California’s Central Valley stretches for hundreds of miles—and fortunately for beer lovers, so does the valley’s craft brew scene. Though a bit more secluded than their brewing brethren in other parts of the state, there’s nothing backwoods about the beer scene here—some of the local IPAs and barrel-aged stouts will rival those from anywhere.
Starting in the north and working south on Highway 99, the first stop is the Lodi Beer Company; grab a doppelbock drawn from its gleaming copper Bavarian brew system, located in the center of the brewpub’s dining room, and the concept of the Central Valley as a craft beer destination will begin to make perfect sense. Then it’s on to Dust Bowl Brewing Company in Turlock, where you can take a tour (advance reservations required) before sampling their Hops of Wrath IPA. Fresno boasts Sequoia Brewing Companies, Tioga-Sequoia, and Full Circle. In nearby Clovis, the House of Pendragon Brewing Company has its taproom; try a pint of Merlin’s Midnight Mild. In Visalia, at the valley’s south end, stop in at Brewbakers Brewing Company for a taste of its signature Sequoia Red.
Continuing another 80 miles or so due south takes you to Bakersfield, where there are two standouts: Temblor Brewing Company and Lengthwise Brewing Company—Temblor offers free tours of their 19,000-sq.-ft. state-of-the-art brewery on Saturday afternoons; afterward, try their El Cerrito Mexican-style lager and the Hay-Z IPA (the latter should help you forget a few of your 99 problems). At Lengthwise, you can sample any of their 20-plus beers from its brewery, pub, or marketplace locations.
The tour ends with a stop at the southern gateway to the Sequoia National Forest, Kernville, about an hour’s drive northeast from Bakersfield. Here you’ll find Kern River Brewing Company, where many of the brews sport locally themed names and the entire operation is employee owned—it doesn’t get more local than that. Get things started with a Kern Lite Lager, brewed from Japanese rice, or a Camp Nelson IPA before browsing the food menu, which offers everything from fried cheese curds to burgers, salads, barbecue, and brats.