Church Key

Church Key is one of my favorite bars in the city strictly because they serve the best beer in the world: Delirium. I was so sad that they were out of the Delirium Noël (seasonal) but you can’t go wrong with an original Argentum.
I think Church Key is a hidden gem. They have a decent sized lounge upstairs that can probably host up to 15 people comfortably. There is also a cool nook to the left of the entrance. The prices are fair as well.

Remarkably weird, but I guess that’s kinda expected in San Francisco. I chose this place because they seemed to have a good selection of craft beers and I wanted to get away from the domestic-​only places. Upon walking in to the almost silent bar, we were greeting by edgy and judgemental looking clientele, but the bar tender was very nice and helpful. They serve a good range of beers with something for every taste. Draft beers are $ 7 each and bottles range from $ 5 – 22. $ 10 minimum on cards though!
There is seating upstairs which is nice if you want to talk; however, the artwork looks like something you would dream of in a nightmare. Very, very odd. They also have some games (apples to apples, cards against humanity, etc) at the bar you can take upstairs.
Overall I had a positive experience and went twice during my four day stay in San Fran. I really like bars I can talk to my friends in without yelling and that have plenty of seating, and this bar (despite all its oddities) fits the bill.
Check it out if you’re in North Beach!

The best joint to grab a drink in the hood if you want to do a low key night.
They only serve beer & wine. But the beer options are impressive. If you’re into craft beer, you’ll be very happy here. I myself tend to like the dark stouts.
The staff are truly top notch. When the bartender noticed that I was upset (about something personal), she came over from behind the bar & gave me a hug. She didn’t even know me. She just did it. Taking her job as counsel very seriously & to an art form, I’ll never forget that.
Added privacy upstairs. And one of the smallest restrooms ever.
5 stars.

Pretty good beer selection. Not really as many good beers as I was hoping for. Super minimalist interior. Place looks like it really takes a beating. Maybe I just came during an off night, but it was very calm. It was bordering on too calm. Nice booth by the window and solid beer were the highlights. Nothing to write home about but satisfied my craving for hops.

They have a great draft selection for people that like craft beers. By great I mean a variety that shows they’re a beer bar. Don’t expect 25 taps, it’s not that kind of beer bar. The drafts are $ 7 and the pour depends on the rarity of the beer. More expensive, hard to find, high alcohol beers cost $ 7 but you might get 10 oz in stead of 16 oz. It’s a little small but worth checking out. The staff is friendly and knowledgable.

Truly great place to grab beer in North Beach — why couldn’t it have been open when I lived there?! I would have come here often.
When I recently checked this place out, it was because I heard they had Ballast Points’ Pumpkin Down on tap. I haven’t been able to find that beer in a bar or store anywhere in SF, so thank you Church Key for having it. While the beer itself was so-​so, I had a couple IPAs while I was there and they all had such wonderful piney bites.
The bar itself isn’t too big (which I like), but that means it will get full fast on a Friday or Saturday night. But if you want to get away from the mediocre beer you’ll find in most of the other places in North Beach, it’s definitely worth a stop.

Stopped in here while waiting for a table at a nearby pizzeria. Great beer selection, served ice cold. Friendly knowledgable bartender, too. All of us liked the atmosphere and décor — vintage and rustic.

One of my favorite spots in North Beach. A great rotating tap lineup of local and rare beers, and an extensive bottle collection that spans beyond the US.
Always great conversation with the bartenders, especially when it comes to music. They play a lot of awesome bands you won’t hear many other places. Low key atmosphere and a stones throw from Golden Boy, so you can grab a few slices in to soak up the booze.

They had Almanac Dogpatch Sour on tap, and the bartender had an awesome Alfred Hitchcock tattoo.

AWESOME BEER BAR with 2 sour beers on tap and dozens more in bottles. A real gem! Great service, too! Betz, made us feel right at home immediately upon arrival. In fact, she is the female version of my boss at similar spot in LA. I think we might stay here all night.
THANK YOU BETZ!
FYI you can’t buy bottled beverages and «return» them because your tongue didn’t like the flavor — ANYWHERE! If you’re unsure try something on tap.

This is a casual spot to grab beer. They change their selection every week and always have a sour on tap.
The atmosphere was chill with a customer who has his dog with him. The prices are good too ! Only $ 8.
Great spot to drink while waiting for a table at Tonys !

I actually didn’t like this place probably because of the bizarre company that happened upon the place that night. The place is ok, has a great list of beers, and the prices are very reasonable. However, there was a completely drunk guy going around causing havoc to other people and bothering other people who were in the bar.
I can totally understand if some people enjoy this kind of experience, but if you’re there to hang out with your friends, you’d more or less want to be left alone to catch up or whatnot.
This guy basically came over and spilled our drinks, broke the glass, caused so much commotion, was clearly too drunk for his own good, and was never kicked out. He continued to come bother us for some time until we finally left because he looked like he was about ready to start a fight. Overall I think bars have some kind of a duty to either stop serving or ensure that you have a bother-​free experience when you are visiting an establishment for a chill night.

