Brewpubs and Good Beer
on the West Coast USA

Brewpubs and good beer are at the heart of the Good Beer Guide to the West Coast USA which lists the best bars and breweries from Seattle to San Diego.

Glasses of Good Beer on the US West Coast.Good Beer on the US West Coast!

The Good Beer Guide to the West Coast USA, published by the British Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA, see below), is an essential guide to where to find the best brewpubs, good beer, great bars and breweries, all along the Pacific West Coast.

For good measure the authors (one of them twice named Beer Writer of the Year) also include Las Vegas, Hawaii, and Alaska. But the focus is California, Oregon and Washington, and especially the big cities of Seattle, Portland, San Francisco, Los Angeles, and San Diego.

Good Beer Guide to the West Coast USA book cover

The Good Beer Guide to the West Coast USA isn't just a round-up of brewpubs and bars. Each section, whether a state or a city, includes a general introduction, giving an idea of what there is to do there, how to get around, and includes a few hotel suggestions too.

These are brief, and I suspect were done to thank the hotels where the authors stayed on their good beer odyssey. There's also a piece about the beer scene in each place, to enable you to work up a thirst.

Good Beer Maps

Good Beer Guide to the West Coast USA book sample map

There are maps to those five major cities, and to Las Vegas as well, and though they're not detailed down to street level, they do give you the general idea where each brewpub or other good beer source is located.

Each entry also has address, phone number, website, and opening hours listed, to help out the good beer hunter, and there are also maps for Oregon, Washington, Hawaii, Alaska, and Northern and Southern California.

The city maps have inset maps too, so San Diego, for example, has an overall map of the city and a separate map of Downtown San Diego. The San Francisco map (right) has the Bay Area and an inset one for San Francisco, Berkeley, and Oakland.

Good Guide to Good Beer

This is what most people will buy the book for – the listings of good beer bars, brewpubs, and breweries. And here the authors have obviously done their homework.

Every entry – and there are hundreds of listings in the guide – reads as if they have not only visited, but lingered, had a beer or two, got to know the owners and the locals, and generally got the feel of a place.

Good Beer Guide to the West Coast USA book sample contents

The resulting write-ups are detailed, usually a paragraph or two in length, with some recommendations of good beers to try in each place. There are lots of color photos too, to brighten up the pages and to show the people behind the bars and the breweries.

In San Francisco, for example, the Anchor Brewing Co get a two-page spread, with their various brews described. In Seattle the Elysian Brewpub gets extra space, and in Newport, Oregon, the Rogue Brewery sprawls across four pages.

These all make great extra features, so you learn about the beer scene. This is far more than merely a guidebook to where you can go drinking.

The Authors

Both Ben McFarland and Tom Sandham are experienced and talented beer writers. McFarland was the youngest-ever writer to win the Beer Writer of the Year accolade from the British Guild of Beer Writers, an award he won again in 2006.

Sandham has lived all over the USA, written for numerous trade and consumer drinks publications, and currently edits the main magazine for the UK bar trade, CLASS. Neither of them is a beer geek, their writing is light and accessible, and you feel you're in the company of two affable guys who like good beer, good brewpubs, and good company.

Other Information

The Good Beer Guide to the West Coast USA is a paperback that runs to over 300 pages. It includes an introduction to American beer, a brief history of the West Coast, practical travel details on how to get there and how to get around, a list of beer festivals, a long history of beer in America, an explanation of American beer styles for those who may not be familiar with them, and information on matching beer with food, and cooking with beer. This book definitely gives value for money!

CAMRA

For those who don't know, CAMRA is a British organization, the Campaign for Real Ale. It was started in a pub in Ireland by four guys from Northwest England who were on holiday back in 1971. It was first named the less catchy Campaign for the Revitalisation of Ale, but catch on it did and today there are about 89,000 members.

As well as continuing to campaign for real ale and good pubs to drink it in, CAMRA organizes the annual Great British Beer Festival, is one of the most successful consumer groups in Europe, and publishes a series of excellent books like the Good Beer Guide to the West Coast USA.

THE GOOD BEER GUIDE:
WEST COAST USA
by Ben McFarland and Tom Sandham

Published by CAMRA Books and available on
Amazon.

Other books pages

  • Greetings from California is a beautiful coffee-table book which describes the legends, landmarks and lore of California, including the Pacific Coast Highway.

