Persuasion Brewing — Attraction in Modesto

TL; dr - Go here, soon and frequently. Their beer and service are the BEST in Modesto. Don't go hungry tho - their food is worth skipping, their beer is not.

Persuasion is a godsend for beer drinkers in Modesto.

Their beer is SO good, it's difficult to stay away from there for long. Finding a good local brewery was super-important to me when I moved here three years ago, so I went on a survey of my options. I found the following:

There's Dust Bowl, but in Turlock, and Morgan Territory, but they're in Tracy. Oakdale has some impressive breweries too (Dying Breed, Grains of Virtue), but for Modesto, not so much. There's Blaker, 18Seventy, Contentment, Five Eye, and Persuasion (just heard about Track 424 and Black Orchid - will be trying promptly!). Lots of choices but sadly, only one stand-out: Persuasion.

Every beer they brew they hit the style right on the mark. From Double Hazy IPAs to robust Porters, crisp Mexican lagers to bold red and brown ales, bitter West Coast IPAs to dreamy dark Stouts, I haven't had an even mediocre beer, once! They also serve sours, ciders and seltzers, and host beers from other microbrews alongside selections of their own. It is truly a beer-drinker's paradise.

Luckily, their staff is simply amazing, friendly and helpful - some of the truly nicest people I've met in this town. The brewer is a gem too, socializing with his patrons, showing genuine interest, and sharing his dream with those that believe in him. The brewer is so successful, he's opened a second brewery in Manteca.

Now the food is a different story entirely. The brewery has been going through growing pains since I've arrived and I've watched them try to adapt their business as necessary over those three years. Recently, they decided to run a commercial kitchen inside their warehouse to provide a consistent, in-house food option to their patrons (it had been taco trucks outside sometimes and an independent deli inside for a while).

Unfortunately, they picked a particularly poor vendor to make food in that spot. Maybe others are satisfied with their food but I've been consistently disappointed. Even their recent promo of getting free fried calamari with a beer backfired. No one I saw enjoyed it or ordered any after the free sample. I feel bad for the vendor but Persuasion would do themselves a HUGE favor by getting a more unique and kitchy food-provider.

(Idea: Pizza by the slice in crazy flavor combinations with funny names like "The Godzilla" or "Purple Rain" or "Brewer's Best?" Now that's do-able. That's marketable. That's the way to make a signature offering that guests talk about and bring their friends to eat. Do something simple, portable, but DELICIOUS, and your patrons will be very thankful - I promise you!)

Persuasion hasn't quite settled yet into their sure spot as an industry leader, but they possess the components of a really successful brewery so I believe in them whole-heartedly. Persuasion could easily dominate the local market because their product is just so superior to any other brewery in the area. They need to focus their talents though because they have an huge, diverse venue and exceptional staff. They could make Persuasion a brewery to contend with, but they need to stop experimenting and nail down their signature. Get their logo and labelling in line and pick a theme for their warehouse's ambiance. I want them to succeed and lead so badly it makes me salivate - for another one of their beers!

Anyway, sorry for the long detailed review.

If you like microbrewed beer, you MUST go to Persuasion. Missing them would be...

Update Feb 2025: Another nice dog walk to Persuasion. I enjoyed my red ale, but still think 18Seventy has the best red. I forgot to mention earlier, but the Market is closed. Persuasion does sell some of their beers in cans. Their is also food available, but we didn't try it. Update 4/2/23: Again we walked our dogs, about 1.3 miles each way for us. Their new IPA was great, something like 1000k...much smoother than most IPAs. This time we were the only ones outside. It was hard to believe with such nice weather. Update 10/30/22: today we walked our dogs to Persuasion to enjoy some beer outside in this wonderful fall weather. The Market still has a good beer selection, but only had one bottle of Bourbon Paradiso from Prairie Artisan. The Market part has been otherwise replaced with pool tables. We have been here several times. They have a good selection of beer and a nice outdoor seating area as well as the inside bar. While there, visit The Market and get some hard to find beers to take home. We love the stouts from Prairie Artisan Ales. Also the rosemary and green olive bread they have on Fridays is the best as are the olive rolls you can get daily. I just saw this week that they carry locally made...

The owner of The Market and Persuasion Brewing, Patrick Chinn, is passionate about beer. He wants their selection to be exceptional. First, he started carrying more than 300 varieties of craft beer in The Market at La Comisaria. Then he partnered with brewmaster James Singleton and took his passion one step further; by brewing and serving his own beer. Their small batch technique allows them to experiment with flavors. The beers on tap range from: IPA, blond, nitrous, hefeweizen, ciders, sours and seltzers. Not all of the beers in cans are available to sample. Also, only three samples are allowed per customer. The beer tasted fresh and delicious. This could be a good date spot with a comfy couch located under the Persuasion sign and if the bathrooms are in working order. There are a few board games available if you'd like to prolong the date. Or grab something to munch on from the deli. IG:...