Cascadia Beer Odyssey: San Francisco

San Francisco is as far south as we will go on this trip. What a fun city and a great place to celebrate Independence Day! The first stop in the city was the 21^st Amendment Brewery. Monks Blood was a phenomenal Belgian style deep red glass of yumminess. After a pint Heath left us for the day to go see Anne and Marena (deserved family time for our brother). We were joined at the 21^st Amendment by my cousin Nels and his awesome wife Sayuri who is expecting a baby boy in three weeks. It was fun to catch up with them and talk about home-brewing and their fun life in Palo Alto.

We left 21^st Amendment and walked with Nels and Sayuri to Thirsty Bear. Sadly it was closed. We parted company and Mac, Steeny and I headed to the Southern Pacific brewery. Southern Pacific has been open just 5 months and makes very good beer. We tried the Pale Ale and the IPA. Both beers were very balanced and well made. The brewery is in a huge old warehouse near the Mission district of San Francisco. A fun atmosphere and great vibe made for an excellent stop.

Dinner time took us to Ozumo Japanese restaurant and a phenomenal sushi dinner. The seafood was incredibly clean and fresh. Unfortunately the service was quite lacking. After dinner we followed the crowds to Pier 39 and fireworks on the bay. As public servants we love our country and find it an honor to celebrate 4^th of July like this.

The ultimate destination for us in San Francisco was the Toronado. It is the ultimate beer destination for beer lovers everywhere. A true dive in the middle of the Haight the beer selection offers something from all over the world. Heath came back to us for a quick pint before going to spend the night with his family. We ended our night with Rodenbach Grand Cru.

This morning we found Heath back in the Haight with his family. A quick stop to view the Golden Gate and we are off to Lagunitas and Russian River. We loved San Francisco!!!

(For some reason the blog won't let me rotate pics, crane your head for some)