Amtrak beer run

[BCL]

I know this has been brought up on AU before, but the one thread I saw was before my time. I would have suggested the relatively new Sierra Nevada Torpedo Room in Berkeley,

http://discuss.amtraktrains.com/index.php?/topic/43932-the-best-beer/

I thinking of taking a few days off, and making a solo trip to Portland. I was thinking of making beer a big part of it. I thought maybe going from Emeryville to Portland and back might be an idea, but then I figured the CS leaves pretty late so maybe get to Chico (with the Sierra Nevada Brewery a short transit ride from Amtrak) earlier and explore that before heading to Portland. In Portland I was thinking something different like the Crystal Hotel. Anything around there a good beer destination without needing a rental car?

So what else is a good beer stop near Amtrak stations? Maybe even connecting services? The Santa Rosa stop seems a bit far from Russian River Brewing, but I guess it's close enough.

 

[pennyk]

Deschutes Brewery Brew Pub is walking distance from the Portland, Oregon Station. Orlando Brewing is walking distance (and across the tracks) from the Orlando station.

 

[Maglev]

The Skagit River Brewery is about a block from Skagit Station in Mount Vernon, Washington, on the Cascades route between Seattle and Vancouver, BC. This area is winter home to trumpeter swans and snow geese, site of the Skagit Valley Tulip Festival in the spring, and gateway to North Cascades National Park.

 

[Railroad Bill]

If you arrive in Cleveland on the right Sunday in the fall, you can walk across the Shoreway, attend a Browns game and have some beer and brats while you watch the game. Of course, you must be a dedicated football fan to spend money on a Browns game...

 

[tricia]

In Portland, the Whole Foods that's a block or so from Crystal Hotel has a beer cave where you can buy single bottles of a wide variety of local and regional beers. Good for a stop to stock up before getting back on the train.

 

[TiBike]

Russian River is a hike from the Santa Rosa thruway stop. So is Lagunitas Brewing from the Petaluma stop. But it's an easy walk from the Healdsburg stop to Bear Republic Brewing, which is home to my go to (bottled) beer, Racer 5 IPA. You can also usually get Racer 5 and Lagunitas' IPA on the Capitol Corridor.

I don't usually wander off in search of genuine brew pubs in Oakland or Berkeley -- I stick to my old college hangouts. I usually hit Heinold's First and Last Chance Saloon at Jack London Square (when it's open) or Spengers in Berkeley. There's a big new beer bar in Jack London Square I haven't been to yet (forgot the name, but you'll see it from the train) and a couple of small brew pubs not too far away, I guess I'll have to do some site surveys and get back to you .

Monterey Coast Brewing is near the Salinas station on Main Street, and it's pretty good. There's also Farmers Union down the street, which has a huge selection of beers, although they don't brew it themselves.

In SLO, I usually go to Central Coast Brewing -- it's a bit of a walk, but on a nice day in a college town, it's no burden at all. There are a bunch of brew pubs on State Street in Santa Barbara just up from the station, my default is Santa Barbara Brewing, mainly because it's been there a while, I know where it is and I don't usually have time to explore.

When I'm in Davis, I'm usually driving, and go to Sudwerk, but it's not a bad walk from the Amtrak station -- not much to see, but it's only about a mile.

I also feel obliged to mention the "Birthplace of the Martini" plaque at Alhambra and Masonic in Martinez, less than half a mile from the station. It was placed there by my ECV brethern and there are several local establishments willing and able to offer you a sample of one of Martinez's two major enhancements to the human experience (the other being Joe DiMaggio).

It's dawning on me that I need to get out and do some more research

 

[texline]

Santa Rosa has an Amtrak bus connection and you can get to the Russian River Brewing Co. although Sonoma County has so many breweries popping up every day, just had a couple more open down the street from me. Petaluma has a bunch springing up around Lagunitas Beer, Rohnert Park around the Double Tree (near the bus), Healdsburg, Windsor. Never have a problem finding beer here along the bus route. As our County Supervisor says, come for our world class wine, try out the world renowned micro breweries and smoke lots of pot.

 

[BCL]

Russian River is a hike from the Santa Rosa thruway stop. So is Lagunitas Brewing from the Petaluma stop. But it's an easy walk from the Healdsburg stop to Bear Republic Brewing, which is home to my go to (bottled) beer, Racer 5 IPA. You can also usually get Racer 5 and Lagunitas' IPA on the Capitol Corridor.

I don't usually wander off in search of genuine brew pubs in Oakland or Berkeley -- I stick to my old college hangouts. I usually hit Heinold's First and Last Chance Saloon at Jack London Square (when it's open) or Spengers in Berkeley. There's a big new beer bar in Jack London Square I haven't been to yet (forgot the name, but you'll see it from the train) and a couple of small brew pubs not too far away, I guess I'll have to do some site surveys and get back to you .

