I love good beer. I also love enjoying good beer with my wife and dog. I therefore really love doing both together. Unfortunately, that is not always possible (unless done at home). Hence, the following series.

I cannot profess to know every single dog friendly brewery in the state, but I do believe I have a pretty good grip of the best ones in a few different areas, namely SF, the Bay Area and north, and the Central Coast. This series will pass along my knowledge on this ever so important topic.

The second in this series will focus on dog-friendly breweries in my expanded backyard, the East Bay and Peninsula of the San Francisco Bay Area.

A future article will follow on the North Bay, as there are a ton of dog friendly breweries up there!

East Bay

Drakes

Drakes brews great beers, and has plenty of room for the pup.  Perfect combo.

Drakes has a large outdoor area, with covered and uncovered seating.  Last trip over there it was raining, but we could still enjoy some brews outside with the pup in the covered seating area.

It is in a somewhat awkward area and hard to find the first time you go, but worth the trek (note, basically go into the Walmart parking lot, drive past the Walmart entrance while avoiding the Walmartions, and you are there).

They have food, but I have not yet tried anything other than the snacks (nuts, pretzels).  Apparently, they rotate the food menu, as I have seen days where most of the food was paninis, and other days where they only had tacos and quesadillas.

They have a pretty diverse beer selection, with everything from hop bombs to sours and everything in between.  This is also a bonus as it caters to more than just hopheads.

They also have a special event on the first Friday of each month with food trucks, music, etc.

Overall, one of my favorite places to take the pup to get high quality beers.

http://drinkdrakes.com/barrelhouse/

Faction

Faction’s biggest draw is likely the view.

Faction is right on the bay in Alameda.  Day or night, the view is silly.  As a result, it tends to be packed on weekends.

Weekends they tend to have a food truck or BBQ stand.  Getting a seat outside can be tough on a nice day.  There is plenty of seating inside as well, and I have seen people with their dogs inside.

Beers are all pretty solid, and they tend to sway more on the hoppy, bigger beers.  This is somewhat of a bummer, as the wife is not huge on hops, making a trip here require some compromise (ie, go across the street to the Building 43 Winery).

One day we will do the whole Alameda experience, hitting the distilleries and taking the ferry, and that will presumably get a little messy.

Overall, a must hit on a clear day.

http://factionbrewing.com/tasting-room/

Linden Street

Linden Street is a cool brewery as it is a change of pace.  Linden Street makes unique beers, and although big hops bombs are not on the menu, other really good and different beers are.

The Common Lager, Black Lager and Bitter are my favorites.

Laid back atmosphere and decent amount of outdoor seating.  Most of the seating is shaded, so it can get crispy. They have a Ramen guy on site usually, and apparently also have food trucks on occassion, although I have not been there for that.

A nice bonus is they seem to be rescue dog advocates and occasionally have events with rescue organizations.

This is a great place to go to just take it easy and have a few more lightly hopped and low-ABV beers.

http://www.lindenstreetbrewing.com/

Peninsula

Half Moon Bay Brewery

Half Moon Bay Brewing Company is one of my all-time favorite weekend spots.  Hop in the car with the wife and pup, get a good hike in in McNee State Park or a run from the harbor to Moss Beach and back, then put back a few and eat great food.

I have dedicated a whole blog to HMB: https://californiaipas.com/2014/08/25/half-moon-bay-brewing-company/

I must say over the last year or two, they have really stepped up their beers.  Before, the big draw was the location and food, however the quality of their beers has really increased recently.

Hop Dogma

Hop Dogma is the other brewery in Half Moon Bay/El Granada.

Hop Dogma is in a cool Victorian building in what is apparently the downtown El Granada.  It is a relatively small space and only has indoor seating.  However, since they do not serve food (other than maybe some potato chips), the pups are allowed inside!

The beers tend to be hop forward (good for CaliforniaIPA, not good for Mrs. CaliforniaIPA).  You can get pints or samplers.  I have enjoyed most of the beers I have had thus far, especially the IPAs and Pales.

A great stop for high quality beers and good people, and you can bring the dog even if the weather is bad!

http://hopdogma.com/

Freewheel Brewing Company

Disclaimer.  I have not yet been here.  Terrible, I know.  How can this guy call himself CaliforniaIPA but he has never been to a brewery 30 miles away from him?

I have had a few of Freewheel’s beers and was impressed.  They focus on English-style cask conditioned ales, and so I owe it to my heritage to get there ASAP and have some brews and fish and chips.

California inspired English pub food, a visit and update to this post is to come ASAP.

http://freewheelbrewing.com/

Devil’s Canyon Brewery

Bad – Devil’s Canyon is mostly only open on Friday’s.  Good – they allow dogs on that one day.

Devil’s Canyon makes some pretty solid beers.  Their most popular beer seems to be the Full Boar Scotch Ale, I like the Sunshine Rye IPA.  Their line-up is fairly diverse with something to suit everyone.

On Fridays they host off the grid, so you know you will get some good grub to go with the good food.  The schedule is usually posted online at: http://devilscanyon.com/organizer/food-truck-friday-events/

Overall, a good time is pretty close to guaranteed, just wish they would open more frequently.

Did I miss any?  If so, give me a shout in the comments.