Eel River Brewing in Fortuna is the country's first certified organic brewery, founded in 1995. The taproom and grill on Stewart Street is a long, dim wooden room with a smoking grill out the back, a row of taps along the bar, and a beer garden under big trees that fills up on summer evenings.
The beer is what most people come for — the Acai Berry Wheat and the Triple Exultation Old Ale are the ones the regulars order — but the kitchen turns out a serious bar menu of smoked ribs, oak-grilled tri-tip, fish tacos with rockfish from the coast, and a respectable burger. Local musicians play on weekends. It is one of the few places in town with a genuine destination quality.