Ultimate Bay Area beer day trip

It all begins with Megabus, because when the plan is to visit, like, 10 beer spots in a single day, you gotta leave the car keys at home.

Megabus is fairly new to Sacramento, so for those not in the know: It departs from Old Sac, drops off in San Francisco near AT&T Park, and costs anywhere from $2 to $10 one way. Deal, right? (Find out more at http://us.megabus.com.)

Once in the Bay, the first stop is City Beer Store in SOMA (1168 Folsom Street, No. 101). CBS bottle shop is a decent place to fill up the backpack with bombers for the day—it’s the lite version of Pangaea Two Brews Cafe or Davis Beer Shoppe—and drink a few. Or you can shell out some $70 for a bottle of Cantillon (baller!).

Other worthy beer stops in the city abound: The Monk’s Kettle (3141 16th Street in the Mission), Toronado (547 Haight Street in Lower Haight), the soon-to-open Mikkeller Bar SF (34 Mason Street in the Tenderloin) are just a few.

However, I’m more partial to the East Bay, so I propose taking BART to glorious San Leandro (no kidding), then either cabbing or hooving it a mile it to the nearest Walmart. That’s right.

Behind the Walmart is the prize: Drake’s Brewing Company’s taproom (1933 Davis Street). Drake’s excels at hopped brews, and drinking these at the source is unequaled. Sours and barrel-aged specials are always on draft, too. Just bring snacks, because there’s not always a food truck nearby.

OK, so now a good buzz is a goin’. Next stop: Oakland. Beer Revolution (463 Third Street), a staple of downtown with good American-brew selections, never disappoints. Ditto the nearby The Trappist (460 Eighth Street), where you can explore rarer, finer beers. Both locations dish eats, although I prefer the charcuterie and cheese-plate fare at the latter.

At this point, life might be a blur. Lying down for a siesta could be in order. There’s nearby Lake Merritt, where you can chill (don’t forget those bombers in your backpack). But don’t zonk out, because the best is for last.

The Trappist Provisions (6309 College Avenue), the sister store of the aforementioned monkish hideaway, is near the Rockridge BART stop. Head east into the trendier edges of Oakland and Berkeley: Here you will find the mother lode, a (relatively secret and new) bottle shop and taproom with top-tier ales and treasures: pork-shoulder confit and Prairie Artisan Ales—plus Fantome and Upright Brewing rarities to-go. You can’t beat T.P.

Now, it’s over. You’re stuck in Oaktown, based like Lil B and carless. No sweat: Take BART to Richmond, catch the last Capitol Corridor train to Sac, pass out.