EXCITING NEW LOCAL BREWERIES
Seven Stills Brewery & Distillery, San Francisco Beer isn’t even Seven Stills’ main hustle. The San Francisco company, founded in 2016 by Tim Obert and Clint Potter, is primarily known as a distillery, and for distilling whiskey from craft beer. So far, it has worked with prominent breweries like Bottle Logic, Libertine and Almanac, but almost two years after opening, Seven Stills’ own fresh beers — often big, bold and a little experimental — are beginning to cultivate a fan base of trend-seeking beer drinkers all on their own. The beer menu at its Bayview taproom, designed by Obert to feature murals and a few indoor porch swings, offers beers like Crude Oil, a viscous 14.3 percent barrelaged Russian imperial stout, and Kahuna Shake, a tropical “milkshake” IPA brewed with lactose, mango and pineapple. Humble Sea Brewing Co., Santa Cruz Leagues away from its modest origins in co-founder Taylor West’s grandmother’s Ben Lomond carport, Humble Sea Brewing Co. finally anchored itself in a Santa Cruz brewhouse and nautical-theme taproom in 2017. It took a few more months before West and his co-founders, Frank Scott Krueger and Nick Pavlina, could produce enough beer to keep up with demand for their excellent hazy IPAs, coconut porters and balanced saisons. Beers with cheeky names like Mankini, Ship Happens and Broceanography point to their playful approach to brewing, but Humble Sea does invest in serious endeavors, too. The founders recently launched a beer-wine hybrid program, pushing the boundaries of what defines beer.
Danville Brewing Co., Danville Fans say Danville Brewing serves up one of the best burgers in town, but that’s not its only draw. This deep-East Bay brewery offers beers equally deserving of attention. Although founded less than two years ago, in 2017 it earned a bronze in the second most-competitive category at the Great American Beer Festival for its Chux DIPA. With the Maita family running operations and head brewer Matt Sager, a UC Davis Master Brewers program graduate, at the helm, Danville Brewing is, as owner Marcus Maita says, preparing to “put our hometown on the beer map.” At least 10 different beers will be on draft at the brewpub this Beer Week, and beer fans will be able to sample their offerings at the big Opening Gala.
Armistice Brewing, Richmond Armistice wasn’t born under ideal circumstances. Estranged siblings Gregory and Alex Zobel had been at odds with each other for years following their parents’ divorce, but after their mother’s death they began to rebuild their relationship. Brother and sister soon found themselves bonding as they coped — the truce invoked in their name — with a shared love of homebrewing. Turns out, they grew to be good at the craft. They won a handful of brewing awards and raised the capital to open a taproom near Richmond’s historic waterfront in August 2017. Walls at their East Bay brewpub are fancifully illustrated with dancing jongleurs and toasting woodland creatures, adapted mostly from woodcuts that Alex encountered while working on her doctorate in 16th and 17th century English lit. Their beer offerings are equally lively but less strictly European: On tap, you’ll find a fast-rotating menu of “dank” session IPAs and hazy IPAs alongside porters and tart saisons.
Corralitos Brewing Co., Watsonville Corralitos Brewing Co., located just a few miles east of Monterey Bay, isn’t new to the brewing game — founders Luke Taylor and Mike Smith have been pouring beer at private events for years — but the company opened its 800square-foot taproom in February 2015, thanks to a last-minute silent partner. Since then, the brewery has gone on to turn even more heads, culminating in a gold medal win in the Fruited Wood and Barrel-Aged Sour Beer category at the Great American Beer Festival. Corralitos has found favor with drinkers who favor tart and pucker-inducing wine barrel-aged saisons, but their rotating imperial stouts, IPAs and pale ales generate excitement, too.