Beer guide
The best beer stops in San Francisco
San Francisco is where American craft beer started: Anchor lit the fuse in the 1970s and the city has been brewing ever since. Today the energy sits in the Mission, Bernal Heights and the old industrial blocks south of Market, where Cellarmaker pours some of the best hoppy beer in the country next to Detroit-style pizza, Barebottle runs a huge neighbourhood taproom on Cortland Avenue and Standard Deviant keeps a garage-sized brewery packed every night. Add two institutions — Toronado, the Lower Haight beer bar that taught the city to read a tap list, and Zeitgeist, the biggest beer garden in town — and one waterfront classic, Fort Point at the Ferry Building. Our order: breweries first, then the bars that made the scene.
10 stops · Mission, Bernal & Haight · Updated 2026
The 10 stops
Six breweries, two institutions, and the taprooms locals actually drink in.
-
1. Cellarmaker House of Pizza - SF
Brewery & taproom — Mission · Mission St
3193 Mission St, San Francisco, CA 94110, USA
Daily from 15 (Fri-Sat from 12), to 21/22
The single best reason to drink beer in San Francisco: Cellarmaker's hop beers are fresher and sharper than almost anything else in California, and here they come with Detroit-style pizza in a loud, happy corner room. Start here while the tap list is at its best. 4.6 with 700+ reviews.
Hop-forward California brewing, Mission energy
Fresh hazy IPA · West Coast pale ale
1h30
-
2. Barebottle Brewing Company
Brewery & taproom — Bernal Heights · Cortland Ave
1525 Cortland Ave, San Francisco, CA 94110, USA
Daily from 12 to 21 (Thu-Sat to 23)
A converted warehouse on Bernal's main street with a giant tap list, board games, dogs and strollers — the friendliest big taproom in the city. Their fruited sours and hazies win medals; the room wins the evening. 4.6 with 670+ reviews.
Hop-forward California brewing, Mission energy
Fruited sour · Hazy double IPA
1h30
-
3. Standard Deviant Brewing
Brewery & taproom — Mission · 14th St
280 14th St, San Francisco, CA 94103, USA
Tue-Sun from 16 (weekends earlier), closed Mon
A small, stubbornly independent brewery in a Mission garage, with picnic tables, food trucks and the best-rated beer of the guide. Locals treat it as a living room — arrive early on a Friday or you will stand. 4.7 with 440+ reviews.
Hop-forward California brewing, Mission energy
Pilsner · Rotating IPA
1h30
-
4. Fort Point | Ferry Building
Brewery taproom — Embarcadero · Ferry Building
One, Ferry Building, San Francisco, CA 94111, USA
Daily 11-19/20
The city's most visible modern brewery, poured inside the Ferry Building with the bay outside the window. A crisp KSA here after the farmers market is one of the great simple San Francisco pleasures — and the easiest first stop off a ferry or the F line. 4.6 with 120+ reviews.
Hop-forward California brewing, Mission energy
KSA (Kölsch-style) · Villager IPA
1h
-
5. Laughing Monk Brewing
Brewery & taproom — Bayview · Egbert Ave
1439 Egbert Ave Unit a/b, San Francisco, CA 94124, USA
Tue-Sun from 16 (weekends from 12), closed Mon
Belgian-inspired brewing in a Bayview industrial unit: tripels, saisons and witbiers next to modern hazies, poured by the people who brewed them. Out of the way, which is exactly why it stays a locals' room. 4.6 with 230+ reviews.
Hop-forward California brewing, Mission energy
Belgian-style tripel · Hazy IPA
1h
-
6. Harmonic Brewing Thrive City
Brewery taproom — Mission Bay · Thrive City
7 Warriors Wy Ste 206, San Francisco, CA 94158, USA
Tue-Sun from 15 (weekends from 12), closed Mon
Harmonic's Mission Bay taproom sits on the plaza beside Chase Center with a terrace pointed at the bay — clean, sessionable beers and the best pre-game or post-museum pint in the new waterfront district. 4.6 with 130+ reviews.
Hop-forward California brewing, Mission energy
Pilsner · Session IPA
1h
-
7. Woods Cervecería
Brewery & beer garden — Mission · 18th St
3801 18th St, San Francisco, CA 94114, USA
Daily from 16 (weekends from 12) to 21/22
A tiny brewpub with the sunniest patio in the Mission, brewing with maté, fruit and local herbs — the most Californian beers of the guide and the ideal 4pm stop between Dolores Park and dinner. 4.6 with 340+ reviews.
Hop-forward California brewing, Mission energy
Mexican-style lager · Yerba mate ale
1h
-
8. Toronado
Beer bar — Lower Haight · Haight St
547 Haight St, San Francisco, CA 94117, USA
Daily 11:30 to 2
The bar that built beer culture in San Francisco: a dark, loud, cash-friendly room with 40+ taps, a legendary cellar list and zero interest in impressing you. Grab sausages next door at Rosamunde and stay for a second. 4.4 with 1,780+ reviews.
Hop-forward California brewing, Mission energy
Rare Belgian on tap · Barrel-aged rarity
1h30
-
9. Zeitgeist
Beer garden — Mission · Valencia St
199 Valencia St, San Francisco, CA 94103, USA
Daily from 14 (weekends earlier) to 23/1
The biggest beer garden in San Francisco: long picnic tables, burgers, bike messengers and a famously blunt bar staff. Not a rarity hunt — a San Francisco institution best enjoyed on a sunny afternoon. Cash-friendly, no photos inside. 4.3 with 3,100+ reviews.
Hop-forward California brewing, Mission energy
Draft pale ale · Bloody Mary (famous)
1h30
-
10. Magnolia SF - Haight
Brewpub — Haight-Ashbury · Haight St
1398 Haight St, San Francisco, CA 94117, USA
Daily 12 to midnight (Fri-Sat to 1)
A brewpub on the corner of Haight and Masonic serving cask-conditioned English-style ales — the calmest and most old-school stop of the guide, with proper food and the Summer of Love outside the window. 4.4 with 970+ reviews.
Hop-forward California brewing, Mission energy
Cask bitter · Proving Ground IPA
1h30
San Francisco beer — FAQ
What beer should I drink in San Francisco?
A fresh hazy or West Coast IPA from Cellarmaker — the city's most respected hop brewery. Then a California lager (Fort Point KSA, Harmonic) and a Mexican-style lager or agua fresca sour at Woods Cervecería.
Which neighbourhood is best for a beer crawl?
The Mission. Standard Deviant, Zeitgeist, Woods and Cellarmaker are all within about 25 minutes of walking, with BART at 16th St and 24th St Mission. Bernal Heights (Barebottle) is a 20-minute walk or a short bus ride further south.
Is Anchor Brewing still open?
No. Anchor stopped brewing in 2023 and the Potrero Hill taproom is closed, so we left it out of the guide. The brand has changed hands since, but there is nothing to visit — the living scene is in the Mission and Bernal Heights.
How many days do I need?
Two evenings is comfortable: one for the Mission and Bernal Heights breweries, one for the Haight institutions plus Fort Point on the waterfront. One long day works if you stay in the Mission.
Do I need a car?
No — and you should not drive after tasting. Muni, BART and a short rideshare cover everything. Only Laughing Monk in Bayview really needs a ride.
Heading to San Francisco for beer?
Skip the spreadsheet. Get a custom itinerary in 30 seconds.