Beer Me! — Marin Brewing — Larkspur, California, United States

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Marin Brewing

(Closed)

1809 Larkspur Landing Circle
Larkspur CA 94939
[Update]

Notes

Visited: January 12, 1995

Opened: 1989

Closed: 2022

Annual Production: 3,000 bbl

Contributor: Siegfried Binge

Located almost in the shadow of San Quentin. One of the best Bay Area breweries, known for their Pale Ale, Stout, and fruit beers. Everything they make is rocket fuel, but it usually tastes great. Good food, OK service, OK prices, reasonable crowd. Directions: 80 East/580 West from the Bay Bridge. Keep left and take 580 West over the Richmond/San Rafael Bridge. Take the second exit after the bridge (Sir Francis Drake). Turn right at Larkspur Landing Circle, across from the Ferry Terminal. Or, you can get there from Highway 101, but I forget how. I owe a big thank-you to Brendan Moylan for sending the bottles in July 2000!

Updated: January 26, 2022

News

2022-01-19: Pioneering Marin Brewing to Shutdown as January Closures Tally Up (ProBrewer)

Beer List

Airporter Chocolate Porter

Chocolate/Cocoa Flavored Beer
Awards:
- Silver Medal, 2016 World Beer Cup
Albion Amber Ale

English-Style Brown Ale

4.90% abv.
Awards:
- Bronze Medal, 2004 Los Angeles County Fair Competition
- Date: July 17, 2000 (#3485)
  
  Package: bottled
  
  Place: from the brewery
  
  Score: 14½ points
  
  Overall Impression (3)
  Dark amber, high carbonation, thick head. Chocolatey, caramelly, spicy hop aroma. Medium body, big hop flavor, mildly bitter caramel finish.
- Date: February 11, 1995 (#775)
  
  Package: draught
  
  Place: The HopYard, Pleasanton CA
  
  Score: 11½ points
  
  Overall Impression (2½)
  Red-amber, OK head, very low carbonation. Overbearing Tettnang aroma and flavor. Too bad.
- Date: April 25, 1993 (#19)
  
  Package: draught
  
  Place: at the brewery
  
  Score: 16 points
  
  Overall Impression (3)
  Darker than the Mt.Tam Pale Ale, good thick head. Malty nose, touch of hops. Real Smooth. Real alcoholic Creamy thick. I like this a lot, but I'm not sure I could drink a lot of it. It's a very big beer.

Barrel Aged Old Dipsea Barleywine

Wood- and Barrel-aged Strong Beer

Bluebeery Ale

Garden (Fruit Wheat) Beer

4.00% abv.

Awards:

Silver Medal, 2003 North American Beer Awards

Date: February 2, 1995 (#748)

Package: draught

Place: The HopYard, Pleasanton CA

Score: 13½ points

Overall Impression (2½)
Yellow hazy. OK head, good carbonation. Blueberry aroma is detectable from two feet away! Some malt, too. Flavors are blueberry and malty...same sort of maltiness as Boston Beer Company Samuel Adams Lager.
Date: July 25, 1993 (#146)

Package: draught

Place: at the brewery

Score: 12½ points

Overall Impression (2½)
Dark (sort of) yellow. Thin head, cloudy. Hop aroma, not much blueberries. Fizzy. Thin. Not much flavor...sweet. Mix it with Stout for a Black and Blue.

Eldridge Grade White Knuckle Ale

Imperial or Double India Pale Ale

Awards:

Bronze Medal, 2005 Great American Beer Festival

Date: October 10, 2009 (#7954)

Package: bottled

Place: Liquid Solutions, Tigard OR

Score: 18 points

Appearance (3)
Red-brown opaque. Dense head.

Aroma (3)
Huge spicy-resiny hops. Smoky.

Mouthfeel (9)
Massive beer. Hugey malty. Big herbal, grassy, fruity hop flavor. Fairly bitter. Surprisingly clean finish.

