FOR SOME REASON my parents let my brother and me drive on our own from Chicago to the Bay Area when I was 16 and he 18. The single night and following morning of our San Francisco visit was one of the most genuinely wretched examples of what pure consumption can do to the human organism.

We lit out from the Chinatown Holiday Inn for the evening, and that's when we saw it: the gleaming copper brewing tank in the window of the San Francisco Brewing Company, the air redolent with the smell of hops, the tank pregnant with the frothy love that is sweet, sweet beer ...

In 1907 the place was known as the Andromeda Saloon, and Jack Dempsey was a bouncer there before claiming the world heavyweight title. It's also where Baby Face Nelson was captured. It survived prohibition as a café and oyster bar, but eventually the space fell into disrepair until being revived in 1977 as the Albatross Saloon. In 1985 it was acquired by Telegraph Hill resident and brewer Allan Paul and became the San Francisco Brewing Company. At the time, it was one of only three brew pubs in the United States and the first in San Francisco.

Venturing back into the bar recently, after a 14-year hiatus, I was immediately taken back to that night. The bar fashioned from a single plank of mahogany, the belt-driven ceiling fans, the stained glass, the copper brewing kettle – it was all still there. If you show up, as I did, during one of the happy hours (4 to 6 p.m. and midnight to 1 a.m.) when pints go for a buck, you can get a one of each of their beers for under $10.

My favorite was the Emperor Norton Lager, named for the San Francisco real estate speculator turned pauper who, in 1859, penniless and fox-crazy, proclaimed himself Emperor of the United States. The lager, like the man, is a little bit nutty, yet, unlike him, it's maintained its wealth – of malty goodness that makes a taste big enough to satisfy without being too heavy. The Shanghai Pale Ale is as hoppy as it comes and tends to be powerfully bitter and strong, much like the resentment of someone who wakes up two days from shore, kidnapped and pressed into service in the hold of some grim cargo vessel.

While the SFBC holds fond, if hazy, memories for me, my favorite brew pub in the city is Magnolia Pub and Brewery. Standing over the corner of Haight and Masonic Streets with massive windows, it's one of the best people-watching spots in the city. The building (erected about 1903) was a local pharmacy until the 1960s, when it became the Drugstore Cafe, run by an entirely different class of pharmacists. They ran afoul of a pharmacists board that wasn't ready to sanction the kinds of prescriptions doled out by its shaggy-haired proprietors. The name was accordingly changed to the Drogstore Cafe to appease the authorities. Haight lore from the '60s mentions the Drogstore as a key gathering spot, but it was also at this address, after the Drogstore's demise, that Magnolia Thunderpussy, erstwhile dancer and erotic-pastry chef (almost typed "pasty"), sold her creations to customers trying to fend off late-night munchies.

Dave McLean, the owner and head brewer at Magnolia, can often be seen at local live music shows, and his love of music and Haight history is evident in the names of such creations as Cole Porter, Weather Report Wheat, and the seasonal Old Thunderpussy Barleywine. The music is always good (J.J. Cale was on during my most recent visit), the murals are always trippy, and the chalkboard is frequently updated with the pub's latest beers complete with the alcohol by volume (ABV) of each batch.

I tried a couple of the cask-conditioned ales. To an American palate they may seem a bit flat and warm, but tongues from the British Isles will feel right at home. Cask-conditioned ales are relatively hard to find because they require care to brew and serve properly. Fresh hops are added to the mix before the cask is sealed, which begins a secondary fermentation process in the barrel itself. The brew is naturally carbonated through this process, and the resulting ale is smoother than, and not as fizzy as, standard beers. It's also served a bit warmer, ideally between 50 and 57 degrees Fahrenheit. In comparison to something like Bud, which is artificially carbonated and uses ingredients like rice in its brewing, the careful malting and hopping of cask-conditioned ales means their flavor is much more complex, and the warmer service temperature and lighter carbonation allows the flavors to emerge from the beer.

My favorites were the Spud Boy IPA and Big Cypress Brown – both big and dark with smooth flavors of chocolate and roasted coffee. Another favorite was a non-cask-conditioned beer, Tweezer Trippel, a Belgian-style brew and one of the many seasonal beers Magnolia offers. Relatively strong at 8.6 percent ABV, it had surprising hints of banana and even a bit of a bubble-gum flavor washing into a mellow, woody, highly refreshing finish.

The SFBC and Magnolia show that quality local beer and quality local history are inextricably linked. Those who pursue the time-honored methods of beer brewing are the same kinds of folks interested in upholding the traditions and lore of the area. If you want to know more about any given location, find a bar and order a locally brewed beer. Even if you don't learn nothin', at least you won't go away thirsty.

San Francisco Brewing Company. 155 Columbus, S.F. (415) 434-3344. Daily, noon-1 a.m. American Express, MasterCard, Visa. Wheelchair accessible. Magnolia Pub and Brewery. 1398 Haight, S.F. (415) 864-PINT. Mon.-Thurs., noon-midnight; Fri., noon-1 a.m.; Sat., 10 a.m.-1 a.m.; Sun., 10 a.m.-midnight. American Express, Discover, MasterCard, Visa. Wheelchair accessible.