Road trip from LA to San Francisco - What breweries and bars should we hit?

Discussion in 'Pacific' started by TheAngryBurrito, Mar 20, 2013.

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  1. TheAngryBurrito

    TheAngryBurrito Initiate (0) Jan 6, 2013 California

    For fourth of July my wife and I are going to do a road trip from LA up to San Fran. Any recommendations on places we should go in between or once we get there? Firestone and Russian River are already planned. Thanks
     
  2. grilledsquid

    grilledsquid Initiate (0) Jul 10, 2009 California
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    This is a great question that's never been asked before.
     
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  3. Johnnyramirez

    Johnnyramirez Initiate (0) Nov 17, 2012 California

    Lagunitas, Drakes, Bear Republic as far as breweries, and then hit up Beer Rev, City Beer, Healthy Spirits, Toronado, and depending if you stick to going up the coast both ways or taking the boring way down the 5 one way, I'd suggest Perry's Liquors and Dust Bowl Brewing.

    EDIT: Perry's Liquor is in Livermore. Dust Bowl in Turlock off the 99. Not the 5. Sorry. You can however go from the 99 to the 5 easily and doesn't add much if any time to the trip in my experience.
     
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  4. SageO

    SageO Initiate (0) Jul 13, 2010 California

    Heh, I've done the same, and in fact will be doing it again next week, albeit from SD to SF.

    First off, take PCH most of the way - it's gorgeous and will keep you from getting bored. If you're going Friday-Sunday, I would go to Barrelworks just because it's new and novel (haven't actually been there myself), otherwise go to FW as you said. Hollister and Ladyface are also options along the way (again, haven't been to either myself, but have had good beer from both).

    For SF, you've got 21st Amendment, Anchor, City Beer, and of course Toronado.

    For east bay you have Drakes, OL, Beer Revolution, and The Trappist.

    For Sonoma County, you've got RR, Bear Republic, and Lagunitas. Tip: there's a Motel 6 right next to Lagunitas, so end your day there after you've had an "Around the World" flight.
     
  5. HopHead618

    HopHead618 Initiate (0) Jan 2, 2013 California

    I did a similar trip for my bachelor party last June. Firestone was our first stop, and probably our favorite of the trip (so much that we stopped there again on the way down). We went to the brewery in Paso Robles, but I've heard a lot of good things about Barrelworks in Buellton, as SageO mentioned. Figueroa Mountain Brewing is also in Buellton, so you might want to check that out too.

    We also ended up going to Russian River and Drake's, and we wanted to do Lagunitas but didn't have time.

    I moved to the Bay recently, so as a resident I highly recommend Sante Adairius Rustic Ales in Capitola (off route 1 near Santa Cruz). They've consistently been cranking out some amazing beers, and they don't have distribution yet so the tap room is the only place to try them for now. Super friendly folks too.
     
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  6. Zhiguli

    Zhiguli Initiate (0) Jul 12, 2012 California

    The nose of Coalinga is quite the experience. Hope you're taking the 5 so you don't miss out.
     
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  7. Johnnyramirez

    Johnnyramirez Initiate (0) Nov 17, 2012 California

    I find it pairs well with a saison. What better way to enjoy a farmhouse beer than basking in that hot farmhouse aroma?
     
  8. brokensail

    brokensail Grand Pooh-Bah (4,025) May 25, 2008 California
    Pooh-Bah Trader

    In terms of beer, 101 is the best route. The view is also pretty good too.

    Recommended stops along the way:

    Ladyface (Agoura Hills)
    Hollister (Goleta/Santa Barbara)
    Firestone Walker Barrelworks (Buellton)/Firestone Walker Brewery (Paso Robles)
    Tap It (SLO)

    There are plenty of other stops to make, but those are probably the best of the ones I've been to.

    If you do go up the center of the state, there's really only beer off of 99: Lengthwise, Brewbakers, Full Circle (the worst brewery I've ever been to), Sequoia, and then some others when you get further up in the Modesto area.
     
  9. mtk180

    mtk180 Initiate (0) Jan 18, 2013 California

    You should definitely drive up Route 1. The views of the ocean are beyond spectacular.

    As for beer, I know that Toronado in SF and The Trappist in Oakland are definitely worth checking out. Other than that, I would just spend a few days at Russian River and drink there every day. It's that good.
     
  10. JasonFromLA

    JasonFromLA Initiate (0) Jan 9, 2013 California

    Take the 101 and stop at Ladyface, Hollister, FW Barrelworks and Brewery, Figueroa Mountain, Tap It.

