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A glass of beer atop a bar.
Photo: Jason Neak / EyeEm/Getty Images/EyeEmA glass of beer atop a bar.
A glass of beer atop a bar.
A glass of beer atop a bar.
When I first launched my Beer in the Bay column almost four years ago, I had one intention. I wanted to help elevate the local beer industry and the players therein. Looking back before my last day at SFGate tomorrow, I feel that whether or not I met that goal, I at least had a lot of fun along the way. I can’t even begin to count all the events, brewers, and beers I’ve been honored to cover during my tenure.
It’s my opinion that the Bay Area is America’s true capital of craft beer. It’s home to Anchor Brewing and the legendary Steam and Christmas ale. It’s where New Albion catalyzed the craft beer revival and where Toronado still launches careers. Today, it boasts formative, inspirational and historic breweries like Russian River, Magnolia, Anchor, Lagunitas, Moonlight and Bear Republic, and industry heavyweights like Vinnie and Natalie Cilurzo, Brian Hunt, Dave McLean, Dick Cantwell and Dave Keene.
Over my last five years at SFGate I wrote as much as I could about this region’s incredible craft beer scene. Quite a lot has happened in that time. While here, I’ve interviewed new brewers, as well as established and iconic ones. I’ve written about openings, closings and transitions. I’ve written about SF Beer Week and GABF and the Double IPA Festival and the Firestone Walker Invitational and Pliny season and RateBeer Best. I broke the story when Anchor sold to Sapporo, and when Sierra Nevada bought Sufferfest. I introduced Kim Sturdavant’s Brut IPA to the world. And one time, I worked on a Beer Week Bingo board for the San Francisco Chronicle’s food section. But I wax too nostalgic.
Here’s where I wish I could offer some grand and performatively optimistic prognosis for the future of Bay beer. Unfortunately, I don’t know where the industry is headed next — no one does — but I can see the road ahead is quite rocky. Not just for the brewers, but those across the industry: the bar owners and bartenders, the QA specialists, the journalists, the buyers, the event organizers, the sales people, the farmers and the hop growers. The longer the pandemic lasts, the harder it’s going to be for your beloved breweries and bars to sustain themselves. But I have hope. This is the industry of Resilience, after all.
Hold tight to your favorites, friends. Buy a four-pack to go from your neighborhood bottle shop. Sign up for club memberships. Order cases for delivery, or sit on your local bar’s patio with a pint (or several), so long as it’s safe.
Do your part to keep the good ones around. It’s easy enough — all you need to do is order a beer. I’ll be doing the same.
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See you around,
Alyssa Pereira
P.S. You can still find me on the internet at @alyspereira on both Twitter and Instagram.
In the coming weeks, this newsletter will be reimagined by the SFGate Food team, with a new focus on local restaurants, bars and, of course, beer news.
Alyssa Pereira is, for one more day, a culture editor at SFGate. Email: alyssa.pereira@sfgate.com | Twitter: @alyspereira
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