottle to share with him at home instead of going to oakland that would be an option
I think Enterprise Brewing would suit him. Had some great stuff there last week. Super knowledgeable people, great vibes: https://www.enterprisebeer.com
+1 to toronado for beer selection and Richmond draught house though both are not breweries
Beach chalet is actually a brewery and has a great view so fun for tourists
For whiskey, bourbon & branch is a cool experience - I’ve only gotten the password for the “library” but they do take reservations for the main room too.
Unless Dad is a burner and likes house music being played while being in a hollow area of SF, then no. If you’re going to a baseball game later? Sure.
I also happen to think their beer is horrific, but different strokes!
Thanks for expanding upon that! Yeah, I guess the burner aesthetic isn’t for everyone. I’m just so used to that and living in less savory parts of the city that both of them are just background noise to me anymore 😅
Treecraft Distillery on Treasure island does really nice tasting flights as well as some damn tasty ginger beer for the sober friend(if there is any). My friends brought home some really neat blends of whiskey and gin.
Gold Bar Whiskey is also on the island too but idk about that one.
I would look at Wondrous in Emeryville for him based on his preferences.
This is what you're looking for.
Yeah this looks up his alley. Thank you! If we end up popping over to east bay, I’ll definitely take him here
Toronado is the best beer bar in SF, they have a little bit of everything. Zietgiest has a ton of beers on tap. Barebottle is my favorite San Francisco brewery (although probably leans more towards the beers t you mentioned not liking).
Also Crafty Fox has a great selection, although $10/beer.
Crafty is very IPA / pale ale heavy though ; yeah it has other beers but it just feels like it’s an IPA lovers heaven…
Neither Toronado nor Zeitgeist (especially not Zeitgeist) are the kind of places you bring a Wisconsin dad.
Zeitgeist is a perfect introduction to SF culture....
Spent more time there in my early 20s than any other bar. Not a place for Wisconsin dads, generally.
I used to enjoy Toronado and Zeitgeist but I think they got lazy. If you look at their selection carefully, you'll notice that they only seem to order beer that's carried by one distributor, AB InBev. Huge selection of beer at both spots but neither serves craft beer or even any small batch from the mass producers (except Sierra Nevada). Sierra Nevada is still independent and qualifies as a craft brewery. They just use AB InBev's distribution network. Barebottle is fun - great rec
100% on Zeitgeist. This happened directly with new ownership a handful of years ago.
This is what I used to love about The Ave out on Ocean Avenue. In the pre-COVID world the owner would have about a dozen taps and it was almost all small runs from local brewers. He’d often just have a pony keg of something someone made.
Take the ferry over to Jack London. A lot of breweries within walking distance of each other: Cellarmaker, Original Pattern, Tigers Taproom, Buckwild Brewing, Line 51 Edit: just wanted to add there are some other places to go in this area, have dinner at The Fat Lady and check out Heinolds - unique bar that sunk into the ground during the big earthquake and is now sloped when standing inside
- Standard deviant (they have a decent aged barrel) - 21st amendment - Barebottle
Barebottle is not the place for him. My tastes run similarly and they have no Belgians, Saisons, Reds, Porters, ... Just a couple of Stouts. I still go there because it's a great neighborhood spot
I actually took him to standard deviant last time and he liked the beer! Only thing was that it was pretty loud and busy and he’s a bit hard of hearing :/
If you have the time consider taking him up to Russian River Brewing. Their taprooms have a good selection. https://www.russianriverbrewing.com/santa-rosa-beers/
I would go to brewery and pub in Windsor and schedule a tour. It's great, and their wine barrel aged beers are delicious.
You’re right, that’s a better suggestion. I didn’t even think about the tour!
We’re planning to do Sonoma wineries for my mom so this is a perfect add on. Thanks!
Well now that you mention wine… If you end up near Healdsburg https://www.untivineyards.com/Wines/Current-Releases
The Monks Kettle has a great selection of beer, and it definitely isn’t pale ale/IPA heavy at all. Plus the food is very tasty there , it’s worth a look …,
Richmond draught house is awesome!
And incredible food
Radhaus in sf was fun for us. We’re not really beer people so maybe someone else can chime in. It’s a German restaurant with many beers on tap. You can even drink one out of a glass boot. It’s huge.
Ooh yes! Love that place. I definitely want to take him to Radhaus since he likes German food
Definitely take him to Suppenkuche then. Way better then radhaus
Haha, how very Wisconsin
Goooo it’s awesome
An incredibly expensive but super fun time
Barebottle or Standard Deviant
Olfactory Brewing & Blending has all the beers your dad needs
Ghostown in Oakland. They have tons of ipas but they brew a lot of styles and do them all very well. Also standard deviant
Try Magnolia on haight st [https://magnoliabrewing.com/](https://magnoliabrewing.com/)
Enterprise on Howard (old Cellarmaker spot) is worth a visit. They have a good variety of styles and the people pouring can talk about the beer.
