An enormously useful website for travelers to the San Francisco Bay area is the Beer by BART guide to visiting the area's good beer places using transit.

The Toronado on Haight is, by general consensus in the craft beer industry, one of the diviest bars in the U.S. It's also, by general consensus in the craft beer industry, one of the five or six best beer bars in the U.S. Up the street a little less than a mile or so in Haight Ashbury is a solid brewpub named Magnolia.

Make reservations as far in advance as possible for the Anchor Brewing tour -- it's usually necessary if you want to get in. The Anchor website says the tours are booked up through October but suggests calling a few days in advance to check whether there's been a lucky-for-you cancellation. If you're really lucky, Fritz Maytag himself will conduct your tour.

Don't overlook your options in the East Bay as well. Over there, I'd single out The Trappist, a Belgian-style beer bar in downtown Oakland.