With San Francisco Beer Week (sfbeerweek.org) kicking off this Friday, it’s high time to raise a glass to the North Bay brews making their mark here in Wine Country.
There are more than 40 craft breweries in the North Bay, so one is almost always in close proximity to great, locally brewed beer. From iconic California IPA and Belgian style ales to farmhouse, German, and pilsner style ales and lagers—the North Bay is a mecca for beer lovers. The following are 12 favorites.
Adobe Creek Brewing Anxious Minds DIPA (Double IPA), 8% ABV
Brewed with Citra, Mosaic and Galaxy hops, this super hazy, hop forward and creamy IPA displays mild tropical fruit notes, white fruit notes, verbena and a slightly bitter but balanced finish. Fresh, non malty and clean with a slightly bitter finish, this is an extra hopped up version of the brewery’s Derealization IPA.
Available in cans and on draft in Adobe Creek’s taproom.
Bear Republic Racer 5, 7.5% ABV
No North Bay “best of” beer list is complete without Bear Republic’s iconic Racer 5 India Pale Ale. It is and always has been super scrumptious and is one of the brewery’s most consistently popular (and U.S. medal winning) beers.
Fermented with Columbus and Cascade hops from the Pacific Northwest and malted barley, wheat and crystal malts, this IPA is full bodied and hoppy with floral notes on the nose and fresh lemon, pine and baked bread on the palate, as well as a malty, sweet-bitter and smooth lingering finish.
Available at local and national retailers.
Crooked Goat Brewery Mountain Goat IPA, 7.2%ABV
Brewed with Mosaic, Citra and Galaxy hops, this fresh, clean light bodied IPA is complex yet smooth with just the right amount of bitterness. Flavors and aromas include floral, citrus and pine with earthy and fruity notes.
Available on tap at Crooked Goat in Petaluma and Sebastopol. crookedgoatbrewing.com
Cuver Pepperwood Saison Style Farmhouse Ale, 4.8%
A Belgian style ale brewed by Belgians…in Windsor!
This light to medium bodied saison style farmhouse ale is brewed with Meyer’s lemon peel and California bay laurel, giving it a bright, fresh, lemony and herbaceous aroma and flavor profile. Hops are moderate and fruitiness is low, with mostly lemon leading. This is a refreshing beer with a clean, crisp finish that will have one reaching for another pint.
Cuver’s beers are available at their brewpub in Windsor and at select stores in Marin and Sonoma counties. A list of retailers can be found on their website.
Cooperage Brewing Judas Cradle West Coast Pilsner (a Cooperage Brewing Co. and Ghost Town Brewing collaboration), 5.2% ABV
Clear, bright, amber gold with a thick, frothy head of white foam and streaky lace, this pilsner has satisfying aromas of pine, citrus and caramel malt. A malty body with grain and caramel notes carries the hoppy bitterness and pine notes. Its medium body has moderate carbonation. This is a nicely malty IPA amidst the tide of hazy and West Coast IPAs.
A collaboration with Ghost Town Brewing, West Coast Pilsner is brewed with Nelson, Nectaron & HBC 586.
Fogbelt Mojo, 7% ABV
This barrel aged stout is aged in Willett Bourbon and Templeton Rye barrels before being finished with vanilla bean, cocoa and coconut. On the nose, the aromas are sweet and rich while on the palate this medium bodied stout is smooth with a dry, satisfying finish.
Currently only available at the brewery in-bottle (they have just run out of draft kegs), in limited quantities.
HenHouse Big Chicken Double IPA, 10% ABV
This double IPA is only released at certain times of the year, in limited quantities, and is one of HenHouse’s most popular beers. Fermented (in 2022) with Simcoe, Waimea, Strata and Zappa hops, this super fresh, dry, double IPA is exploding with tropical fruit aromas and flavors, leading to a nice long, clean, hoppy, dry finish.
The 2022 release of Big Chicken was Feb. 6, and now the beer will be served at bars and restaurants all over the North Bay for a limited time. It will also be available on tap and in cans at HenHouse’s Santa Rosa and Petaluma brewpubs.
Lagunitas Censored (Kronik), 6.75% ABV
This coppery amber toned ale is a classic from Lagunitas that still deserves to grace any “best of” list in the North Bay. Nothing beats a nice pint of Lagunitas Censored after a day of snowboarding, skiing, cycling or hiking.
Aromas and flavors include toasted bread, cocoa, sweet malt, dried fruit, hops (with very low bitterness) and mild earthiness. The weight and mouthfeel are medium bodied, smooth and dry with an almost sweet cocoa powder finish.
Available at local and statewide retailers.
Lagunitas IPA, 6.2%
It would be difficult to find an IPA that better deserves the OG Sonoma County IPA crown than Lagunitas IPA. This clear amber-gold classic beauty of an IPA is fermented with Centennial Cascade and Chinook hops and caramel malted barley, which add hoppy floral, citrus and caramelized sugar notes.
All of this citrus and caramel goodness is tied together neatly with a little bit of earthy pine, some bitterness that is balanced by the fresh citrus, earthy and sweet notes and a clean, dry finish.
Available at local and statewide retailers.
Old Caz One Way IPA, 7% ABV
Old Caz brewery stays true to their Sonoma County roots with this flagship West Coast IPA which combines Citra, Mosaic and Simcoe hops. This beer boasts all of the classic IPA flavors that IPA lovers dig without the over the top bitterness found in some IPAs.
This is also one of the brewery’s most easily purchasable beers, as it is sold in stores across Sonoma County, Marin, San Francisco and the East Bay.
Moonlight Brewing Death and Taxes, 5.3% ABV
This medium to light bodied San Francisco Style black lager is a dark brown, frothy beer that offers fantastic aromas and flavors of coffee, roasted grains and cocoa, finishing off smoothly with notes of slightly bitter coffee. Some compare the flavor profile of this beer to an iced coffee, in a good way. It is lighter and more refreshing than the dark color and nose imply.
Russian River Brewing Co. STS Keller Pils, 5.35% ABV
A classic German style pilsner with a twist—this beer is dry hopped with a small amount of European hops. Pale yellow or straw in color and slightly hazy in the glass due to residual yeast, this hoppy pils from Russian River Brewing Co. is strong and malty with a dry, bitter finish.
The name of this beer is a nod to the three-letter code—STS—for Sonoma County’s Charles M. Schulz Airport.
Available on draft and in bottles at the brewery and at select local stores.
Russian River Brewing Company Velvet Glow, 4.75% ABV
This blonde Helles style lager is clean, crisp and refreshing with a pale straw color, yeasty and bready aromas and flavors, and mild hops. The name of this beer is an homage to a historic Santa Rosa brewery, Grace Brothers Brewing, that operated in Santa Rosa between 1933 and 1966 and made a beer brand called Velvet Glow.
This is a limited release that’s only available at Russian River Brewing Company’s brewpubs (on draft, and sometimes also in bottle).
Woodfour Brewing Co. New Ridge Lager, 4.8% ABV
“Inspired by the rustic lagers of early Europe,” this unfiltered light Zwickelbier German style lager is brewed with 100% California grown pilsner. Fresh, lively and bright, this pale yellow-orange-gold lager has aromas and flavors of very lightly toasted grain or crackers and shows a little sweetness that is balanced with some earthiness and farmhouse funk. This light bodied beer is best served young.