Overall Impression (3)
Very nicely balanced DIPA.
Date: August 19, 2000 (#3510)

Package: bottled

Place: from the brewery

Score: 16 points

Overall Impression (3)
A "Double IPA" brewed for the pub's 11th anniversary. Orangey-red, moderate carbonation, thick head. Citrusy, spicy hop aroma. Big bitter beer. Lots of hop flavor, malty and chewy, nice bitter finish.

ES Chi

Herb and Spice Beer

5.50% abv.

Hefe Doppelbock

South German-Style Weizenbock/Weissbock

8.00% abv.

Date: November 19, 1994 (#606)

Package: draught

Place: at the brewery

Score: 17½ points

Overall Impression (3)
Yellow opaque. OK - not great - head. Some wheat aroma, some spiciness, some alcohol. Excellent wheat beer. Heavy and just hoppy enough with a gallon of alcohol per pint.

Date: July 12, 2000 (#3483)

Package: bottled

Place: from the brewery

Score: 14 points

Overall Impression (2½)
Yellow, nearly opaque, high carbonation, thick head. Citrusy hop aroma. Light body, big wheat flavor, mild citrus hop flavor, clean finish.

Date: April 25, 1993 (#16)

Package: draught

Place: at the brewery

Score: 13½ points

Overall Impression (2½)
Same color as Marin Weiss, only hazy. Can't smell hops at all. Tastes good. Not as bitter as Marin Weiss, so you can actually taste the wheat. good refreshing beer. Warms you on the way down. Served properly without lemon!

Date: November 19, 1994 (#607)

Package: draught

Place: at the brewery

Score: 14 points

Overall Impression (2½)
Red. Thin head. Clear. Liquid smoke nose. Powerful. Smells like BBQ sauce...not authentic. Flavor not as assertive as the aroma. Medium body, clean. Long smoky finish.

Date: December 12, 1992 (#2500)

Package: draught

Score: 15 points

Overall Impression (2½)
Very pale. Dry, clear spicy nutmeg flavor. This is an excellent beer that has a mysterious flaw that I can't identify.

Date: July 17, 2000 (#3486)

Package: bottled

Place: from the brewery

Score: 15½ points

Overall Impression (3)
Amber, slight haze, moderate carbonation, good head. Fresh spicy Centennial hops aroma. Medium body, hugely bitter all the way through. Long long long bitter finish.

Date: April 18, 1995 (#869)

Package: draught

Place: The HopYard, Pleasanton CA

Score: 9½ points

Overall Impression (2½)
Red, some haze. Good head. Caramel nose. Sharp...some oxidation. Malty thick sweet, lousy choice of hops. Overblown Tettnangs, like Redhook. Pretty nasty. Worst Marin beer I've ever had, and to make things worse, I got to watch the Rangers drop a 6-5 game at Pittsburgh.

Date: September 21, 2008 (#7358)

Package: bottled

Place: Hy-Vee Council Bluffs, Council Bluffs IA

Score: 17 points

Appearance (3)
Amber. Huge head.

Aroma (3)
Big citrusy (orange) hops.

Mouthfeel (9)
Medium body, smooth. Big fruity citrusy hops on top of sweet caramel malt. Reasonably bitter, with a clean fruity finish.

Overall Impression (2)

Date: July 14, 2000 (#3484)

Package: bottled

Place: from the brewery

Score: 15 points

Overall Impression (2½)
Amber, moderate carbonation, thick head. Spicy hop aroma on a malty background. Medium-light body, big hop flavor, mildly bitter.

Date: January 12, 1995 (#708)

Package: draught

Place: at the brewery

Score: 15½ points

Overall Impression (3)
Dark yellow. Very thin head. Fresh hop aroma, but not very strong. Spicy. Very cold. Quite bitter...long finish is great!

