After a long pandemic hibernation, ThirstyBear is back to brewing and pouring once more, and the brewery is ready to serve tech workers and conventioneers in SoMa. Going strong after more than a decade, it claims to be the first and only brewery in San Francisco to make exclusively organic beer, pairing German marzens and West Coast IPAs with paella, piquillo peppers, and ceviche.

Best known for its widely distributed cans of seasonal beers like watermelon wheat, 21st Amendment is named for the repeal of Prohibition. The brewery is located near South Park in SoMa, where head brewer/co-founder Shaun O'Sullivan started 21A.

Black Hammer Brewing, a SoMa brewery and tasting room, is suds and pup friendly. Brewer Jim Furman is constantly fiddling with his line of beers, focused on American IPAs and some classic German styles like pilsners and bocks. The patio is also fine at sister spot, German-inspired beer garden called Wilkommen at Market and Sanchez in the Castro.

Sure you can get a bunch of delicious local beers on draft at Barrel Head (all of which come out of a tap system attached to a World War II–era torpedo), but what puts the brewery on this list are its house brews, which change seasonally, but always include an IPA, a Kolsch, and a sour.

New Belgium Brewing, the Colorado brewery best known for Fat Tire amber ale, has a massive new brewery in Mission Bay, just a peanut’s throw away from Oracle Park. Of course, they’re pouring their bestselling Belgian-style brews, but they also hired local brewer Ramon Tamayo (Russian River Brewing Company) to craft a few fresh beers on site. And star chefs Laura and Sayat Ozyilmaz (Noosh) stepped in to develop the food menu, which includes a stuffed wagyu burger and bacon-wrapped hot dog.

A historic landmark between Golden Gate Park and Ocean Beach, Park Chalet may be better known for its views than its food, but the beer and garden are just fine, and you can’t go wrong chasing flights of wild West Coast brews with sweet oysters on the lawn. In fact, the beers are all brewed on site, and there’s a fun seasonal rotation every month.

Seven Stills makes beer, distills whiskey, and even distills beer (their own and beer from other breweries) into whiskey, which is wild and might give you a sense of the ways this spot breaks the typical brewery mold. The brewery and distillery finally fired back up production after a long pause during the pandemic, but they’ve always got good list of beer, whiskey, and pub eats at the massive new Mission Bay location, as well as a taproom outpost in the Outer Sunset.

Standard Deviant prides itself on pouring “the coldest tasting beer” in the city so stop by the unassuming former garage in the Mission. The brews are more standard than totally deviant: solid IPAs and saisons reign, though you’ll also find more adventurous options like barley wine and smoked Kolsch.

This tiny taproom was the start of Jim Woods empire, which now includes taprooms locations in Russian Hill, the Outer Sunset, Oakland, and Treasure Island. One popular IPA is brewed with yerba maté, and during Girl Scout cookie season, don’t miss Woods’ cookie flavored beers, based on favorites like Thin Mints and Samoas. Currently open for outdoor dining and takeout only.

This Mission newcomer features an exciting double whammy: creative Tijuana-style food and a small but interesting selection of house-brewed beers on tap. Head here for brew styles you’re unlikely to find elsewhere in the Bay Area — a brown lager that’s equivalent to a more flavorful, “craft” version of a Negra Modelo; an India pale lager; and a sour blonde that’s especially good in cocktails and micheladas.

Groundbreaking SF brewer Magnolia was founded by Dave McLean in the Upper Haight in 1997, later expanding to include this massive Dogpatch brewing facility and restaurant. Since then, quite a bit has changed: Colorado’s New Belgium took over after Magnolia declared bankruptcy a few years back, and now, after being acquired by a subsidiary of Japanese beer giant Kirin, the brewery has lost its craft status. But fans still drink up Magnolia’s IPAs and menu of elevated pub fare. Both the original location on Haight and the big industrial location in the Dogpatch are now open.

Harmonic brews small batch beer in a wide range of brew styles, from Kolsches and sours to several different IPAs. The original location in the Dogpatch, a taproom and brewery in a large warehouse space next to a metal shop, welcomes a crowd of kids and dogs. And a big new second location opened in Thrive City, the area immediately outside of Chase Center, with the added perks of bay views and pizza.

Cellarmaker has become one of San Francisco’s most respected brewers thanks to consistent quality across all sorts of experimental and classic beer styles. Its pale ales are pillowy and soft, and its dark beers like the “Coffee & Cigarettes,” a smoked porter, are hefty and satisfying. The original brewery in SoMa serves straight beer, and Cellarmaker House of Pizza in Bernal also adds on excellent Detroit-inspired square pizza.

Established in 1997, this San Francisco distribution staple opened its taproom in 2011, featuring rotating taps in flights, pints, bottles, cans, and growlers. Its signature mobster-themed beer, "Big Daddy IPA," is always on hand, but so are more interesting beers you won't find in your corner store.

Departing slightly from the hop-heavy ways of local craft breweries, Laughing Monk offers a California-Belgian crossover style, for everything from Holy Ghost pilsner to a Brother Harvey Milk-Shake IPA. And after a long year of pickup and delivery, the brewery has reopened for on-site drinking.