    Then continue North and hit up Lagunitas, Drakes, Bear Republic, Russian River.

    Other than those, just fill in with (awesome) places you're interested in visiting such as Toronado and Beer Revolution.

    And never go to Perry's Liquor, not that you'd want to go to Livermore for any reason anyway.
     
  11. Retsinis

    Retsinis Maven (1,486) Sep 25, 2009 Arizona

    Agree with most of the suggestions already made. While Paso Robles is beautiful, with a stop in Buelton, you can hit two breweries rather easily, Firestone Walker, and Figeroa Mountain, so I suggest that to hit more spots, or do both, since barrel works should have a few different beers then in Paso. But before that, there is also Island Brewing in Carpinteria, near the beach, well priced bottles to go, and usually quite a lot on tap for growler fills, and on site, and as mentioned, on the opposite end of Santa Barbara county is Hollister, also worth a stop if you haven't been.

    Now on the drive, if you haven't driven PCH all the way, through San Simion, Big Sur, Monterey, etc. Then go for it, beautiful drive. But, know it will take you a lot longer to get north that way. Last time I went (last April), one of the bridges that had collasped was being re-built, and we had to stop for traffic to be let through each way, which that added about 30 more mintutes to the trek, but also the curves of the road will also add time, but it all depends on how much time you have to get to San Franscisco.
     
  12. brokensail

    brokensail Grand Pooh-Bah (4,025) May 25, 2008 California
    Pooh-Bah Trader

    You can also go to Solvang Brewing, which is the same exit off 101 as Figueroa Mountain, just the opposite direction. Their beers are hit or miss. But same with Figueroa Mountain, though Solvang is probably more miss than hit.

    Island is pretty meh, but the beach is nice.

    If you want to spend some time in Santa Barbara, there's Telegraph (pretty limited hours), Santa Barbara Brewing (meh), and The Brewhouse.

    One thing to keep in mind about Firestone Barrelworks is that the hours are VERY limited, so be aware of that.
     
  13. t0rin0

    t0rin0 Pooh-Bah (2,779) Dec 30, 2006 California
    Pooh-Bah Society

    There are really three legs to this trip: 1) from LA to SF (I had some time to kill so I wrote out my notes from ALL the breweries on this stretch), 2) around SF, and 3) north of SF (if you really need to go to Russian River).

    1) there are a LOT of breweries along 101 between LA and SJ. I havent been to all of them yet but I've been to most. I think the best ones are (in order of latitude) Ladyface, Hollister, and Firestone but I hear great things about Cambria as well (will visit on Saturday) even though it's about a half hour off of 101.

    2) Not sure where you're staying but if you are near a BART station you can get to most of the better yay area destinations by train and walk at most a mile. In SF you can take the SF tick trail. Start at 21A near Giants stadium (4 blocks from the last Cal Train station), hike a few blocks up to Mission and visit Thirsty Bear if you want on the way, take the bus (4 or 71) and that will take you along Haight so you can stop at Toronado and Magnolia, Amoeba (music), and eventually wrap around the park dropping you a block from Social Kitchen. If you're into checking out new breweries get off BART at either 16th/Mission or 24th/Mission and visit Southern Pacific, Southpaw, and MateVeza. While you're in that neighborhood you can also check out Rosamunde, Pi Bar, and Benders (friendlier Toronado, not as good a tap list (but always has Pliny), and an even better juke box (I played an entire Mercyful Fate album for about $3)).

    East bay: if you only have a day stick to Oakland and do Trappist and Beer Revolution and if you're BARTing around the bay you can go a few stops north to Berkely and walk to Jupiter, Triple Rock. If you're into ticking and you havent had enough of that at Beer Revolution head south to San Leandro and visit Drakes.

    This is about 3 days worth of stuff to do and it doesnt get you much site seeing so keep that in mind.

    http://beerbybart.com/

    3) If you're going to Russian River you might as well stop at Lagunitas on the way. Bear Republic is only a few minutes further. Tickwise there are a bunch of breweries on 101 between the city and RR. Mill Valley Beerworks, Marin (you can take the ferry from SF here if you want to check that out, and it goes right by San Quentin which is kind of cool), Broken Drum and Iron Springs, Moylans, Dempseys, Lagunitas, and finally Third St Aleworks and Russian River. I dont see it listed anywhere yet but Beltane Brewing just opened. If you want to enjoy yourself at either Lagunitas or Russian River I'd recommend staying there over night.

