Beer Forum

Hi everyone, I will be spending a day or so in Santa Rosa next week and need some advice on where to go to get a large cross-section of the awesome north coast brews that I can't get on tap down in Paso Robles. I used to live up yonder but moved south about 10 years ago. I know I need to hit Russian River but where can I find the most variety of Moonlight in one place? I have only really had Death and Taxes before and would love to try some more, and I don't think Brian has a tap room right? Are there any other breweries that are a must while I am up there?

Also I would like to find a good bottle shop, one that might carry things like Cantillon. We are a bit lacking down in the central coast as far as distribution of cool foreign stuff. Also anything else I must taste or try or tour for a beer nerd while i'm up would be appreciated!

Thanks Folks,
Mathew

Hey Matthew,

As far as up by Santa Rosa, some brewery options for you could be:
Bear Republic, Russian River, Third St. Aleworks and Lagunitas breweries.

I'm not really familiar with bottle shops up in the Santa Rosa area so I can't help much there, but if you hit San Francisco on the way back you can roll through Healthy Spirits on Castro @ 15th St. They have an amazing selection of bottles & many are limited distribution from CA, the Pacific Northwest, etc. Likewise, if you pass through Oakland, you can hit up Beer Revolution which is an awesome tap room AND bottle shop with an equally incredible selection. While in Oakland, you might also consider stopping through Linden Street Brewery. They are the first brewery to open in Oakland in 50+ years, serving up their take on traditional California Common style Lagers AKA Steam Beer. These places are definitely worth the side trip on the way back down to Paso Robles. Hope this helps.

Cheers!

Awesome! thanks Dr. Bubra. I'm up here now planning my pub crawl for tonight. We will see if I ever make it out of russian river, I think they have about 18 beers on tap now so that might take a bit of time. On the way back south I will definitely hit Beer Revolution and More Beer! Thanks again for the references! If anyone wants to join me tonight in Santa Rosa send me a pm.

No problem, man. Happy to help out. Hope you enjoy the crawl! PM me about linking up at Beer Rev for a pint if ya like. Ill probably be in Oaktown tomorrow.