For 2 weeks in early Fall 2000, Kathy and I traveled around Northern California. We visited with friends and family, and saw a number of beautiful places. In addition, we tasted beers, lots of them. Below is my review of the many breweries we visited and beers we tried.

A brief discussion of the beer ratings:

I rated beers on a 1-10 scale, and attempted to do so based on my individual taste and preferences, as well as my understanding of how "true to style" the beers were. About midway through, I attempted to categorize my ratings:
 

Note 1: The vast majority of these beers were tasted using samplers. Most brewpubs will provide you with inexpensive tasters of 3 to 5 oz. of whatever they have on tap. Kathy and I would split the samples, thereby enabling us to keep us as sober as possible, and our palates as fresh as possible, given the number of beers we tried.

Note 2: I do not attempt to rate the brewpubs, given the different contexts in which I visited them. For example, I visited Magnolia on a busy Friday night and ate dinner there, but I just stopped in for a quick post-lunch visit to Third Street Aleworks.

The Best Beers of the Trip

The Breweries:

• Anderson Valley Brewing Company
• Bear Republic Brewing Company
• Gordon Biersch Brewing Company
• Humboldt Brewing Company
• Los Gatos Brewing Company
• Lost Coast Brewery
• Magnolia Pub & Brewery
• Marin Brewing Comapny
• Mendocino Brewing Company
• North Coast Brewing Company
• Powerhouse Brewing Company
• Redrock Winery & Brewery
• River City Brewing Company
• Russian River Brewery
• Sierra Nevada Brewing Company
• Six Rivers Brewing Company
• Stanislaus Brewing Company (St. Stan's)
• Sudwerk Brewing Company
• Third Street Aleworks
• Miscellaneous beers we tasted

Blue Bell Bitter - Pleasant, traditional bitter with good malt signature - 7.5.

Cole Porter - A stouty porter, good flavor, more bitterness than normal. Quite a treat - 8.5

Prescription Pale Ale - Pretty bitter, fairly one-dimensional. It has the hops, but nothing to balance it - 5.0

Spud Boy's IPA - Complex, well-rounded. Bitter, still needs a bit of improvement for its finish - 7.0

About the establishment - Magnolia, which is in the heart of the Haight-Asbury district, has great murals (especially the one over the bar) and miscellaneous touches. The food is great - I wasn't at all hungry, but I wanted to eat as much as I could and then some.

Summer Session Ale - Light, summery ale - sweet, pleasant, very drinkable. Not my favorite style, but a good version of it - 6.5.

Marin Hefeweiss - Nice start, no finish. If "hefe" means "half," it's apt - 4.5.

India Pale Ale - Wonderful example of an IPA - very flavorful, well hopped and well rounded. Citrus smell - 8.5.

Mt. Tam Pale Ale - Almost identical to the IPA, but a little less alcohol (5.4% v. 6.8%) and a little less hoppy. Kathy tasted pine tree -  7.5.

Pt. Reyes Porter - Vanilla smell. Not a true porter, closer to a stout in flavor. Decent malts, and a very solid beer. Kathy loved it - a smile came to her face as soon as she sipped it - 7.0.

Bolinas Best Bitter (cask-conditioned) - I expected more. Kind of just sits there. Lacks "bitterness" as well as any sort of malt complexity - 4.0.

About the establishment - Kathy really enjoyed her food, mine was OK. We ate outside, in a little beer garden in a strip mall. The inside was close to a sports bar, but that might have been because the SF-Dallas game was on. Apparently, a few of their best beers were absent when we came in, but we seemed to get a decent cross-section.

Blonde Ale - Pleasant wisp of a beer. Nice aroma, more meat than most blondes - 6.5.

Dortmunder - A lager. Nothing amazing, but decent within class - 6.0.

Wit - Just doesn't work. It falls short of a true Belgian Wit. Nominal aroma, flavor lacking - 4.5.

IPA - Plenty bitter, but lacks balance - just strong hops. Unidentified aroma that's not normally in an IPA - 5.0.

