Housed in a former laundromat, you'll find that the suds now being served up at Hog's Apothecary are of the tasty hoppy variety. With long, wooden communal tables and an expansive bar filling up the large, airy space, proprietors Bradford Earle and John Streit run their American-style beer hall under the motto of where "locavore meets locapour." 38 taps of Californian beer and wines flow from the wall behind the bar and pair well with the diverse array of seasonal dishes prepared with locally-sourced ingredients.

Chef Streit was on the premises, busy expediting the entrees emerging from the kitchen for his patrons. You won't find the usual buffalo chicken wings and nachos bar fare on his whimsical menu, which includes such starters as, "Fries with Eyes," deep-fried Eureka smelt with green garlic aioli, and "Chokes & Favas," marinated artichokes piled on a barley salad with fresh favas, ricotta salata, black olives and a schmaltz-fried egg. The fruity triple IPA, "Dank Statement," from the San Francisco-based Cellarmaker Brewing Company and Sierra Nevada's "Southern Hemisphere" fresh hop IPA are a fine match to these rich appetizers. Prep your palate with the Bay Laurel sour beer from Craftsman Brewing, which has a sparkly champagne taste with an unusual finish reminiscent of cured meats -- specifically salami. Then you'll be ready to move on to the housemade sausage sandwiches like the "Istanbul not Constantinople," a Middle-Eastern spiced pork sausage with charred nettles and "Amargallego," a pork-and-chicken sausage topped with salsa brava, crispy potatoes and Calabrian chile, nestled between pillowy-soft buns with a side of pickled vegetables.

Even if you ate the entire giant pile of lard-fried Kennebec potato chips that accompanied your sausages, try and make room for their noteworthy peach and pretzel fritters with creme anglaise. My husband and I shared this decadent dessert with one of our table mates, Lauri, a devoted regular of the bar. Both the Old Stock Ale, a barleywine from Ft. Bragg's North Coast Brewing Company and "Carlo's Stout", an imperial stout from Alameda's Faction Brewing, are excellent beers to wash down your sugary treat. By the end of your meal, you'll more than likely be sharing the sentiments shown on the sign around the neck of Theo, the towering carved wooden sculpture of a dancing pig perched on a counter: "This beer is making me awesome." Stay tuned for further developments as brunch and outdoor seating are in the works.