The Brew Site
In the mid-19th Century, Oakland sported 40+ breweries to cater to the gold-rush era crowds in the area who were looking for a beer to drown their sorrows in. A century later, the last of the big Oakland breweries closed in the late 1950s… not until 1988 did brewing return … Continue reading
This particular post has been long gestating as Marin Brewing Company is one of the earliest breweries I visited when I moved to the Bay Area and have since returned a few times. I’m not sure why it’s taken so long to write this up although I think a big … Continue reading
I made a journey to my hometown of Bend, Oregon recently (I say recently… but it was actually in June—I’m behind on my writing!) and while driving back had the opportunity to stop at the scenic Mt. Shasta Brewing Company. It was a brutal 103° outside and the thought of … Continue reading
My visit to Sacramento area stalwart, Rubicon Brewing, was under a dark cloud as we’d attended a memorial earlier in the day. So, looking for a cold beer or two to lighten the mood, I suggested we stop in. Nestled in midtown Sacramento in an eclectic neighborhood we swung in … Continue reading
Pyramid is a brewing stalwart hailing from the Pacific Northwest with its origins dating back to the mid-80s. Having weathered the many ups-and-downs in the market over the past (nearly) three decades, their beers have remained remarkably consistent and they have a steady stream of seasonal offerings. While a fan … Continue reading
The first time I paid Southern Pacific Brewing Company a visit it was with no advanced knowledge or preparation—in fact, I was hard pressed to find anyone who’d heard of it much less visited it. Tucked away on Treat Avenue in the Mission District of San Francisco amidst other warehouses … Continue reading
A little background to this post… one of the things I love most about living in the Bay Area, especially compared to Southern California, is how commutable the area can be without a car. While hosting a pretty darned good mass transit system, San Francisco often ranks fairly high on … Continue reading
Excuse the personal plug (I swear it’s connected to beer!) but I happen to work for a terrific start-up called Madefire and we’re producing a cutting edge digital reading experience whose DNA firmly resides in comic books. The first Thursday of every month we host a “Story Night” where we open … Continue reading
When I first learned I would be relocating to the East Bay late last summer, I immediately began scouring the area for local brewpubs, beer bars, etc., through beermapping.com, my dog-eared copy of Good Beer Guide West Coast USA and asking everyone I knew about the area. Not knowing exactly … Continue reading
We recently found ourselves returning home from a family oriented day trip when we were approaching Fairfield, CA. Having only managed snacking throughout the early afternoon (as it was a finger-food potluck gathering that we were retreating from) we started discussing the possibility of getting a bite to eat and … Continue reading