Date: April 25, 1993 (#17)

Package: draught

Place: at the brewery

Score: 17½ points

Overall Impression (3)
Real nice color, carbonation. Smells bitter, but not obnoxious. Pretty good beer. Smooth, well-balanced. Feels stronger than it is. Not necessarily for drinking and driving.

Date: June 30, 1993 (#111)

Package: draught

Place: Pacific Coast Brewing, Oakland CA

Score: 15 points

Overall Impression (2½)
Copper-amber. Very hoppy nose. Dry-hopped to the extreme. Very sweet, per style, but not at all offensive. Great barleywine.

Date: July 24, 2000 (#3487)

Package: bottled

Place: from the brewery

Score: 15½ points

Overall Impression (3)
Utterly black, thick head. Hoppy coffee aroma. Medium body, creamy, real nice roasty flavor. Mild hoppy flavor in the sweet finish.

Date: January 12, 1995 (#709)

Package: draught

Place: at the brewery

Score: 11 points

Overall Impression (2)
Very dark brown, possibly opaque. (It's dark in here.) Huge brown head. Faint spicy hops...no black malt aroma. "Dr.Pepper" character from particular hops combination with black malt. Finishes quick, astringent.

Date: August 8, 2000 (#3489)

Package: bottled

Place: from the brewery

Score: 17 points

Overall Impression (3)
Fiercely black, thick brown head. Rich chocolate aroma. Thick, chocolatey, mildly bitter and roasty at the end.

Date: November 13, 1994 (#605)

Package: draught

Place: The HopYard, Pleasanton CA

Score: 14 points

Overall Impression (2½)
Brown opaque. Thin head. Rich coffee aroma. Acidic coffee flavor. Bitter. The acidity takes a lot away here. Not a session beer. I remember it being a lot better. (Note: I visited the brewery the following week and found that this beer really is much better fresh at the brewery.)

Date: July 25, 1993 (#147)

Package: draught

Place: at the brewery

Score: 16½ points

Overall Impression (3½)
Black opaque. No head. Faint burnt aroma. Thick and smooth. Bitter from black malt. Very nice.

Date: May 16, 1993 (#28)

Package: draught

Score: 11½ points

Overall Impression (2½)
Certainly is dark. Faint aroma of black malt. Very bitter, with black malt flavor mixed in. Seems to have been balanced by overbalancing. It's a Pale Ale that wants to be a Porter. Is it a good beer or a bad beer? Only your palate knows for sure...

Date: July 3, 1993 (#117)

Package: draught

Place: Lyon's Brewery, Dublin CA

Score: 15 points

Overall Impression (2½)
Quite yellow...pilsner-colored. Peach aroma. That's all...just peach. Fizz hits the tongue just before the peach flavor fills the mouth. Finishes very sweet, lingers. Some astringency in finish.

Date: October 29, 2007 (#6671)

Package: bottled

Place: Liquid Solutions, Tigard OR

Score: 15½ points

Appearance (2½)
Amber. Some small chunks and flakes. Moderate head.

Aroma (3)
Malty and alcoholic.

Mouthfeel (8)
Big body, silky-smooth. Loads of sweet malt and loads of Belgian fruitiness. Lots of alcohol, but not hot.

Overall Impression (2)
Tasty, but not real complex.

Date: April 25, 1993 (#15)

Package: draught

Place: at the brewery

Score: 12 points

Overall Impression (2½)
Yellow, no head. Good hops aroma - if you take out the lemon. Very bitter - too much for the wheat sweetness. American-style wheat ale.

Date: May 7, 1994 (#323)

Package: draught

Place: Pacific Coast Brewing, Oakland CA

Score: 15 points

Overall Impression (2½)
Amber. Lots o'bubbles. Sweet and malty aroma. Some spiciness. Good crystal malt flavor. Simultaneous bittering hops. Clean finish. Overhopped?

Date: April 25, 1993 (#18)

Package: draught

Place: at the brewery

Score: 15 points

Overall Impression (2½)
Yellow-amber, clear. Earthy aroma. Rocket fuel! Good flavors.