As I mentioned in a previous post, last weekend Whitney and I road tripped up to SF for a short stint to see friends and check something off our summer bucket list.
When we were hatching our plans earlier in the week about SF, I tweeted at my friend (and former roommate senior year in my sorority house), Kathleen. She graciously invited us to stay with her last minute- and devised a brewpub tour of SF by bike, with help from a website called Pinchit (come to LA, Pinchit)!
We started off the morning by renting bikes at San Francisco Bicycle Rentals. The yelp reviews chided the owner for being unfriendly, but for $5/hour and a whole arsenal of bikes to choose from, I had no complaints. It was pretty funny when he dragged out my bike and then told Whitney he needed to get a smaller one for her. #bigpeopleproblems.
We took off through San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park, heading to our first stop – Beach Chalet.
Biking through the park was fun and full of people walking, running, cycling, and basking in the sun. We even stumbled upon a pedal-powered (hippie) music fest.
hippies in the background.
We hit up our first stop – Beach Chalet – which had stunning views of Ocean Beach and was also precariously close to the finish line of the NWM 13.1 I did the last time I was in SF.
Ocean Beach.
We followed Pinchit’s recommendation and EACH ordered a small flight of the different Beach Chalet brews.
beer on beer on beer.
In order we have: the VFW Light, Presidio IPA, Riptide Red, Porter, Hef, and the Pale Ale. I particularly enjoyed the IPA (duh), the Porter, and the light and refreshing Hef. The views of the ocean weren’t hard to take in, either.
cheersing.
After we freaked out the entire restaurant with our mid-day booze-fest (it looked like more beer than it really was, I promise), we headed back to our bikes to Social Kitchen & Brewery, stop #2 on our “cerveza cycle.”
on the way.
Located in the Sunset, this place was quirky but good – and we also ordered food here as well.
one happy camper.
We each opted for the $6 flight again to get as much local flare as we could
.
Social Kitchen & Brewery’s brews.
beer me.
From left to right we have: SKB Pilsner, Beach House Blonde, Ramsgate Rye P.A., Irving St. P.A., The Smell I.P.A., and the Anniversary Brune.
Overall, we liked the beers a lot, but weren’t as impressed with the atmosphere as the other two places we stopped.
Our final stop was in the Haight at Magnolia Gastropub and Brewery. Loved the fun, local vibe at this place.
haters gonna haight.
By this time, we were all sort of tuckered out so we just went with one last beer before hanging out and eventually biking back to the starting point.
so many options…
I selected the “In With the New” IPA and was not let down.
Overall, we had a great time and biked about 8 miles and checked 3 new-to-me places off my beer list! I’d recommend doing something like this the next time you visit San Francisco, or really any bike friendly city! Thanks again to my friend Kathleen for planning this and executing it so seamlessly!
A note about bike safety: First, always wear a helmet. Also, I realize “BUIs” exist and combining biking and drinking is a serious issue. However, my friends and I were safe, drank moderately over 5 hours, took our time, and also imbibed a lot of water.
What’s your favorite way to explore a city?
