SF Bay Area, CABeer Halls and Biergartens

Jon Bonne wrote in the San Francisco Chronicle that this outdoor room came from Fabricio Wiest and Aaron Hulme of nearby Suppenkuche, opened in October on the Proxy lot, and furnished itself with tabletops from a beer garden in Regensburg and corrugated metal containers for a kitchen. Time Out counts seven rotating German and Austrian taps poured by the half liter and liter, and long wooden tables that fill fast on sunny days. Order the bratwurst basket with a soft pretzel and sauerkraut.

Time Out calls Zeitgeist one of the best day drinking patios in the city, a no frills yard of banquet style picnic tables under wacky murals where bikers and hipsters mingle at the same bench. The magazine counts more than four dozen beers, sorted by type from pilsners and lagers to saisons and barrel aged stouts, with a run of Belgian and German pours beside California brewers such as Lost Coast, Henhouse and Anderson Valley. Order a pitcher and take a seat at one of the long tables.

Time Out says John Martin, the founder behind Triple Rock Brewery, has been pouring beer at this Berkeley mainstay since 1992, and calls the spacious back garden one of the most atmospheric around, strung with lights and bordered by trumpet vines. Twelve house taps might hold a red ale, honey wheat, IPA or dry stout, with 22 guest handles from brewers including Alvarado Street and Morgan Territory. Live bands play the patio up to six nights a week. Order a pizza and a house pint.

Time Out describes an almost always busy beer garden and restaurant set in a historic Dodge dealership on what was once Oakland's Auto Row. The open air garden is lined with vines and heat lamps, with plenty of seating and fire pits that keep the warmth all around. Thirty two beers pour on tap and there is a growler station for taking some home. Order a wood fired pizza from the full menu and a pint from the Drake's list.

Time Out counts 10,000 square feet at this former machine shop turned brewery, with a front patio of umbrella topped communal tables and heat lamps that the magazine calls an ideal spot for nursing a beer late into the evening. The mood stays low key and casual, dogs move around the tables and nineties hits carry the soundtrack. The in house beer runs from pale ales and kolsches to porters and IPAs. Order a house pint and the sage fries.