What is Reddit's opinion of The Northern California Craft Beer Guide?

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Ok, so unfortunately this is about 4 years old but I still think this thing would be great to have: https://www.amazon.com/Northern-California-Craft-Beer-Guide/dp/1937359166

I have a copy and it's awesome. Yes, there are new breweries and updates, however the vast majority of those locations are still there and the reviews are still pretty relevant. Also having a hard copy of maps and info is IMO still imperative since there are often locations where you’ll get no reception. Organizing the whole trip on the fly via phone is a pain in the ass- a real map is the shit. Hell, you could probably just draw the extra places on the maps.

As far as other suggestions go- I have a lot. How long do you have? Are you just trying to go straight to SF in 1 day or do you have a couple in between?

Took some time to go through my own favorite lists and the others listed here. Not to be a dickwad but I have been to all of the breweries/bars listed so far except Temescal. Here are some of my favorites in the SF Bay Area:

North Bay: -Breweries- Russian River: Yes, definitely go here, but try as best you can to go in an off-hour. It’s incredibly busy often times. Henhouse Brewery: Small new spot with some very talented brewers making interesting stuff. Lagunitas: Might seem a little boring but actually they have a fantastic selection and much higher than average quality. Awesome place to hang out, although busy. Great music. Petaluma Hills (across the street) is boring-ish but has great beer. Bear Republic: Love the stuff (beer) but the spot is maybe a little skippable for being out in Healdsburg. Notable bottle shops Beercraft and Willibees (next to RR) are in this area as well. Both have a good tap list as well.

East Bay: This is where you should go for sour beer. Fieldwork: Makes interesting versions of everything, (same as everyone else does) but world-class. Good hoppy and tart stuff. Place is great and wildly underrated. Rare Barrel: If you’re into sours, this is the place to go. They’ve pulled a ridiculous amount of medals in the past couple years because they are damned good. All kinds of interesting fruits. They have a bunch of kooky, high-quality brews. Major con- not open much. The Trappist: Classic and gorgeous Belgian beer bar with interesting draft list and outstanding bottle list. Drakes: Hella good beer, and a gang of barrel aged and sour stuff you can’t get anywhere else. Surprisingly few people know about this spot. Sours are some of my favorite. Kind of out-of-the-way. Beer Revolution: Busy as hell, but possibly the best beer selection I’ve ever seen. Includes lots of sours. The Good Hop: Great beer bar, downtown, cheap bottle prices and $1 corkage.

Alameda!: This island is a short hop from SF and Oakland. I’d highly recommend visiting Faction brewery. Great, well-organized hoppy beer in a huge variety, big space, and check out that damned view!. It’s also next to two other very cool spots, Rockwall Winery and my favorite distillery St.George, which does a great tour (get a reservation!). One stop and you can get all kinds of booze with a world class view. If it’s not windy and foggy.

SF: Toronado: Basically one of the original craft beer bars. Tiny, historical, awesome, punk-y. (Bartenders have a fearsome reputation but honestly they always seem perfectly nice). Mikkeller Bar: Awesome Mikkeller bar with unique stuff on draft and a weird / cool vibe. Probably the best draft system I’ve ever seen. Good service too. Expensive. Cellarmaker: Hip spot, everyone seems to like, unfortunately I have had nothing but poor beer. Speakeasy: Great beer, sexy spot, but out of the way. Beach Chalet: Plain-ish beer but if you find yourself driving down Highway 1, it’s worth the stop for the view alone. City Beer: Great selection of everything. Good beertenders. Expensive.

Santa Cruz: Sante Adarius: Great but they often don’t have their sours available. Check the facebook page. “New Bohemia” brewery is nearby and also tasty, along with Discretion. 99 Bottles: Neat old school spot, good bottle selection with some definite weird ones. Occasional really weird beer. There are also other good beer spots nearby.

If you're into sours I'd say the easy bay is your best best. The beer bars there usually have good selection and many breweries there with lots of sours. SF is weirdly void of many breweries; the beer bars are great though. Northbay has good stuff going on, if a little spread out. Santa Cruz is nice but doesn’t have that much great stuff.