Unlock.
Numerous craft beers at a reasonable $ 7 price.
Relaxed atmosphere where the décor is casual, staff is friendly and informative and the seating is sparse. Which is perfect for you and your companion to banter close.
All keys to a good time.

Meh. Precious. $ 7 drafts. I guess you gotta pay the rent, but not with my dollars. I’ll be down at Golden Boy and then Gino e Carlo.
Plus, it’s a sausage party, knowhatimsayin?

Good, chill beer bar in North Beach.
We stopped in here recently and really enjoyed the selection of New Belgium sours they currently have on tap. The La Folie sour brown was good, but the NBB Love was fantastic! One of best, tastiest beers I’ve had in awhile, and different enough to distinguish itself from most other beers.
The space is smallish and cozy, all drafts are reasonably priced at $ 7, and the bartender on that night was cool. Good stuff!

solid little beer bar in the heart of north beach! there’s one bartender manning all the guests. we grabbed two seats at the bar on a recent friday night, it was pretty quiet because it was early, but the bar was fullll. all drafts are $ 7, and there’s a good rotating selection. i was stuckkkk on the christmas bomb! it was so nomsies, lots of layers of flavors — at about 9% ABV, it is served in an 8 ounce pour.
we went a few rounds, checked out the bottles llst, which is in the form of a small binder, but i’d stick with the drafts. cheaper and fresher and in season! the best part is you can buy a beer for someone as indicated on the chalkboard behind the bar — for example, james from london bought a drink for the next english guy. pretty nice!

My friends and I started our night out in North Beach at Church Key. We arrived around 930/​945pm and the bar was pretty busy. There was 1 bartender at the time, so we waited a couple minutes to be served, which was fine, since they had a long menu of beers to choose from. The menu was printed on about 4 8 ½×11 paper stapled together. nice and simple, but the text was kind of small, so it was a little hard to read under the dark lighting. Once we had our beers, we sat upstairs where there was ample seating to enjoy the drinks and talk it up a bit. Church Key was probably the only bar we went to where we could have a decent conversation without having to yell at each other. Of note. this place does not have a full bar. beers only, but I can dig it.

Look for the picture of an old church key– there is no name, sign, or verbiage calling out this location!
I like taking my beer snob friends here because of the very impressive menu. So far all of them have been nothing short of VERY impressed.
The bartender is friendly and approachable. She is always very happy to please and always willing to give patrons a small sample before they commit to an entire glass of beer.
The crowd here is very interesting– it’s an eclectic mix of artists, townies, hipsters, …pretty much anyone! The music played is also a crazy mix.
My most recent visit on a Friday night featured a young photographer/​artist. Her beautiful fantasy photos hung on the wall and were very reasonably priced! Many bar patrons purchased her work. She spoke to the entire bar just before last call and added a really cool personal touch to the experience.
Church Key closes early (midnight on weekends I believe), so make this an earlier stop rather than later.

I was in the city livin it up because it was my birthday, so we were bar hopping from one end to the other, and we stopped in at the Church Key, walked in and saw there was a group with name tags, ah I do like the parties that involve you wearing name tags, but they were a private party that had just ended.
Also upstairs in the Church Key was Open Mic night, but honestly even though I was sitting at the bar downstairs I rarely heard a joke being told, either great sound system downstairs or nothing laugh worthy was being told haha, sorry. (not sorry)
Bar tender for the night was Thomas, and he is a pretty cool dude, told him that I’m fairly new in the beer world so I got to try a few samples of what they had on tap, after finding a few that I liked I went ahead and ordered a glass, can you believe the 1^st one was on the house because it was my bday! WOOT WOOT!
Lots of fun was had here everyone who came in was friendly and fun, even met a man who worked for Google, but didn’t liked to be called a googlier haha. Music was playing the in the background, for the life of me I couldn’t tell you who, but then a song came on and I was like hold up isn’t that George Michael and of course everyone said NO WAY this is Queen, and then I was like nope thats George, being a George Michael fan from back in the Wham days, I know the man’s voice, and Thomas checked the IPod and said well shit it’s both. It was funny fun night.
Had a great time down at the Church Key, if you are in the area go give it a try!

Hey lets go to the loungey type place that serves only beer, said no one ever.
A unique mix. A lounge that serves only beer. I’m not complaining, I had a good time and a couple of rounds.
Large beer selection, which will cater to your needs and desires. Not those deep, dark desires. Don’t tell the bartender about those. Just the beer you desire, and they should have something you like.
The upstairs is cool, with some plush seating, nice artwork and good décor.
They did close early on a Thursday and this is where I discovered that when a place does last call in SF, it’s usually half an hour before they’re suppose to close down. It’s like being in college all over again.
Something different and worth checking out.