Nut Brown Ale - As with most of the others, it was missing something. It has the sweetness of a nut brown, but still doesn't go down like it should - 5.5.

Stout - Smoky aroma & flavor. Barely "stout" enough but overall a decent brew - 6.0.

Powerhouse Ale - Sweet smell. Hops better balanced than the IPA. Best of the bunch, and highest alcohol content of the bunch (7.5%) - 7.5.

About the establishment - The food was good, not exceptional. The restaurant was nice, and had a beautiful bar. Judging by the flyers, Powerhouse frequently has concerts, including some by names I had heard of.

Golden Wheat Ale - What a wonderful wheat! Minimally hopped, nice aroma, sits nicely on the palate and goes down great. Almost tastes like a lager (Kathy likes less) - 7.5.

Ragin' River Ale - Citrus, OK - nothing I'd jump out and get (Kathy likes more) - 5.5.

IPA - Nice IPA, has the citrus flavor, well-hopped and smooth finish. Well rounded - 7.0.

Porter - Creamy, nice hop flavor going down. More of a stout than the norm, with a slight smoky aftertaste (which is why Kathy doesn't like it as much) - 8.0.

Hop Time Harvest Ale - Hops galore, but not exceptionally bitter. Very well rounded, keeps me very happy - 8.0.

About the establishment - Part of the Korbel Champagne empire, the beer is served at a little deli on site. Decent food. Beautiful setting, and a pleasant enough place to eat. The champagne was good, but stay away from their wines.

Drunken weasel Dunkeweizen - It's got the wheat, and nice malt. Pleasant, pretty drinkable. Not a great beer, but OK - 5.5.

Burgher's Kolsch Bier - Pretty unremarkable kolsch - 5.0.

Annadel Pale Ale - Fairly run of the mill. Nicely hopped, so-so finishing - 5.5.

Dortmunder Export - Nice lager, almost an ale in flavor. Smooth, reasonably hopped - 6.0.

Old Redwood Porter - Very caramelly. A fairly traditional (as the name suggest) porter - 7.0.

Stone Fly Oatmeal Stout (cask conditioned) - chocolatey, mile. Pleasant, but not overpowering - 7.0.

Bodega Head IPA - Hoppy up front, but no major aftertaste. That being said, it doesn't have a bad finish, just a fairly mild one - 7.0.

Stone Fly Oatmeal Stout - More oomph and full flavoring - works well this way as well - 7.0.

About the establishment - We didn't order food here. A nice big brewpub with lots of beer posters (and coasters on the table tops) from breweries around the country.

Wine Country Wheat Ale (Hefeweizen) - Sweet, east summer beer. Has the style down pat (Kathy doesn't like as much) - 7.0.

Martin's Dark Mild (cask conditioned) - OK. I'm biased against milds, but there's nothing wrong with it. Nice wheat flavor - 6.5.

Ryleigh's Brown Ale - Pleasant and inoffensive. A bit sweet, but that's what you expect - 6.0.

Sonoma Schwartz - Lager. Hint of caramel, not very assertive - 6.0.

English Ale (ESB) - Nice bitterness, goes down nicely (Kathy not as fond) - 6.5.

Red Rocket Ale (Scottish Red) - Grapefruit dominates. Decent hops, OK finish. Not very true to style, but I like it - 6.5.

Heritage Ale (Scottish Ale) - Pleasant bitterness, more Scottish style - 6.5.

Hop Rod Rye Ale - Alcohol-flavor dominates the flavor of this otherwise decent beer - 5.5.

English IPA - Good flavor. Not as hoppy as American IPA, but hops are definitely in there. Well rounded, smooth - 7.5.

Big Bear Ale (dark) - Very nice, stoutish (even if not called one). Sweet with good hop finish - 7.5.

Racer 5 IPA - Great beer! Good hops start to finish, and exceptionally well rounded - 9.0.

About the establishment - We only ordered chicken wings here, so no opinion on food. Big pub adjacent to the brewery. Modern, comfortable restaurant.