    Greetings from California

    Greetings from California is a beautiful coffee-table book which describes the legends, landmarks and lore of California, including the Pacific Coast Highway.

  • The Napa and Sonoma Guidebook to California Wine Country is from the Moon Handbooks’ travel guide series with reviews of wineries,vineyards, and wine tastings.

    Napa and Sonoma Guidebook

    The Napa and Sonoma Guidebook to California Wine Country is from the Moon Handbooks’ travel guide series with reviews of wineries,vineyards, and wine tastings.

  • Northwest Wine Country is a food and wine lover's guide to vineyards, fine dining, accommodation, restaurants in Oregon, Washington, Idaho, British Columbia.

    Northwest Wine Country

    Northwest Wine Country is a food and wine lover's guide to vineyards, fine dining, accommodation, restaurants in Oregon, Washington, Idaho, British Columbia.

  • One of the best guides to West Coast RV Parks, covering campgrounds in California, Oregon, and Washington, is West Coast RV Camping from Moon Guides.

    West Coast RV Parks

    One of the best guides to West Coast RV Parks, covering campgrounds in California, Oregon, and Washington, is West Coast RV Camping from Moon Guides.

  • Books About the Pacific Coast Highway in California, Oregon and Washington including travel guidebooks, route guides, restaurant guides, and many more.

    Books About the Pacific Coast Highway

    Books About the Pacific Coast Highway in California, Oregon and Washington including travel guidebooks, route guides, restaurant guides, and many more.

  • Pacific Coast Highway Travel reviews the Pacific Coast Highway Road Trip Guide book covering the drive from Vancouver to San Diego.

    Pacific Coast Highway Road Trip Guide

    Pacific Coast Highway Travel reviews the Pacific Coast Highway Road Trip Guide book covering the drive from Vancouver to San Diego.

  • The guide to California Bed and Breakfast Inns lists over 250 boutique hotels, wine country cottages and more.

    California Bed and Breakfast Inns

    The guide to California Bed and Breakfast Inns lists over 250 boutique hotels, wine country cottages and more.

  • Plant lovers can visit hundreds of gardens along or near the Pacific Coast Highway,ranging from lush gardens in the Pacific North-West to southern California.

    Gardens Of the Pacific Coast Highway

    Plant lovers can visit hundreds of gardens along or near the Pacific Coast Highway,ranging from lush gardens in the Pacific North-West to southern California.

  • Lighthouses of the Pacific Coast, published by Voyageur Press, is a guide in words and pictures to historic lighthouses along the Pacific Coast Highway.

    Lighthouses of the Pacific Coast

    Lighthouses of the Pacific Coast, published by Voyageur Press, is a guide in words and pictures to historic lighthouses along the Pacific Coast Highway.

  • Pacific Coast Highway Guides. Book and ebook hotel guides to PCH

    Pacific Coast Highway guides include our own printed book and ebook guides to the best hotels along the PCH, available in paperback, PDF and Kindle formats.

  • Some of the best California Backroads are included in Backroads of the California Coast, with 24 highly recommended driving tours off the Pacific Coast Highway.

    California Backroads

    Some of the best California Backroads are included in Backroads of the California Coast, with 24 highly recommended driving tours off the Pacific Coast Highway.

  • Soul of Los Angeles from French publishers Jonglez is a travel guide to 30 Exceptional Experiences in California's largest city.

    Soul of Los Angeles

    Soul of Los Angeles from French publishers Jonglez is a travel guide to 30 Exceptional Experiences in California's largest city.

  • This John Steinbeck California Guide, A Journey into Steinbeck's California, shows readers how towns like Monterey, Carmel and Salinas influenced the author.

    John Steinbeck California Guide

    This John Steinbeck California Guide, A Journey into Steinbeck's California, shows readers how towns like Monterey, Carmel and Salinas influenced the author.

  • Pacific Coast Highway Travel's book review of Insider's Guide to San Francisco guidebook by Jill Loeffler, publisher of the San Francisco Tourism Tips website.

    Your Insider's Guide to San Francisco

    Pacific Coast Highway Travel's book review of Insider's Guide to San Francisco guidebook by Jill Loeffler, publisher of the San Francisco Tourism Tips website.

  • The Washington State travel guide from Frommer's covers hotels in Seattle, driving the Pacific Coast Highway, Olympic National Park, where to eat and more.

