Santa Rosa Craft Beer Walking Tour

52 ounces of craft beer is included on this 3-hour walking tour showcasing 4 of Santa Rosa’s finest award-winning microbreweries: Russian River Brewing Co, Shady Oak Barrel House, Civilization Brewing, and Cooperage Brewing Company.
You will join a friendly and knowledgeable craft beer enthusiast, who will bring the area to life with historic accounts of local legends, from Luther Burbank to Alfred Hitchcock, and tales of the bootleggers, backstabbers and black market brewers who made the Nor Cal beer scene what it is today.

While you enjoy some of the best brews Santa Rosa has to offer, along with a few snacks along the way, your guide will share insights into how Sonoma county became the birthplace of the microbrewery and why it continues to rank among the top craft beer destinations on the planet.

Meeting Point

Russian River Brewing Company

725 4th St, Santa Rosa, CA 95404, USA

Plan to arrive 10 minutes before tour start time. Look for the guide with the BEER UMBRELLA outside Russian River Brewing Company.

What's included:

• Experienced guide and beer enthusiast

What to expect:

Duration: 3 hours

Russian River Brewing Company

724 4th St, Santa Rosa, 95404-4421, California

Aim to arrive 10 minutes early and look for the guide with the beer umbrella outside the crown jewel of Santa Rosa’s craft beer scene: Russian River Brewing Co.
This is the home of Pliny the Elder, the first commercially produced double IPA in the country, which was ranked as the #1 beer in the US by the American Homebrewers Association 8 years in a row! This masterpiece — along with several other perfected recipes for the Blind Pig IPA, the STS Pilsner, and the Belgian “-ation” series — have racked up over 40 medals for this remarkable brewery at the Great American Beer Festival and the World Beer Cup.

We will begin our stumble here by sampling all 4 of these diverse and divine award-winning beers, while learning a bit about each other, the roots of Sonoma County's fascination with beer, and the reasons that Santa Rosa has been dubbed the microbrew capital of the country.

45 minutes

Civilization Brewing

104 Mendocino Ave, Santa Rosa, CA 95401, USA

Meet the newest upstart microbrewery in Sonoma County: Civilization Brewing. Known for cannabis-inspired hazy IPAs, such as the Pineapple Express and the Super Lemon Haze, as well as their wonderfully unique Sweet Fire apricot habanero gose, Civilization is a small but mighty brewpub that has already made its mark on the Santa Rosa beer scene.
We will enjoy a pint here and your choice of snacks, with some time to chill out in the cozy retro 1970s vibe of dark wood coffee tables, overstuffed couches, and oil paintings of waterfalls.

45 minutes

575 Ross St

575 Ross St, Santa Rosa, CA 95401, USA

This brand new location combines the signature Cooperage Brewing experience with the energy of the downtown atmosphere. Featuring a modern taproom filled with skylights, wood-beam rafters, massive murals, and plenty of seating, it’s the perfect spot to explore a variety of craft beers on tap, enjoy some snacks from daily rotating food trucks, or dive into the fun with pinball machines, pool table, darts, and board games. There is an ever-rotating lineup of beers on tap, showcasing everything from crowd favorites to experimental brews - like the Dortmunder Export that won the gold medal at the 2023 Great American Beer Festival.

45 minutes

Shady Oak Barrel House

420 1st St, Santa Rosa, CA 95401, USA

We wrap up our tour at the Shady Oak Barrel House, whose specialties focus on barrel aging, farmhouse ales and sour beers. All of the beers here – even the fantastic IPAs, stouts, and pilsners they produce – have a little bit of a weird and wild twist to them.
Housed in a cavernous hangar that used to be a 1960s car dealership, all of the barrels that line the walls of the brewery are actually filled with beer that is aging and will one day be tapped and poured for customers. Shady Oak is always using their space for creative events and fundraisers, such as vinyl record swap meets, bike part exchanges, live music benefits, local art shows, stand up comedy, and trivia nights. Throw in the huge outdoor patio on the riverfront, a different food truck every night, and the largest collection of pinball machines in Sonoma County, and you’ve got the perfect spot to kick back, relax, and let the evening unwind from there.

45 minutes