Where's the best beer in San Francisco?

November 28, 2021 12:18 PM

What are the best places to drink beer in San Francisco? Local breweries are my first choice, but would also love recs for bars or restaurants with great tap lists. Extra bonus points for anywhere that features lagers!
posted by lumpy to Food & Drink (11 answers total)

In no particular order, the Crafty Fox and Cellar Maker are two personal favorites. The pizza at Cellar Maker is quite good too if you’re into Detroit style pies.
posted by badgerbadgerbadger at 12:26 PM on November 28, 2021 [2 favorites]

I really like the 21st Amendment Brewpub/restaurant, and last time I was out there, Rogue also had a nice taproom.
posted by pixiecrinkle at 1:10 PM on November 28, 2021 [1 favorite]

Neither are breweries, but Toronado and City beer are the two places I go back to when I visit. Maybe checkout Mikkeller if you are looking for largers? Something about Mikkeller never clicked for me though, so maybe only check it out if the tap list looks interesting. Oh I almost forgot about the Monk's kettle. Last time I was there they had an interesting collection of lagers on tap
posted by phil at 1:10 PM on November 28, 2021 [4 favorites]

pixiecrinkle, the Rogue brewpub burnt down. Toronado is excellent; 40 great beers on tap at any given time.
posted by blob at 1:41 PM on November 28, 2021 [1 favorite]

As mentioned, Crafty Fox is a recent favorite of mine (and they have a large number of outdoor tables which are great), as is Cellarmaker House of Pizza. Pi Bar is fantastic and doesn't get enough love. I think they have some outdoor space right now. Finally, my local favorite is Ocean Ale House; it's in a part of the city that most visitors (or even residents) don't make it to, but their food and beers are great.

Traveling a bit afield from the city, I would check out Fieldwork in West Berkeley and Drake's Dealership in Uptown Oakland (very easily accessible via BART). If you make it to Marin, Pizza Hacker/Tam Junction in Mill Valley is wonderful.
posted by kdar at 1:43 PM on November 28, 2021

Woods!

Woods' Outbound at the end of Judah St. near the beach is my favorite
posted by niicholas at 2:23 PM on November 28, 2021 [1 favorite]

It’s been a long while since I’ve been, but Suppenkuche on Laguna?
posted by Phyllis keeps a tight rein at 2:30 PM on November 28, 2021

I'll second many of the options above. Don't forget Rosamunde, too, since you can get sausages and delicious mustard with your beer (inexpensive restaurant that has a rotating list of tap beers). And Bare Bottle in Bernal Heights is impressive (microbrewery that occasionally makes commercial batches of peoples' homebrews, in addition to their own recipes).
posted by late afternoon dreaming hotel at 3:09 AM on November 29, 2021

I found Toronado to be crowded and devoid of atmosphere. Maybe if you go at 3 p.m. on a Tuesday it's nice, but on a typical Saturday night the excellent list is irrelevant. 21st Amendment is good, Suppenkuche is excellent, honestly I've never had a bad beer in S.F. at a place that specialized in them.
posted by wnissen at 10:44 AM on November 29, 2021

I nth City Beer Store and Monk's Kettle.
posted by bendy at 5:00 PM on November 30, 2021

Response by poster: Thanks everyone! I hit Cellermaker last night and both the beer and the Detroit style pizza were great. I also stopped by Local Brewing in SoMa which was excellent. Relaxed vibe and a great variety of styles on tap including an outstanding black lager.

Edited to add that many of the recs (all of which look awesome) are closed on Mondays so anyone following this thread should be sure to check open hours!
posted by lumpy at 6:35 PM on November 30, 2021 [1 favorite]