By Dana Eastland. As of Saturday August 1st, BLACK SANDS BREWERY is fully open and operational in the Lower Haight. Last time we reported on the project, they were softly open in the mornings serving coffee and breakfast, but now the entire operation is up and running. What does that mean? Well, Black Sands is first and foremost a brewery, with a focus on education and transparency. In addition to their own in-house brewery, they run a home brew supply store next door and will share their expertise and recipes with anyone who is interested.
To that end, they have also focused on keeping things simple. As they say in a press release, “Beer is getting complicated these days, and we don’t think it has to be.” They are also offering their signature SMASH series of beers, which is an acronym for “single-malt and single-hop beers,” which are simple, minimal, and allow you to taste the specific malts and hops. This way, drinkers can learn about how each individual malt and hops taste, as well as learn more about their palate and what they enjoy drinking.
In addition to their beers, they also have a full bar with cocktails from bar director Nicolas Torres, whose previous experience includes Lazy Bear and the Hideout at Dalva. The drink list is approachable, with a focus on using spirits produced with the same care they are putting into their beers. Look for drinks like the Quinine ‘n’ Pine, with genepy, amontillado, lime, cherry pine shrub, bitters, and tonic, or the Fiddy-Fiddy, with gin, Brown Label vermouth, and apricot.
Chef Eric Ehler is offering breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Breakfast and lunch are both pared-down affairs, with only a few dishes offered at each meal. At breakfast, check out the DFT torta, with housemade chorizo, Tapatio, cilantro, avocado, egg, paprika mayo, and pickled red onions. For lunch, there’s a Korean fried chicken sandwich and a kale salad, along with rotating daily specials. At dinner, it’s all about refined pub food that pairs well with beer. There’s a burger on the menu (duh), as well as fried chicken with farro, corn, and cashews. You can check out all the menus here.
Currently, hours at the café are Wed-Sun 8am-2pm, with breakfast available 8am-2pm and lunch from 11am-2pm. The brewery and bar are open Wed-Sun 5pm-12am, and the kitchen is open for dinner 6pm-11pm. 701 Haight St. at Pierce, 415-534-5194.
The bar at Black Sands. Photo courtesy of Black Sands.