    At this point you can stop reading but in case you have other motivations to stop along 101 heading from LA (historic towns, relatives, what ever) here is a fairly complete listing of breweries along that stretch in order of latitude:

    -Wolf Creek Brewing (Calabasas) - not really a brewery, gets the beer from the real brewery in Valencia. Not bad.
    -Ladyface (Agoura Hills) - great food, good to great beer, very nice people. They made a special quad for us for Ratebeer Summer Gathering.
    -LAB Brewing (Agoura Hills, 1 mile from Ladyface) - meh, good amount of guest beers but expensive and the beer isnt very good.
    -Enegren Brewing (Simi Valley or Moorpark or somewhere you dont want to go) - way out of the way, havent stopped here yet.
    -Surf Brewing (Ventura) - beer is decent, standard industrial brewery/tasting room.
    -Anacapa (Ventura) - beer is kind of meh but if you're hungry definitely get the scorcher burger. It's not actually very hot but it's awesome; pepper jack, fried jalapenos, those green peppers they roast and put in all southwest food, and chipotle mayo.
    -Island Brewing (Carpenteria) - nice area, near the ocean, allows dogs, but the beer is just alright though they sometimes will have their latest barrel aged creations on tap and available to go in bottles.
    -Brewhouse Santa Barbara - 16 house taps, does live music on weekends, RIGHT next to the freeway, but the beer is just alright. For the hell of it try which ever Habanero Hot Shot they have on tap (pils, hefe, and theres another one). Meh.
    -Santa Barbara Brewing - right down town, I hear they got a new brewer a couple years ago so the beer should be better now but it wasnt very impressive when I was there. 12ish taps.
    -Telegraph Brewing (Santa Barbara) - they had limited hours last time I was there but they are nice people and always have some interesting beer around (their Obscura series comes to mind). Another industrial brewery. Also hooked us up for Ratebeer Summer Gathering and came to hang out at the grand tasting.
    -Hollister Brewing (Goleta/Isla Vista) - food is pretty good, the beer is usually pretty good. A year ago the old brewer from Pizza Port San Clemente, Noah Regnery, started brewing here so definitely try their hoppy beers.
    -Solvang Brewing (Solvang) - at some point in your life you need to visit Solvang. The beer has gotten exponentially better since they opened but its still not amazing, though they do have a dozen to choose from as well as guest beers. Only about 5 miles from the freeway. Live music sometimes, lots of locals, more of a party atmosphere.
    -Figueroa Mountain (Buellton) - same exit as Solvang but the other side of the freeway and only a half mile from the freeway. Live music, decent beer, large brewing system. Lots of strange historical info on the walls like the history of nails and fences.
    -Firestone Walker restaurant (Buellton) - havent been yet but going to stop on Saturday, though looking at the tap list it's the same as the brewery in Paso, but then it's right next door to the barrel works.
    -Firestone Walker Barrelworks (Buellton) - also havent been yet but will fix that soon. Tap list looks awesome if you're into trying -bal ticks.
    -Rooney's (Orcutt) - Irish bar, kind of happening but the beer sucks, some decent guest beers as well but it's mostly just a place for the drunk/Irish locals. Literally next door is the old Orcutt Brewing which is now out of business but I saw people there last weekend when I stopped at Rooneys, so who knows what they're doing.
    -Santa Maria Brewing (Nipomo) - depressing. A dozen house beers in a very small lounge/bar kind of area. He's a former cop so be warned that all his retired cop buddies that are now bikers hang out here and drink his bad beer.
    -Pismo Brewing Company (Pismo) - right off the freeway, the beer is buttery all around, but it's Pismo, you should stop here at some point in your life. Get some clam chowder, not necessarily at the brewery.
    -Tap It (San Luis Obispo) - ya know, I was pleasantly surprised by the quality of the beer, not amazing but decent. The place is fairly out of the way but it's a cool hangout, once. Probably no need to go a second time unless you know someone in the area. Check out the beer fire truck thing they built, pretty cool.
    -Downtown Brewing (SLO) - I think this is now actually called SLO Brewing, again. They used to make that blueberry pale ale that showed up at the Yard House. Popular college bar if you're into that. Bad beer, loud music, you know the routine.
    -Creekside Brewing (SLO) - neat place, the bar is in the basement, but when I went the beer wasnt very inspiring. The nice part is you can park downtown and walk to any number of beer spots.
    -Central Coast Brewing (SLO) - gets some negative reviews but they do make a lot of different experimetal styles. Not much else to say other than that.
    -Cambria Brewing (Cambria) - I put this here because shortly after SLO you would have to take 1 where it splits from 101. Will visit on Saturday for their first anniversary. I hear good things but it's at least a half hour from 101. You can go by Hearst Castle on the way and go through Morro Bay (used to be a brewery here too).
    -Dunbar Brewing (Santa Margarita) - apparently he's been open for 10 years, albeit in a different location (formerly in Los Osos, outside of Morro Bay). He only brews on a 3bbl system and will only have one or two house beers on at a time.
    -Molly Pitcher Brewing (Atascadero) - will visit Saturday but it seems to be a very small system. Last time I called (opening weekend) he only had 1 beer and it ran out. Scrolled past. There used to be another brewery here that was pretty bad, just a truck stop/diner with 4 bad beers called Hoovers 101. Hopefully this is better.
    -Firestone Walker brewery (Paso Robles) - has a few tap only beers but you've probably tried most of them. The IPA (not Union Jack), Hefe, and Brown all get relabeled by any number of bars (Blue Palms, Lazy Dog Cafe, Selma's Pizzeria, and I suspect Clayton Brewing in San Dimas). They also have vintage bottles.
    -Paso Robles Brewing - havent been yet.
    -Monterey Coast Brewing (Salinas) - you get all the Steinbeck and classic small town history you can handle paired with bad beers. BUT, if you go on a Saturday you absolutely HAVE to get the artichoke soup. They also do classic car shows out front, could be a fun way to spend a few hours.
    -Peter B's Brewpub (Monterey) - went once and it was crappy but recently they've started experimenting and actually distributing their beers. I saw some at Beer Week. Monterey is a bit out of the way from 101 but another city that you'll have to stop in at some point in your life.
    -English Ales (Marina) - on the way to/from Monterey. Small bar with some dedicated locals. A dozen house beers, all English in style. Not bad but not all that exciting.
    -El Toro (Morgan Hill) - check the website, the address here used to be wrong. The pub (and new brewery) is in downtown on Main. 16 house taps of which the barleywine and the hoppy beers are good (when he gets it right and they arent buttery). The chili made with his oatmeal stout is pretty good too.
     
