Mendocino Beer Adventure!

Thomas and I continued our tradition of weekend trips for Presidents' Day/ Valentine's Weekend. We hopped in the car and drove up to Mendocino County, just north of Sonoma. Mendocino is known for its wineries since the climate is similar to Napa and Sonoma, but it has also developed as a bit of a destination for the beer afficionado.

With an automatic designated driver in tow (me!), Thomas got to hit a few breweries on our trip. We stopped first at the Anderson Valley Brewing Company in Boonville, known for its Boont Amber Ale, where we were treated to a full tour of the brewery. They had a great tasting room where we met some other couples and purchased several of the large 22 ounce bottles to take home for me to drink in a few months.

We then headed up to Ukiah where we took in an afternoon movie and went to the Ukiah Brewing Company for our Valentine's Day dinner. Mendocino County is known for its California hippieness, and the Ukiah Brewing Company was no exception. They are the nation's first certified organic brewpub. All of the food and beer they serve is organic - and it was also delicious!


We drove a few miles down the road after dinner to Hopland, a small town on Highway 101 named for the hops that used to be grown all over the region. We stayed in the most adorable historic Victorian hotel - the Hopland Inn.

On Sunday morning, we walked around Hopland and then drove a few miles of out town to the Fetzer winery. Even though they didn't have tours or tastings, we thought it was important to visit and take a picture since my sister is about to become a Fetzer next week! We were then back to Hopland to the Mendocino Brewing Company, known for its Red Tail Ale and totally awesome hawk logos. Thomas sampled 8 different beers as we chatted with the locals and other tourists.

The weekend culminated in a drive out to the coast of Sonoma County to visit Bodega Bay. We had an early dinner at a crab shack and took in the views. Then it was back to San Francisco.