With the announced closures of 21st Amendment Brewery and Steins Beer Garden earlier this year — and ongoing struggles for the craft beer industry reported nationwide — it was great that this month’s brewery day trip featured three San Francisco and Pacifica breweries that have recently been reborn or resurrected.
Rockaway Beach Brewery
Rockaway Beach Brewing is in Pacifica, right next to the now-closed iconic Sea Bowl (scheduled for demolition). For a time, it was Pacifica Brewing, but building owners David Sezto and Daniel Cronin reopened it in May as Rockaway Beach, named for the beach across the highway. Perhaps the best decision they made was hiring Arne Johnson to brew the beer. Johnson was a longtime brewer at Main Brewing and later Moylan’s, winning numerous awards locally and nationally.
The spacious interior offers views of the Pacific Ocean, but it’s the outdoor beer garden in the back that sets it apart, featuring a large covered picnic area and an open-air garden with grass and more tables. On one side sits a large stage where they provide live music from time to time. The menu includes several appetizers, along with burgers, sandwiches and seafood dishes. There’s a full bar offering wine and cocktails.
Johnson is just getting started, and there were four of his beers on tap when I visited, with several more in the tanks and ready shortly. Expect to find eight or nine house beers at any given time. I was especially taken with Endless Summer, Too, a California version of an English summer ale, which was very refreshing, but may be gone soon. His Pineapple Express West Coast IPA had great tropical aromas and flavors, and the Brooks Creek Cherry Ale had just a hint of tart cherries. Rounding out the lineup was a kölsch, an amber, a saison and a golden Belgian strong, with two lagers almost ready to go, a helles and a German-style pilsner.
Details: Open 3-9 p.m. Wednesdays-Fridays, 11 a.m.-9 p.m. Saturdays and 11 a.m.-8 p.m. Sundays at 4627 CA-1, Pacifica; rockawaybrewery.com
Fifty Vara
Fifty Vara is in the Sunset neighborhood of San Francisco, and used to be the location of the Sunset Reservoir Brewing Co. Owner Brian Reccow reopened it as Fifty Vara in March this year. The name comes from an old Spanish unit of length, a vara, used in the early days of San Francisco, when it was still known as Yerba Buena. The “50 Vara District” was an area of downtown defined by land parceled into 50-vara squares.
Reccow is a veteran of the Bay Area beer scene, having started at Lake Tahoe Brewing in 1991. A native of Southern California, he attended St. Mary’s College and never left. He’s worked at numerous breweries, including Thirsty Bear, the Beach Chalet and his own Reccow Brewing, brewing draft-only beer in San Francisco.
The interior is spacious yet cozy, with lush plants and warm wood fixtures. There’s an upstairs balcony and a separate room with its own bar, ideal for private parties or looking over the jungle of growth below. Downstairs, numerous tables and bench seating await.
The brewery is tucked in the back corner, but you can watch brewer John Taylor making its beer behind glass walls. It keeps around six beers available at all times, plus a couple of guest beers. Its two bestsellers are Vara Lager, a refreshingly light lager, and Westglow Pilsner, a great, very clean pils. In addition, Westline WC IPA is a solid West Coast IPA.
The menu is diverse, with main dishes like pasta, pork chops, steak and sandwiches. There’s also a separate weekend brunch menu, served weekends 10:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m.
Details: Open 11:30 a.m.-9 p.m. Mondays-Thursdays, 11:30 a.m.-10 p.m. Fridays, 10:30 a.m.-10 p.m. Saturdays and 10:30 a.m.-9 p.m. Sundays at 1735 Noriega St., San Francisco; fiftyvarasf.com
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Magnolia Brewing was originally founded in 1997 by Dave McLean, now a co-owner of Admiral Malting on Alameda. They sell barley to local breweries, including Magnolia. New Belgium Brewing bought the brewery and operated it for a time, but later closed the location. A group of investors, including Fifty Vara owner Brian Reccow, recently reopened it. Fifty Vara brewer John Taylor is also brewing the beer at Magnolia. While the food menu and beer lineup are still being worked out, the pioneering craft brewpub has reopened and is worth a visit.
Details: Open noon-midnight Mondays-Thursdays, noon-1 a.m. Fridays, 11 a.m.-1 a.m. Saturdays and 11 a.m.-midnight Sundays at 1398 Haight St., San Francisco; magnoliabrewing.com
Know a local brewery or brewpub that’s knocking it out of the park but isn’t getting the recognition they deserve? Drop me a line at [email protected] and tell me why you love them.
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