Monterey Coast Brewing is near the Salinas station on Main Street, and it's pretty good. There's also Farmers Union down the street, which has a huge selection of beers, although they don't brew it themselves.

In SLO, I usually go to Central Coast Brewing -- it's a bit of a walk, but on a nice day in a college town, it's no burden at all. There are a bunch of brew pubs on State Street in Santa Barbara just up from the station, my default is Santa Barbara Brewing, mainly because it's been there a while, I know where it is and I don't usually have time to explore.

When I'm in Davis, I'm usually driving, and go to Sudwerk, but it's not a bad walk from the Amtrak station -- not much to see, but it's only about a mile.

I also feel obliged to mention the "Birthplace of the Martini" plaque at Alhambra and Masonic in Martinez, less than half a mile from the station. It was placed there by my ECV brethern and there are several local establishments willing and able to offer you a sample of one of Martinez's two major enhancements to the human experience (the other being Joe DiMaggio).

It's dawning on me that I need to get out and do some more research

Russian River is a hike from the Santa Rosa thruway stop. So is Lagunitas Brewing from the Petaluma stop. But it's an easy walk from the Healdsburg stop to Bear Republic Brewing, which is home to my go to (bottled) beer, Racer 5 IPA. You can also usually get Racer 5 and Lagunitas' IPA on the Capitol Corridor.

I don't usually wander off in search of genuine brew pubs in Oakland or Berkeley -- I stick to my old college hangouts. I usually hit Heinold's First and Last Chance Saloon at Jack London Square (when it's open) or Spengers in Berkeley. There's a big new beer bar in Jack London Square I haven't been to yet (forgot the name, but you'll see it from the train) and a couple of small brew pubs not too far away, I guess I'll have to do some site surveys and get back to you .

Monterey Coast Brewing is near the Salinas station on Main Street, and it's pretty good. There's also Farmers Union down the street, which has a huge selection of beers, although they don't brew it themselves.

In SLO, I usually go to Central Coast Brewing -- it's a bit of a walk, but on a nice day in a college town, it's no burden at all. There are a bunch of brew pubs on State Street in Santa Barbara just up from the station, my default is Santa Barbara Brewing, mainly because it's been there a while, I know where it is and I don't usually have time to explore.

When I'm in Davis, I'm usually driving, and go to Sudwerk, but it's not a bad walk from the Amtrak station -- not much to see, but it's only about a mile.

I also feel obliged to mention the "Birthplace of the Martini" plaque at Alhambra and Masonic in Martinez, less than half a mile from the station. It was placed there by my ECV brethern and there are several local establishments willing and able to offer you a sample of one of Martinez's two major enhancements to the human experience (the other being Joe DiMaggio).

It's dawning on me that I need to get out and do some more research

I know there's Plank at JLS. Beer, bocce, and bowling. As for Martinez - I was there for jury duty last year. Since I had a couple of hours to get back, I went to a greasy spoon for a burger and a bottle of Bud. The visitor center had a bunch of martini glasses on display at their window, There's some sort of pub a couple of blocks away.

 

[TiBike]

Thanks, Plank is the place I was thinking of. I need to get out more.

 

[JoeBas]

You could come in on the Sunset to visit the St. Arnold brewery here in Houston. Of course, you can't go back for a day or two...

 

[PerRock]

From Michigan:

Casey's Tavern is across the street from the Ann Arbor Amtrak station, while I've never been there their website claims to have 3 rotating taps of craft brews, usually local. As well as having a number of Michigan beers in bottles. It also isn't that difficult to take the bus into downtown & visit one of the many microbreweries there (Arbor Brewing Co, Grizzly Peak, Jolly Pumpkin, Blue Tractor, one more I'm forgetting.)

The Kalamazoo Amtrak station is only a few blocks from the Beer Exchange, which in the evenings runs a stock-exchange like system for beer prices. Another block over & you have Bell's Eccentric Cafe, the Bell's Brewery bar; and then another 3 blocks you have Arcadia Brewing's brewery pub. All quite walk-able from the station (although Arcadia is a bit of a haul)

Founder's Brew Pub is about a block & a half from the Grand Rapids station.

Great Lakes Brewing in Cleveland, OH is accessible by rail (requires 2 changes to local rail), but not that practical; namely because of when the Amtrak stop there.

peter

Edit, forgot to mention:

When/If Ypsilanti get a stop, Arbor Brewing Co's Corner Brewery will be right there as well (hard to be too specific as the exact location of the station isn't known. Chances are it'll be at the far end of the platform & up a block.

 

[jebr]

St. Paul, MN has a fair amount of options, especially if you're open to bus trips/transfers.