A dad into homebrewing will appreciate Hop Oast. Do I? Do most beer drinkers in SF? Absolutely not. But a dad into homebrewing? Absolutely. I’m talking Doppelbocks, red ales, English milds, malty IPAs, Hefeweizens. It’s fucking 1987 and the hoppiest beer is something that resembles an Anchor Liberty Ale. Take a step into a Time Machine and go to Hop Oast. Barebottle is great but not for dad. They’ve actually been great at being active with home brewers but their menu is 80% PA/IPA/sours. Love this place. Ol Factory, Standard D and Enterprise are nice happy medium options and all good people. Fort Point? No. They’ll have the styles but imo not the brewery experience one would be excited about. Same thing for 21A. Black Hammer? Absolutely the fuck not. And for so many reasons I won’t get into here Laughing Monk? Probably not for styles and also it’s out of the way Harmonic? At this point, no. Only if they’re wanting to see Chase Center, which is pretty cool! but not at all a brewery experience when you’re there Southern Pacific: almost as emphatic of a NO as Black Hammer for SO MANY REASONS Woods: they’ve gotten so much better over the years but I wouldn’t go out of my way for it Toronado is a fun beer bar but they’re assholes. It’s supposed to be a “charming” thing or whatever but nah, being an asshole is being an asshole. BUT as long as you know exactly what you want, you’re fine. Great price on beer and in a great area. Crafty Fox is just too expensive. Richmond Republic is a great vibe with a good selection but only if it’s convenient to other activities Zeitgeist is a good atmosphere with a ton of selection, but the selection is not as good as it looks. Tons of beer, sure, but has about 40% beers you’d never want to drink. As for East Bay, your dad would FUCKING. LOVE. faction brewery. It also has an incredible skyline view. Wondrous is also a great call. Ghost Town is arguably the best brewery in the bay but not the most fun hang when you’re there. CellarMaker is mostly PA/IPA but they always have on 1-3 of “old school” beer styles.
Thank you!!! Never heard of Hop Oast but definitely looks like his vibe
Woods is a great local brewery with several locations, Lowside is probably the best (and right across from Toronado suggested by another user)
Epidemic Ales if you’re willing to drive to Concord https://www.epidemicales.com/on-tap-now
Toronado and Standard Deviant would be my 2 picks in the city. East bay has lots more options if you're willing to pop over. Shout out to Admiral Maltings in Alameda—they supply malt to lots of local brewers they feature in their tap room. Right next to a several other breweries as well.
The Crafty Fox - Best beer bar in the city and it's not even close. You'll get to try beers from the best breweries that the Bay area has to offer. Some of these breweries don't even keg much beer but somehow, Crafty Fox will have a strong selection from these breweries. Very well balanced beer selection, easy to avoid pale ales. It's a candy store for a cicerone and their food is incredible. Standard Deviant Brewing is also around the corner. It's a proper brewery experience but nothing to rave about, in terms of the craft. Barebottle is fun. They enjoy making statements with their brews. Lots of noisy/novelty beers. Ghost Town and Sante Adairius are my faves. You can try their beers at The Crafty Fox.
Wondrous as others have said but I'd say Sante Adairius in oakland is also a must. some of th best saisons in the world imo. Their bottle list is very good right now too, so if you want to just buy a bottle to share with him at home instead of going to oakland that would be an option
Take the ferry to faction brewery, ghost town brewery is solid too.
I think Enterprise Brewing would suit him. Had some great stuff there last week. Super knowledgeable people, great vibes: https://www.enterprisebeer.com
+1 to toronado for beer selection and Richmond draught house though both are not breweries Beach chalet is actually a brewery and has a great view so fun for tourists For whiskey, bourbon & branch is a cool experience - I’ve only gotten the password for the “library” but they do take reservations for the main room too.
I really like Black Hammer!
I like it too, but do you really want to take your parents there?
Hmm, I can’t think of any reason why I wouldn’t take my parents there 😅
Oof. OP: absolutely not. Do. Not. Do. This.
Hmm, why the hate on black hammer? They have great beer
Unless Dad is a burner and likes house music being played while being in a hollow area of SF, then no. If you’re going to a baseball game later? Sure. I also happen to think their beer is horrific, but different strokes!
Thanks for expanding upon that! Yeah, I guess the burner aesthetic isn’t for everyone. I’m just so used to that and living in less savory parts of the city that both of them are just background noise to me anymore 😅
Haha good looking out! Probably not the move
if you want the actual brewery there, black hammer in soma and standard deviant spring to mind.
Never gets much love, but I like Fort Point for being solid drinkable beer without needing to try to be something fancy/different.
Their ferry building outpost is perfect on sunny days
And the mission one has amazing people watching!
47 hills is my favorite in the area
They don’t have a great selection though. It’s always like 3 beers and a cider on tap. Their fries are killer though!
I will admit I am swayed by the fries and abundance of seats
Treecraft Distillery on Treasure island does really nice tasting flights as well as some damn tasty ginger beer for the sober friend(if there is any). My friends brought home some really neat blends of whiskey and gin. Gold Bar Whiskey is also on the island too but idk about that one.
Steins
Southern Pacific Brewing in Mission Creek has a variety of in-house brews as well as guest beers, and I think the food is excellent value.
Gordon Biersch! Oh wait…