21st Amendment Brewery

willjschmidt

California

3.45/5  rDev -9.2%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4 | service: 3.5 | selection: 2.5 | $$$$

A brewpub located in the SoMa neighborhood in SF, 2 blocks from AT&T park. A very nice looking place. A large u-shaped bar with lots of tables. Standard pub menu; pizza, burgers, sandwiches, etc. They only have 7 or so beers on-tap. When I was there, only 3 of those were their own: watermelon wheat, IPA, and Hop Crisis (their DIPA). The rest were a decent selection of guest taps from Trumer, Firestone Walker and Dogfish Head.

This place obviously gets absolutely packed before, during, and after Giants game. This makes getting a beer at the bar a 10-15 minute wait. Your best bet is to go to their "beer garden", which is just a roped off area adjoining the building. You can then buy cans of their beers in the back of this area for $4 and pour it into a plastic cup.

Prices here are ridiculously high. $6 for a pint of Trumer Pils, $7 for a 13oz pour of Hop Crisis. I tried to use my AHA card, which states that you get happy hour prices all the time with the card. 1st round they wouldn't honor it because I bought guest beers and the discount "only applies to their own beers". 2nd round (I bought 2 Hop Crisis) they wouldn't honor it because "it doesn't apply to special beers". The AHA website doesn't mention either of these stipulations. Taking away "special beers" (whatever the hell that means) and "guest beers", that means the discount only applies on 2 beers: Watermelon Wheat and Brew Free or Die IPA.

This is a decent place to get a beer but I wouldn't make a special trip to go here.

10-26-2010 17:02:45 | More by willjschmidt

WesM63

Ohio

4.1/5  rDev +7.9%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4 | food: 3.75 | $$

I visited 21st Amendment during a work trip to San Francisco in May of 2013.

A: Atmosphere is typical bar/eatery. Lots of chatter, Giants game on tv. Assorted crowd of college kids, business men/women and couples.

Q: Quality was above average. All of the beers were full of flavor and tons of brewery only beers. Actually, nearly all the beers on tap were brewery only beers. (Exceptions being Hell or High Watermelon and Brew Free or Die IPA)

S: Service was above average. The lady barkeep was polite and very cordial asking me promptly what I would like to try next and if I wanted food, etc. The only downfall to this is while both lady barkeeps were extremely nice, the second one was much more chatty with someone she know personally at the end of the bar. This did on occasion keep people waiting on beer. (I should mention I sat at the bar)

S: As mentioned previously. in addition to the canned beers they had tons of brewery/restaurant only releases. At least 7-8 in addition to the canned beers you see everyday as well as a couple guest ciders.

F: Food was above average bar food. I had the El Cubano (Pork and Ham Panani) which was a delicious sandwich and large portion.

V: Value was pretty reasonable. Pints were in the normal $6/$7 range with the food being slightly higher priced, $12-13 IIRC.

O: Overall, this is a great place to visit. It's 2blocks from AT&T park and 2blocks from the Courtyard Marriot. I was pleasantly surprised as I was expecting the draft list to be comprised of their canned beers maybe 1-2 brewery/pub only beers. That was not the case at all, in fact it was the other way around. 7-8 brewery/pub only beers and 2 canned beers (Hell or High Watermelon and Brew Free or Die IPA) on tap. None of the beers were over the top must haves, but all excellent none the less.

05-08-2013 04:58:26 | More by WesM63

BlackHaddock

United Kingdom (England)

3.75/5  rDev -1.3%
vibe: 3.5 | quality: 3.75 | service: 4 | selection: 3.5 | food: 4 | $$$

Visited on 5 Feb 2013 during ’Strong Beer Month’ where nearly all the brews on offer were on the strong side.

The actual place is basic and fairly large: looks smaller and compact from the street. Bar and drinking area as you walk in: an eating area with a raised portion at the back behind the bar its self.

I had two flights of five draughts: all nine on-tap beers available on the day and a Two Rivers Cider. All in good condition, even if I wasn’t too excited by a couple of the brews.

Lass behind the bar worked hard and looked after me, to food was good too. I wasn’t expecting such a high bill though.