Peregrine Golden Ale - Pleasant, not very hoppy. A bit of sweetness. Their "drinkable" beer - 6.5.

Red Tail Ale - It's got the hops, but it's also smooth and well-rounded. Excellence on tap - 9.0.

Eye of the Hawk Select Ale - Good, but the alcohol (8.1%) is noticeable. Hoppy, malty, solid - 7.5.

Blue Heron - Hoppy, hoppy, hoppy, but amazingly enough, not one-dimensional. Good finish - 8.5.

Black Hawk Stout - Smooth, big, full flavor. Chocolate overtones. Goes down wonderfully - 8.5.

About the establishment - Actually, this isn't presently a working brewpub, as the brewing facility has moved up the road to Ukiah. Food is standard pub fare, and the pub is very nice. Nice enclosed beer garden. Basically, given the limited selection, it's evident that they've found a few good/great beers and decided to focus on them exclusively. Given the beers' general availability, this is not the best way to encourage trips to the pub, though I certainly can't complain about what I found. Of note is that our waitress indicated that they were considering using the on-site brewery to make beers that would only be available at the pub.

Boont Amber Ale - Light banana smell & taste. Lightly hopped, well-rounded with nice malt (caramel flavor) (Kathy liked more) - 6.5.

Poleeko Gold Pale Ale - Nice hoppiness, smooth & pleasant, with a touch of sweetness - 7.0.

Belk's ESB Ale - Lots of bitterness, hop head's delight. Not very well rounded, but I like it (Kathy liked more) - 6.0.

Triple Naught Ale - Plenty of hops. Smoother than the ESB, but still falls shy of perfection (Kathy's favorite) - 7.5.

Barney Flats Oatmeal Stout - Chocolatey smooth. Light in bitterness, but quite full bodied. I could drink this all winter long (Kathy didn't like as much) - 8.5.

Hop Ottin' IPA - Bitter, great hops with very good rounding. High alcohol (7.2%), but you'd never know (Kathy didn't like as much) - 8.0.

About the establishment - Buckhorn used to be run by AVBC, but it was recently sold. The connection to the brewery remains, which is a darned good thing. The food was quite good. The pub is big and beautiful, and t-shirts of pubs and brewpubs from all over the country adorn the ceiling. There's also a beer garden.

Blue Star Wheat - Sweet, light summery beer. Low carbonation. Good stuff - 6.0.

ACME Brown Ale - Very sweet, caramelly. Light hops, not too complex. Nice entry-level beer - 6.0.

ACME Pale Ale - Not complex or flavorful. Pretty disappointing - 4.0.

ACME IPA - Decent hops, though not very complex. OK finish - nothing to write home about - 5.5.

PranQster (Belgian Golden Ale) - Smells and tastes sweet. Definitely succeeds in making me think Belgian. Good, but it won't stop me from looking for actual Belgians - 7.0.

Scrimshaw Pilsner - Disappointing. Not especially crisp, OK in bitterness. Lacks solidity - 5.0.

Red Seal Ale (cask conditioned) - Good bitterness, sweet & goes down smooth - 7.0.

Old No. 38 Stout - "Porter" stout. Hint of chocolate, lightly hopped and not heavy - 7.0.

Red Seal Ale - Delicious. Bitterness throughout but not unbalanced. There's a reason this is the flagship - 8.5.

Old Rasputin Imperial Stout - Strong, alcohol noticeable. Good heartiness, with coffee overtones - 8.0.

About the establishment - Did not eat food here.  Nice brewpub across the street from main brewery and store. Has an old-time feel.

Lost Coast Wheat - Light and pleasant - nothing to sneer at. Hint of sweetness doesn't take over - 6.0.

White Beer (Belgian) - Not much to it. Hint of spices, but they're not doing anything. Leave it - 4.5.

Alleycat Amber Ale - Not what I think of for Amber. Mild sweetness tembered by nice hop finish - 7.0.

