Category: bars

Anchor Public Taps

Rating
8.5/10

Wait
No Wait

Value
$7 per pint

Where
SF

Raspberry Mint Stout
Who knew raspberry and stout would work so well together. This experimental beer should become part of Anchor’s standard rotation.  

With all the breweries and tap rooms in the Bay Area, it’s hard to distinguish yourself. Anchor Public Taps shares many characteristic that can be found in most tap rooms; it situated in a large industrial warehouse, there is an outdoor patio space, and a curated food truck rotation. At first, it’s hard to find what this O.G brewery has to offer that all these other breweries with less resources can’t. To our surprise, what we discovered is Anchor Public Taps is an “experimental tasting room.”

Anchor Public Taps carries the standard classics that made Anchor reputable like Steam and the California Lager. They also carry exclusive collaboration beers that were made together with other local breweries. But what really sets Anchor Public Taps apart, is they intermittently throughout the day open a small 5 gallon batch of experimental beer for the public to try for free.

I’m not fan of the standard Anchor beer line, but the experimental beer that I did try really made me a fan of Anchor Public Taps. Supposedly, a new experimental beer will be tapped every weekend, and it runs out fast! Not only is the experimental beer amazing, the brewmasters are there serving you and asking for feedback and any questions that you may have. Possibly with enough good feedback, maybe these experimental beers may make it in the standard rotation.

Overall, the space and setup is quite ordinary to most other breweries. However, the concept of the “experimental tasting room,” is what takes Anchor Public Taps to another level and generates a stronger reason to go back.

Website – https://www.anchorbrewing.com/publictaps

Hardwater

Rating
8/10

Wait
None

Value
$15 per dish

Where
SF

Spicy Nashville Style
This isn’t the best fried chicken and corn cake, but it is a solid dish. The fried chicken isn’t that crunchy but it does have nice subtle spicy flavor. The corn cake is the definitely the star of this dish.

Bourbon Lift
A must order. Essentially an alcoholic version of a Snow Plover*. Beyond tasting delicious, the presentation of the Bourbon Lift is also very striking. There’s a large layer of foam “lifting” from the rim of a glass, with only a small metal straw sticking through the foam. 

Hard Water is one of the cooler places along the Embarcadero. It feels like a place where the hip bougie sailors would go to drink and snack on some upscale home cooking. Beyond the food, the most striking feature is the interior which is a good example of adaptive reuse, the art of repurposing an old space into a new function. There is a good balance between the modern finishes and the various accenting nautical elements. Hard Water feels hip and trendy but not out of context.

Right when you enter, you’ll be confronted by a wall of whiskey. A very large wall as the ceiling are quite high. Your eyes will pan across the sea of whiskey bottles and it’ll eventually settle, dead center, on an amazing horseshoe shaped marble bar. Hanging above the bar, a sizable light pendant has been made by repurposing a mooring buoy.  As you scan the rest of the space, you’ll notice that there is only bar type seating. By now the concept is understandable, Hard Water is a place to drink and the U-shaped marble bar is the “fashion catwalk” for the whiskey. 

The whiskey list is extensive and exotic. I didn’t try any whiskey but did scan over the list and noticed quite a few good selections. Instead, I ordered cocktails which were delicious. It’s worth noting that there is only a handful of cocktails on the menu.  

Hard Water is a great whiskey bar. It breaks away from the old idea of whiskey bars being filled with cigar smoke, dim lighting, and leather chairs. If you’re looking for an unique space that serves stiff drinks and small bites, you can’t go wrong with Hard Water.

Website – https://www.hardwaterbar.com