Tin Whiskers Brewing is within walking distance of Union Depot, and World of Beer (a chain) has numerous taps available and is only a block or two from Union Depot. Great Waters Brewing is also downtown as well.

Along the Green Line, there's Burning Brothers, Surly, Urban Growler, Bang, and Fulton, depending on which stop you want to take. Definitely enough options for a night on the town just along there. (There may be more; the map I'm referencing is from 2015.) There's also Summit which is a short walk (or transfer) from the 54 line, and numerous others if you're willing to branch out a bit.

 

[BoulderCO]

Don't forget the new Union Station in Denver. One entire end of the large communal lobby area is a sit-down or "take out" bar featuring perhaps 30 draft microbrews. Majority are Colorado breweries but some from west coast. If you buy from the "take out" window, you can take your brews to any of the comfy seats or couches in the lobby. Waitress service in the seating area is also available. Price is quite reasonable - similar to most bars in the Denver area. Highly recommended ;>)

 

[trainman74]

Island Brewing Company is about a block from the Carpinteria station (a Pacific Surfliner stop). I haven't made it there yet myself, but I've heard good things.

 

[norfolkwesternhenry]

From my step dad, Deschutes, Hop works

 

[BCL]

I've been to the Pyramid brewpub in Seattle. I don't know if it's a mass production brewery any more, but it's definitely within walking distance of the King Street Station. Their production brewery and brewpub in Berkeley closed down a few years ago. It was a few blocks away from the tracks, but not necessarily that close to the Berkeley station.

Not sure what there is near San Jose. Maybe Gordon Biersch, but their garlic fries are their big draw. The production breweries aren't that close to Diridon Station.

It's not Amtrak, but there's a beer shop near the Mountain View Caltrain station. Very convenient since Caltrain allows consumption of personal alcohol.

 

[crabby_appleton1950]

I was thinking of making beer a big part of it.

I'm always amazed at the number of posts where people are concerned about the availability of alcohol for their train trips. :huh:

 

[TiBike]

There's not much around the station in San Jose. There's one bar -- Patty's -- that's across the street. There's another one a couple blocks away, but I haven't been to it. Everything else is a hike -- it's unusual for me to hang out at Diridon for very long, so I don't go exploring.

 

[trainman74]

I'm always amazed at the number of posts where people are concerned about the availability of alcohol for their train trips. :huh:

We do get a fair number of people who are interested in drinking on the train, but this thread is someone who wants to drink off the train, taking a journey to sample various craft beers/microbreweries along the way and not using a rental car (thus, no risk of drinking and driving). Totally different concept.

 

[Cho Cho Charlie]

I'm always amazed at the number of posts where people are concerned about the availability of alcohol for their train trips. :huh:

We do get a fair number of people who are interested in drinking on the train, but this thread is someone who wants to drink off the train, taking a journey to sample various craft beers/microbreweries along the way and not using a rental car (thus, no risk of drinking and driving). Totally different concept.

True in reading the details, but for most of us, going for a "beer run" means a quick trip out to buy beer, and returning back with that beer, to drink it (many times sharing with your party guests).

 

[snvboy]

Beer Hound Brewery in Culpeper, VA is literally right next door to the Amtrak station. Support my friend and get your beer here!

http://www.beerhoundbrewery.com/

 

[Ronbo]

Island Brewing Company is about a block from the Carpinteria station (a Pacific Surfliner stop). I haven't made it there yet myself, but I've heard good things.

The Brewery with a Surfliner going by.

 

[wdscott]

Island Brewing Company is about a block from the Carpinteria station (a Pacific Surfliner stop). I haven't made it there yet myself, but I've heard good things.

The Brewery with a Surfliner going by.

IMG_0994.JPG

Islander IPA has been the featured bomber (IPA) on the Surfliner for a number of months. Stone IPA is still available, albeit in a 12 oz. serving.

Stone IPA has been one of my fave IPA's for years, but Islander is pretty damn good, too!

--Bill

 

[wdscott]

Has it occurred to anyone, other than myself, to create something larger out of this thread? Thinking in generalities of putting together an on-line resource, perhaps closely associated with AU, which identifies brew pups near, dare I say, every, Amtrak station? Imagine the potential with AU'ers distributed nationwide!

Comments? Questions? Would anyone like a mint?

--Bill

 

[PerRock]

I was thinking

Has it occurred to anyone, other than myself, to create something larger out of this thread? Thinking in generalities of putting together an on-line resource, perhaps closely associated with AU, which identifies brew pups near, dare I say, every, Amtrak station? Imagine the potential with AU'ers distributed nationwide!

Comments? Questions? Would anyone like a mint?

--Bill

I was thinking a similar thing. Kind of a travel guide to Amtrak stations. Could include food options that are doable while the train is in the station.

peter