Pale Ale - OK hops but not much else is in this one. Lacks balance - 5.0.

Dopplebock - Smoky smell hardly transferred to taste. Pretty mild and nice malts - 6.0.

Downtown Brown - I understand this is their most popular beer, but I don't understand why. I kept waiting for it to do something. It has minimal flavor - 4.0.

Apricot Wheat Ale - I taste bitterness but no apricot. I'm OK with flavor, but I don't understand what it's trying to do - 5.0.

Eight-ball Stout - Flavorful malt makes this beer a keeper. Hops at end prevent imbalance. Very solid beer - 7.5.

About the establishment - The food is good at this pleasant brewpub. I'd frequent this place if I lived in Eureka, but I wouldn't drive out of my way for it.

High Prairie Wheat - Simple beer, not sweet. OK but not great - 5.0.

Trinidad Golden Ale - Nice beer, smooth, but hoppier than I expected - 6.0.

Autumn Wheat - Caramel smell/taste nicely complements a solid beer - 6.5.

Moonstone Porter (nitro) - Some toastiness but otherwise minimal flavor until you swallow, when suddenly the bitterness shows up. Still, only half of a beer - 5.5.

Chili Pepper Ale - Jalapeno smell and taste - not my idea of a good style. The peppers are all I can taste, so I have no idea what's underneath - 3.5.

Moonstone Porter - Similar to the nitro version but I think it works better this way. Bitterness is more apparent up front - 6.5.

IPA - Big, bold hops not compromised. Great finish - hoppy but not unbalanced. A delightful surprise given the others we tasted here - 8.5.

Blackbear Stout - Sweet with pleasant malty aftertaste. Good beer - 7.0.

About the establishment - The food is OK, but that's not why you'd come here. The big roomy brewpub has bands on occasion, but more significantly, there is an extensive bottle collection, including a section devoted to early California brewpubs, from New Albion forward.

Summer Nectar - Crisp with a hint of sweetness. Slightly sour aftertaste - 5.0.

Gold Nectar - Fairly well hopped. Well rounded and stays on the palate well. Pretty full-bodied - 6.5.

Bohemian Pils - Pleasant, but nothing distinguishing about it - 5.5.

Humboldt Hemp - An ale, lightly hopped, nothing too special about it - 5.0.

Red Nectar - Both sweet and hoppy. Very smooth and hoppy (Kathy didn't like) - 7.5.

Triple Belgian Ale - Pleasant alcohol sweetness, not too much despite its high level (8.9%). Very good version - 8.0.

Pale Ale - Medium hop body. It's a tasty dish for when you want something milder than an IPA - 7.0.

Oatmeal Stout - Smoky smell. Taste has lovely finish, but you wonder how you got there - minimal body and nothing on the palate before you swallow - 5.5.

Barley wine (10.2%) - Alcohol there, almost tastes like they pumped up the Belgian. Not too much, even Kathy was OK with it (unusual in a barley wine). Basically, the "Belgianness" makes it unlike and barley wine I've ever tasted - 7.5.

About the establishment - We didn't eat here. Nice bar, and decent sized older brewpub. Large glass collection showcased around bar.

Crystal Wheat - Smooth, sweetness not overwhelming. Pleasant warm afternoon beer (which is why, when we stayed in the hot sun of the beer garden for one more beer after all the samplers, this is what I ordered) - 7.0.

Wheat Beer - Plainer than the Crystal Wheat. Kind of just sits there - 5.5.

Blonde Ale - Crisp, mildly bitter. Needs to do more, limited aftertaste - 5.5.

Summerfest (Lager) - Pretty smooth, decent body for such a mild beer - 6.0.

Best Bitter Ale - Mild until aftertaste, then bitterness kicks in. Pleasant beer - 6.5.

Brown Ale - Smooth, slight sweetness - 5.5.

Pilsner -VERY mild. Hard to tell that it's a pils (or anything else). Still, it tastes OK - 5.5.