03-27-2013 21:46:34 | More by BlackHaddock

litheum94

California

3.5/5  rDev -7.9%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4 | service: 2.5 | selection: 3.5 | food: 4 | $$

Visited the brewpub today, and since it was my fourth visit and first time eating there, I figured this was a good time to post a review.

My wife, daughter and I paid a visit after spending the day at the Academy of Sciences, and we stopped in for an early dinner and some drinks. I wouldn't say that it is exactly kid friendly, since they don't have a kid's menu, but my daughter was welcomed and they altered their quesadilla to fit her tastes. My wife and I shared the carnitas quesadilla and we had no complaints about it at all. It was very good.

The beer, as expected was good. Between the two of us, we tried the 5 South Pale Ale, Ugly Sweater Winter IPA, and Roasted American. Ugly Sweater was a little above average, but the other two were very good. I liked the 5 South so much, I refilled my growler with it.

Now, the complaints. In regards to the growler, it cost $18 to refill it. That's far too much for a growler refill for a non-special beer, and I can't say I'll be refilling mine again, unless it's something amazing.

My other complaint was the service. Our waitress didn't seem to have a clue. Her attitude was one of apathy, and she had a lot of trouble getting our order straight. When she first came to us, I asked for a ginger soda, a pint of Roasted American, and a sample of the Ugly Sweater and the 5 South. It took her going over the order three times to repeat it correctly, and then when she came back , she brought the first two drinks, but only one sampler. I enjoyed it, and based on the description of the beers on their drink list, I was pretty sure it was the 5 South. When she came back around, I asked what I had, and she told me it was the Ugly Sweater. I was skeptical, but ordered a pint of it anyway. When the beer came to the table, it was clear that what I had a sample of was not the Ugly Sweater. It wasn't the end of the world, but when you work in a brewpub, you should know what beer you're serving.

Other than those two aspects, our visit was a good one, as my other visits were. The atmosphere was nice, and the beer is good enough that I'll pay another visit when I'm in the area.

12-30-2012 02:41:59 | More by litheum94

stratelectric

Massachusetts

2.79/5  rDev -26.6%
vibe: 3.5 | quality: 3 | service: 2 | selection: 3 | $$

I happened to have some spare time while on the central coast of CA for work, so decided I'd take the drive North to San Fran and check out some beer spots. My first concern was parking. Parking in San Fran is not always easy. To my suprise there was plenty of street side parking available, when we showed up on a Saturday evening (12/8/12) around 4:30PM. Bring your quarters to feed the meters! Upon first entering, I thought, wow, this would be a great place to watch a game. Plenty of TVs in the bar area (both upstairs and downstairs). Not a lot of standing room, so I made my way to the hostess station to grab a table. There were 3 workers standing there talking to each other so I stood and waited....and waited...and waited. 8 minutes went by before they looked at me and said, it will be one minute sir. Now growing impatient and irritable, I decided to walk upstairs and see if the staff was any more accomodating up there. They were. We were quickily sitting down, with cold drinks in our hand in no time. In the short time we were there I had 3 drinks. "5-south" typical west coast style IPA. Big Hops, refreshing taste. And two "Leuven Life" (Their APA. it was too good to only have one). Given the opportunity I would go back, but there are certainly too many other brew/bar/eateries around make a special trip. Total score: 3 out of 5 stars. Slightly above average.

12-09-2012 20:01:42 | More by stratelectric

DoubleJ

California

3.88/5  rDev +2.1%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4 | service: 3.5 | selection: 4 | food: 4 | $$$

I knew there would be some drinking in order. Guilherme was thirsty, Andre didn't taste enough beer in Michigan before making his flight to San Fran, and I hadn't had a beer in 9 hours. We were in need of some barley-based drinks to go with dinner, and 21st Amendment seemed like a safe choice to satisfy both demands. Parking in on the street, and lucky for us, we found a spot across the street from the brewpub.

Everyone paints a vision in their head to what a visit to <insert brewery name here> would look like. I expected 21st Amendment to be big, but it was smaller and more cozy than I expected. A "U" shaped bar greets you as you walk in from the street. Just work you way around a small crowd if you want to put your name down for a table. Wait, wait , wait....get that table, examine the open-air kitchen which is beside you, and start developing a plan.

