Mill Valley Beerworks

The Bay Area Beer Bloggers headed north last night for our January meeting, and I was introduced to Mill Valley Beerworks (surprisingly enough, it's in Mill Valley).

It's a long and narrow room that feels cozy with lots of wood and dark tile. It feels a little small, but a lot of people were able to fit without it being too crowded.

They have about 8 taps? I think? Maybe 10. Two of them were for the Beerworks own brews (although they were sadly out of both when we were there), and the others were a wide range of styles and brewery locations. I went with Bacchus, a Flemish red ale. It was a little crisp, but didn't have the mouth-puckering qualities of most sours. I really liked it - it had a nice sweetness, but was calm. Not like drinking a glass of sweet tarts. I later shared a few beers with Brian, and I've already forgotten what they were. But one was English! And I then decided promptly that I do not like English beer.

The bartenders were all some of the nicest guys I've ever had serve me beer. Everything was in the right glass, too, which is always a plus. The only downside was the price. All draft beers were $7-10, and some of the bottles were pretty pricey (Speedway Stout, which is usually around $11-13, was $24!). But, it's Marin County. I expected as much.

They have a small food menu, which is also pricey - my grilled cheese sandwich was $9. BUT! Holy shit, that was an amazing grilled cheese sandwich. Great bread, a number of different cheeses (I think there was goat in there?), grilled bell peppers and greens. $9 is a lot, yes, but damn that was delicious.

I don't think I'll go back unless I happen to be in the neighbourhood, but that's only because it took so long to get there from Oakland. If I lived over there, I would definitely be hanging out there on a regular basis. If you're in Mill Valley, or anywhere close by, you should definitely check it out.