Draught Style Pale Ale - Milder than regular pale ale, and it's so very nice. Full bodied & smooth - 8.5.

Oktoberfest - Malt is in control of this beer, mild hops, sweet malt. Decent enough - 6.0.

Pale Ale - This is the stuff they put in the bottles, which is slightly different from the "Draught Style," which means you won't find this version anywhere else (except maybe at the Brick's Sierra Nevada tastings). Hops shine through in the aroma. Good body, always a treat. Hoppy, with a remarkably smooth aftertaste - 8.0.

Porter - Pleasant - goes down smooth, but this time (unlike the other times I've had it) it seemed to lack complexity. I expected more - 6.0.

IPA - Good bitterness - hops contril the flavor, and that's quite OK with me - 8.0.

Stout - Hint of smokiness. Good bitterness dissolves mostly before aftertaste. VERY nice - 8.5.

Harvest Ale - Bitter, not as well-rounded as it should be, but still, very good (this was Kathy's pint) - 7.5.

About the establishment - We didn't eat here. The brewpub is enormous and has a very nice beer garden. We spent our time in the beer garden with Bernardo and Mike, two locals and frequenters of brewpub (to me, it seems automatic that a local would frequent the place, but Bernardo and Mike left no doubt on that score). The brewery is gigantic as well - I couldn't believe that all those silos that we saw from the exit were actually associated with this place. It surely is a microbrewery no longer.

Hefeweizen - Pleasant, crisp, nice light banana ester throughout. Light finish - 7.0.

Helles - Bitter aftertaste, but not anywhere else. Nice smoothness, decent body - 6.0.

American Lager (Sudweiser) - Mild, better than Budweiser, but see no reason to choose either - 3.5.

Pilsner - Nice flavor, well-rounded, decent bitterness. Good body - 6.0.

Marzen - Nice aroma of malt, OK bitterness, smooth - 6.5.

About the establishment - My meal was so-so, Kathy's a little better. Nice, large, clean brewpub.

Hefeweizen - "Unfiltered" that's pretty clear. Lemon on rim masks the banana odor, but taste is clearly banana. Pleasant mild beer - 6.0.

Kolsch - Citrus aroma, lemony flavor. Nice body, mildly bitter, crisp - 6.5.

Pale Ale - OK bitter, not well rounded and not very full-bodied (Kathy liked better) - 5.0.

Oktoberfest - Sweet, almost maple flavor. Chocolate aftertaste. Not bitter. Would be hard to drink a bunch, but a little bit is fine (Kathy found it too sweet) - 6.0.

London Porter - Room temperature, fairly full-bodied, pleasant hops, hint of roastiness (Kathy liked better) - 7.0.

About the establishment - In the major downtown shopping center (the Downtown Plaza), and given that, it has a pretty decent set of beers. Nice atmosphere, cool graphics and design for the place. The food was so-so.

Hefeweizen - Pleasant. A bit hoppier than expected, and slight lemon taste - 5.5.

Blonde Lager - A bit over-carbonated, lager flavor present, but just kind of sits there. Maybe that's what I should expect from a blonde - 5.0.

Amber Alt - Not very flavorful. Just sits there - 4.5.

Red Ale (from Napa Works, which they now own) - Pleasant sweetness and smooth. Has hops to boot - 6.5.

Very Hoppy Bitter - True to name, and well-rounded as well - 7.0.

Dark Alt - Smoky, chocolatey. Good bitterness that works very well with its mild sweetness - 8.0.

Whistle Stop Pale Ale - Very good full-bodied hop-filled beer. Well-rounded and goes down great - 7.5.

Porter - Chocolate smell. Minimal roastiness in aftertaste. Good body. Well done - 7.5.

Virgin Amber Ale (unfiltered) - Nothing distinctive about it, it's something pleasant to drink - 5.5.

Stout - A lighter sort of stout, not very flavorful - 5.0.

Barleywine - Sweet, light alcohol flavor (only 7.5%) that isn't overwhelming. Light hoppy aftertaste - 6.5.