We were dissapointed to learn that we would have to place all our orders at the bar, as there were no servers in our section of the restaurant. That said, the service at the bar was accessable. There were 8 different house beers on-tap, including a Belgian Pale Ale, Belgian Abbey, and Bitter American. And let's not forget the one guest tap Trumer. Eventaully, we sampled all eight of the house beers (some good, some slighty better than average), poured in a variety of different glassware. Pours were $6.

On to food; mussels and fries for me (yum!), Guilherme gets a burger, and Andre orders chili and gumbo. I like mussels and fries when I drink beer.

We left as happy customers. And then we realized the truck parked three spaces from my car was broken into. Shattered windows and glass on the street. Holy shit, my car dodged a bullet there.

11-12-2012 19:55:21 | More by DoubleJ

excalibur

Kentucky

3.13/5  rDev -17.6%
vibe: 3 | quality: 3 | service: 3.5 | selection: 3 | food: 3 | $

We took the excellant public transportation to this place and then walked several blocks. This pub is in the south beach area. It is a large building with rather cold looking concrete walls and steel beams overhead. We visited in the late afternoon and it was crowded but we were seated quickly. Unfortunately the bar was fully occupied so we got a table. I think sitting at the bar is the best place to get a feel for the place and to converce with the bartender. The beers we had, Brew Free Or Die 7% & 70 IBU and Back in Black 6.8% & 65 IBU were good. Unfortunately the beer selection was somewhat limited with about 6 or so drafts when we were there but now I see that they have many more beers and they look interesting. We had the ubiquitous calamari and there were many burgers on the menu and some vegetarian options that looked good.

11-07-2012 02:36:52 | More by excalibur

ExtraStout

Massachusetts

4/5  rDev +5.3%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4 | service: 4 | selection: 4 | food: 4 | $$

Stopped in on a Saturday night about 7:30 and there was a wait of about 20 minutes for larger groups but we were two and got a seat quickly. The beer selection was better than most eateries since they brew their own. They also had guest brews which I found to be better than their own brew. Not that their brews were bad, just average is all.

I had their burger and my wife got a salad with chicken. I have never seen food served so quickly, anywhere, ever! I don't know what system they have but seems like everyone got their food in five minutes or less. I guess that's what three working cooks will get you.

My burger was done just right and the salad was chopped to just the right sizes. Overall, I really enjoyed the experience and might be back before I leave on Thursday.

10-15-2012 17:20:33 | More by ExtraStout

PatDugan

3.3/5  rDev -13.2%
vibe: 3.5 | quality: 3 | service: 3 | selection: 4 | food: 3 | $$

I like 21st Amendment's beer selections quite a bit and I also enjoy their physical brewery. The location is more restaurant and less brewery, but that certainly doesn't make it any less fun to visit. The food is pretty delicious, although I personally enjoy their brunch menu quite a bit more than their lunch/dinner options. They have a number of 21st Amendment beers on tap in addition to a variety of other selections they rotate through seasonally. Great bar to stop in before a Giants game since it's so close to AT&T park.

10-09-2012 02:50:33 | More by PatDugan

RblWthACoz

Pennsylvania

3.93/5  rDev +3.4%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 4 | service: 3.5 | selection: 4 | food: 4 | $$

21st strikes me as a pretty typical spot for San Francisco. The decor is open with a lot of wood which provides a nice rustic touch, in a mildly urban kind of way. There is something that speaks just enough of it stretching to be a tourists spot. T-shirts, glasses, wristbands, and the like clearly waiting to be purchased. Beer nerds will be happy to know that the beer selection extends well beyond the canned beers that 21st has become famous for. Out of these other beers, the variety is wide enough to give a good drinking experience. Service is relaxed. Food is standard brewpub faire done in a way that is good enough for San Francisco diners, yet nowhere near mind-blowing, let alone anywhere near interesting or memorable. Their location is quite close to AT&T Park, if you're in for a Giants game. It's also fairly close (but a bit of a walk) to/from CalTrain and the N-line on Muni, if you're wondering how to get here. Worth a stop if you're visiting the city.

08-30-2012 17:15:06 | More by RblWthACoz