    Washington State Travel Guide

    The Washington State travel guide from Frommer's covers hotels in Seattle, driving the Pacific Coast Highway, Olympic National Park, where to eat and more.

  • 101 free San Francisco attractions and things to do are in the Kindle guide, 101 Free Things to Do in San Francisco, in the Travel Free eGuidebooks series.

    Free San Francisco Kindle Guide to Free Attractions

    101 free San Francisco attractions and things to do are in the Kindle guide, 101 Free Things to Do in San Francisco, in the Travel Free eGuidebooks series.

  • The Santa Barbara Guidebook from Moon Handbooks also covers California’s Central Coast with Ventura, San Luis Obispo, wine country, and Hearst Castle.

    Santa Barbara Guidebook

    The Santa Barbara Guidebook from Moon Handbooks also covers California’s Central Coast with Ventura, San Luis Obispo, wine country, and Hearst Castle.

  • Moon's Spotlight Guide to the Olympic Peninsula covers hotels, restaurants, and sights, including Forks, the Olympic National Park and other places.

    Guide to the Olympic Peninsula

    Moon's Spotlight Guide to the Olympic Peninsula covers hotels, restaurants, and sights, including Forks, the Olympic National Park and other places.

  • Pacific Coast Highway Travel reviews an Olympic Peninsula Travel Guide published by the Beautiful Pacific Northwest website.

    Olympic Peninsula Travel Guide

    Pacific Coast Highway Travel reviews an Olympic Peninsula Travel Guide published by the Beautiful Pacific Northwest website.

  • California Living and Eating by Eleanor Maidment is a handsome coffee table book celebrating the food and lifestyle of the Golden State with 80 tasty recipes.

    California Living and Eating

    California Living and Eating by Eleanor Maidment is a handsome coffee table book celebrating the food and lifestyle of the Golden State with 80 tasty recipes.

  • Vintage Hollywood in Los Angeles is an extract from the Lonely Planets book Culture Trails.

    Vintage Hollywood

    Vintage Hollywood in Los Angeles is an extract from the Lonely Planets book Culture Trails.

  • Lonely Planet's Coastal California guidebook is the ideal travel guide for driving or cycling the Pacific Coast Highway from the Oregon border to Mexico.

    Coastal California Guidebook

    Lonely Planet's Coastal California guidebook is the ideal travel guide for driving or cycling the Pacific Coast Highway from the Oregon border to Mexico.

  • To John Steinbeck Monterey's Cannery Row was a place of sardine canneries, bums and honky tonks, but today the Monterey Aquarium attracts visitors.

    Cannery Row in Monterey

    To John Steinbeck Monterey's Cannery Row was a place of sardine canneries, bums and honky tonks, but today the Monterey Aquarium attracts visitors.

  • Epic Drives of the World from Lonely Planet describes 50 of the world's most exciting road trips, including, of course, the Pacific Coast Highway.

    Epic Drives of the World

    Epic Drives of the World from Lonely Planet describes 50 of the world's most exciting road trips, including, of course, the Pacific Coast Highway.

  • The Los Angeles travel guide book from Lonely Planet also covers San Diego and Southern California, including Palm Springs, Santa Barbara, and Disneyland.

    Los Angeles Travel Guide

    The Los Angeles travel guide book from Lonely Planet also covers San Diego and Southern California, including Palm Springs, Santa Barbara, and Disneyland.



Recent Articles

  1. Pacific Coast Highway remains closed after rain triggers debris flow in burn area

    Feb 08, 25 10:59 AM

    A significant stretch of Pacific Coast Highway (PCH) remains fully closed in both directions between Chautauqua Boulevard and Carbon Beach Terrace after recent storms triggered multiple debris flows…

    Read More

  2. PCH reopening is postponed, Pacific Palisades checkpoints to remain in place, Mayor Bass says

    Feb 03, 25 10:30 AM

    PACIFIC PALISADES, Calif. (KABC) -- The planned reopening of Pacific Coast Highway in the Palisades Fire burn zone has been postponed, and checkpoints in the area will remain in place, Los Angeles May…

    Read More

  3. Pacific Coast Highway to open in limited capacity on Sunday, Feb. 2

    Feb 01, 25 11:04 AM

    Pacific Coast Highway will partially reopen Sunday morning for essential traffic, marking a significant step in recovery efforts following the devastating Palisades Fire, Los Angeles County officials…

    Read More