  14. AptosBeerDrinker

    AptosBeerDrinker Initiate (0) Aug 9, 2011 California

    The first question should be what's your route and how much time do you have to get from L.A. to SF? Everything can be answered better after that.

    Also, no offense but "San Fran" is like nails on a chalkboard.
     
  15. grilledsquid

    grilledsquid Initiate (0) Jul 10, 2009 California
    Trader

    Since we can't implement stickies, t0rin0 should cut and paste his reply above into a new thread and we can just bump it at the start of every week.
     
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  16. dcgunman

    dcgunman Pooh-Bah (2,608) Jul 1, 2009 California
    Pooh-Bah Society Trader

  17. rhertan

    rhertan Crusader (437) Jan 22, 2008 California

    Just to follow up on Torino's very informative post.

    -Cambria Brewing (Cambria) - releasing Comatose Double IPA for anniversary Sat I will be there as well

    -Dunbar Brewing (Santa Margarita) - he just moved into a new place and got a larger system, really nice guy focuses on Irish/English styles that range from ok to good but does have some nice guest taps to get your hop fix.

    -Molly Pitcher Brewing (Atascadero) -really small (1bbl system), had 2 beers on last time I was there, but also a decent guest tap list and bottle list and a good burger joint a half block away.

    -Paso Robles Brewing - 4 of their own beers on and a decent guest list as well, food on Fridays and live music most weekends

    An additional one that was not on the list is :
    -Barrelhouse brewing in Paso Robles literally just down the road from Firestone, went to grand opening a couple weeks ago, very nice facility with great outdoor area, beers were decent, about 4 on tap at the time noting amazing but it was their first run so may be improving and just put new IPA on tap last week

    A few other good beer bars in the Area are Boardroom in Pismo, Eureka Burger in SLO, Spikes in SLO which does Firkins most Fridays.
     
  18. Zhiguli

    Zhiguli Initiate (0) Jul 12, 2012 California

    Damn.. Torino went to WORK!
     
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  19. AptosBeerDrinker

    AptosBeerDrinker Initiate (0) Aug 9, 2011 California

    This guy knows what's up.
     
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