SAN FRANCISCO — Australian craft brewery Little Creatures officially opened its doors, Friday, July 26, to its highly anticipated microbrewery and restaurant in San Francisco’s Mission Bay neighborhood. The new venue showcases Little Creatures’ beers paired alongside an all-day menu featuring local and seasonal ingredients from Chef Ian De Leoz including shared bites, artisan pizzas, and a playful (and beer-friendly) weekend brunch. Located at One Mission Bay, adjacent to Oracle Park and near the planned Golden State Warriors Sports and Entertainment Center, the new San Francisco microbrewery features beers brewed exclusively on-site by Head Brewer Dennis Stewart, plus a core range of beers imported from Australia.
With craft beer as the focal point of the restaurant, the Mission Bay brewery features a total of 36 taps: 24 behind the bar, six in the ‘Brew Lab,’ and six in the ‘To-Go Café” for Crowler takeaway. “Fresh beer from “tank to tap” is key at the new Little Creatures Mission Bay location,” commented Head Brewer Dennis Stewart. “Connecting bright beer tanks directly to the beer founts allows us to serve the freshest beer possible. We’re opening our doors with our flagship range and will soon be adding a number of rotational offerings from our brewkit as well as guest taps and collaborative brews with some of the Bay Area’s great craft breweries. We are looking forward to showcasing the versatility of Little Creatures and introducing our customers to some incredible Australian and New Zealand hops.”
The main bar wraps around the brewery fermentation tanks, putting guests within arm’s reach of the brewing process. The taps offer a wide selection of the beers that made Little Creatures famous:
- Pale Ale – The beer that inspired the Little Creatures journey is a hop-driven, full bodied and refreshing Pale Ale, bursting with flavor and aroma. Whole hop flowers are used in the Pale Ale, which gives it a citrus and stone fruit flavor, balanced with specialty malts and a decent hit of bitterness. Style: APA with an Australian twist. ABV: 5.2% Malt: Pale malt, Munich, Caramalt, & Wheat malt Hops: East Kent Goldings (UK) kettle bittering, Cascade (US/Aus/NZ) & one other hop variety (based on seasonal variations in the best hops available) in the whirlpool and Cascade (US/Aus), Chinook (US) & one another hop variety in the hopback.
- Session Ale – The Session Ale is crisp, clean and refreshing, with peachy, juicy-fruit hop flavors that marry nicely with the wheat malt. Style: Session Ale. ABV: 4.4%. Malt: Pilsner malt, Carahell, Malted Wheat, CaraRye and Rolled Oats. Hops: Cascade (US), Summit (US) and Mosaic (US).
- Original Pils – The Original Pils is brewed in the North German (Friesland) style. These are hoppier and more bitter than South German Pilsners. It’s made with 100% Pilsner Malt and German Perle hops – the key to this beer is to let the aroma and bitterness of the hops shine through. The clean, crisp, Original Pils delivers on flavor and then hits you with an uncompromising, earth- shattering bitterness. Style: Frisian Pilsner. Malt: 100% all Pilsner malt. Hops: Perle (German) in the kettle & whirlpool.
- Other taps feature favorites including the XPA, Rogers, Bright Ale, and the James Squire Orchard Crush Cider.
The beverage program is rounded out with a strong selection of wines on tap, featuring American, Australian and New Zealand producers, wine-and beer-derived light refreshers as well as non-alcoholic offerings. The private dining space, or ‘Brew Lab’ provides a more intimate dining experience and can act as a setting for tasting flights, “beer school” sessions, or hands-on brewing experiences. The ‘To-Go Café’ is a separate retail area and café which offers coffee, grab-and-go food options, cold beer in cans, Crowlers for takeaway, and Little Creatures merchandise.
Executive Chef Ian De Leoz’s creative all-day menu holds its ground amongst the beer. Chef De Leoz draws inspiration from his international travels to create familiar and heartwarming pub fare. The all-day menu features shared plates such asAussie Wedges (seasoned and battered russet potatoes) served with sour cream and sweet chili sauce, Turkish Bread with dukkah, hummus, and olive oil, Crispy Cauliflower with Little Creatures Pilsner batter and spicy aioli, Lamb Ribs with gochujang, scallion, and sesame, and Crispy Fish Tacoswith Little Creatures Pilsner battered rock fish, corn tortilla, shredded cabbage, and spicy aioli.
Pizzas are made to order and include classic combinations such as Margarita with Di Napoli tomato sauce, mozzarella, and basil, Forest Mushroom with mozzarella, ricotta, oregano, and Merguez with lamb sausage, ricotta, mozzarella, red onion, and arugula.
For heartier appetites, dishes include the Fried Chicken Sandwich with spicy aioli, lettuce, and pickled red onions, Beer Steamed Salt Springs Mussels with Little Creatures Pale Ale, chorizo, butter, garlic, chili flake, and grilled bread, Grilled Chicken Skewers with Little Creatures Pilsner achiote marinade, Brentwood corn, and onion, and New York Strip Steak with Chimichurri and Fluer de Sel round out the menu.
Little Creatures also offers weekend brunch with standout items including the Breakfast Bahn Mi with broken farm eggs, Laughing Cow cheese, pickled carrot, red onion, and cilantro, Avocado Toast with smashed avocado, burrata, breakfast radish, and arugula, and a Classic Aussie Breakfast with farm eggs, bacon, and grilled heirloom tomato.
Little Creatures is open weekdays from 11:00 a.m. – to 11:00 p.m., and weekends from 9:00 a.m. – 11:00 p.m., with weekend brunch served from 9:00 a.m. – 2:30 p.m.
About Little Creatures
Born out of a love affair with hoppy beer by a few beer loving friends and founded amongst the creative free-thinking culture of Fremantle in Western Australia, Little Creatures is a brewery dedicated to crafting distinctive, well balanced beers, inspired by the creativity and individuality of its people. Little Creatures produces the highest quality hand crafted beers using the freshest and finest ingredients available, while maintaining a unique, individual and inclusive style and culture. Since the company’s founding in 2000, it has opened multiple locations in Australia and beyond, extending as far as Hong Kong, Singapore, and London. Little Creatures is located at One Mission Bay, 1000A 3rd Street, San Francisco, CA 94158 and is open Monday – Friday from 11:00 a.m. until 11:00 p.m. and Saturday and Sunday from 9:00 a.m. until 11 p.m.For more information, please call (415) 870-9082 or visit littlecreatures.com. Follow @littlecreatures_usa on Instagram and Facebook.
About Lion
Little Creatures is owned by Lion, a leading beverage and food company with a portfolio that includes many of Australia’s favourite brands in beer, wine and dairy. Lion employs more than 6,700 people across Australia and New Zealand predominantly and takes great pride in their local manufacturing footprint, which spans 38 sites – including large breweries, craft breweries, wineries, dairy farms, milk, cheese, yoghurt and juice sites as well as venues. Lion operates historic breweries, such as James Boag and Castlemaine Perkins, and is a leader in craft brewing, with brands such as James Squire and Malt Shovel, Little Creatures, Kosciuszko, and Furphy. Lion Australia is part of the Lion Group, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Kirin Holdings. Kirin is a global, multi-industry food and beverages company headquartered in Tokyo. Visit www.lionco.com.