About the establishment - We didn't eat here. Nice atmosphere with a Black Forest motif. In addition to the posters and such, the brewery is on the other side of stained glass that keeps with the decor.

18-Wheeler Beer - Budweiser-esque, a bit more flavorful - 2.5.

Red Rock Premium Beer - Budweiser-esque redux (Kathy likes better) - 3.0.

Piedra Negra Beer - A little richer than the first two. Not much hops, limited malt - 3.5.

Big Red (Ale) - Lemongrassy. A bit of hops (Kathy likes better) - 3.5.

About the establishment - This is a tasting room, nothing more.

Pilsner - A rich Budweiser, and a disappointing beginning - 3.5.

Hefeweizen - Sweet and mild, unfiltered. Banana shows through lightly. A well-done beer - 6.5.

Summertime Ale (cask) - A touch of Pils sneaks into this otherwise mild ale. May use German or Bohemian hops (Kathy likes better) - 6.5.

Oktoberfest - Fairly complex malts, mild to medium Germanic hop signature. Decent beer (Kathy doesn't like as much) - 5.5.

Exhibition Ale - Again, uses German hops. Decent malt and mild hops. Not an ale to me - 5.0.

Sherman Stout - Peanut butter! Mild smokiness. Tastes pretty god. Medium hops, goes down smooth - 6.5.

About the establishment - Clearly attempting to be a mainstream brewery. It has a very nice atmosphere, a bit ritzy even. The food was good, and the building is beautiful. Gorgeous bar at the end of the restaurant.

Dunkles - Mild, very light smokiness, a decent crispness. Pleasant finish - 5.5.

Marzen (also drank on 9/23) - Sweet, easy malt flavor. Smooth and full-bodied, could drink all night. Mild hops - 7.0.

Golden Bock - Nice maltiness, medium hops, relatively high alcohol (7.0%). Very pleasant - 7.0.

Fest (seasonal Oktoberfest) - Bitterness noticeable but not overwhelming. Crisp and fairly light for a fest, but guess they had to distinguish from the Marzen - 6.0.

Pilsner - Bitter, but not as much as expected for a pils. Has the everpresent GB crispness and mildness - 6.5.

About the establishment - Gordon Biersch is a growing chain (one looks to be coming to downtown DC in the near future), geared toward singles. A very large bar/restaurant, very stylishly arranged. The food was so-so.

He'Brew Stout (Shmaltz Brewing Company) (9/22) - Rather bland beer - 4.5.

? Brown Beer (Bulldog Brewing Company) (10/2) - Kathy's uncle brought a growler home, but he wasn't sure of the beer's name. Regardless, good full body with a little sweetness. Not terribly hoppy, but very pleasant - nice mixture of malts. It seemed as though they were going for a flavorful beer, but didn't seem focused on a particular style (brown ale?) - 6.5.

Bridal Veil Amber Ale (Butterfield Brewing Company) (10/3) - Not very complex, fairly smooth with mild bitterness. So-so, but nice and cool on a warm day - 5.5.

Carmel Wheat (Carmel Brewing Company) (10/7) - Bottled. OK wheat, but pretty nondescript (Kathy didn't like as much) - 5.0.

9.0
Racer 5 IPA (Bear Republic)
Red Tail Ale (Mendocino)

8.5
Cole Porter (Magnolia)
India Pale Ale (Marin)
Blue Heron (Mendocino)
Black Hawk Stout (Mendocino)
Barney Flats Oatmean Stout (Anderson Valley)
Red Seal Ale (North Coast)
IPA (Six Rivers)
Draught Style Pale Ale (Sierra Nevada)
Stout (Sierra Nevada)

8.0
Porter (Russian River)
Hop Time Harvest Ale (Russian River)
Hop Ottin' IPA (Anderson Valley)
Old Rasputin Imperial Stout (North Coast)
Triple Belgian Ale (Humboldt)
Pale Ale (Sierra Nevada)
IPA (Sierra Nevada)
Dark Alt (St. Stan's)