While earlier generations sourced beer for consumption directly from mountain ponds, pollution has forced modern-day humans to manufacture their own version of the foamy brew. Today's Groupon celebrates mankind's resourcefulness. For $20, you get $40 worth of fresh fish, steaks, and microbrews at Faultline Brewing Company.

While most fault lines are to be avoided during natural disasters, Faultline Brewery entices both adventure seekers and those tuned in to their Freudian drives with a vast selection of hoppy potables. The Sunnyvale brewery and restaurant serves more than 20 microbrews throughout the year alongside sophisticated cuisine, resulting in harmonious marriages of flavor that ably decorate any mouth or belly. Starters include cocktail meatballs glazed with a spicy drunken barbecue sauce ($9.25), vegetarian stuffed mushrooms doused in a Hefe-Weizen-parmesan batter and lightly fried ($8.95), and tempura Ahi rolls wrapped in wasabi-coated nori ($10.95). Faultline's entree selection dresses up hearty American favorites in dazzling gowns of culinary goodness, such as the petite filet and grilled scallops served with a creamy bacon vegetable risotto ($26.95) and the blackened Ahi tuna with roasted potatoes and a lemon-mustard sauce ($24.95). Barbecue St. Louis pork ribs with garlic and bacon mashers ($19.95) and a mesquite smoked half chicken draw inspiration from southern American favorites ($18.95). Two switch-hitting carnivorous-to-herbivorous entrees will surely remind diners of their childhoods frolicking on the bayou with those rascally nutria: the "gaucho" jambalaya linguini served either sans meat or loaded with chicken, ham, sausage and bacon ($16.95), and a Louisiana seafood gumbo ($18.95) that also transforms, upon request, into a plantfood gumbo.

Faultline Brewing Company is a modern geometrical home featuring triangular floor-to-ceiling windows framed by rustic wooden beams that jut out over the dining area and offer spectacular views of the neighboring lake. A vast, open area with natural light and tin trim combines sleek industry with hospitable warmth and creates an inviting atmosphere perfect for business meetings, social outings, and impromptu performances of Somewhere Over the Rainbow.

This Groupon is not valid for lunch or happy-hour specials.

Reviews

Yelpers give Faultline Brewing Company an average of three stars. OpenTablers give it 3.5 stars, and Zagat users like it too:

• I love this place, especially the outdoor dining. Since it's right off 101, it's a convenient place to meetup for an afterhours event. Of course, the beers are great and the staff is always friendly and accommodating. – OpenTable user who dined on 2/16/2010
• Great food; fun waitstaff; quality brewing. This more than your corner brewpub -- they take raise the standard far beyond bland pub food; they morphed fine dining with the laid-back atmosphere of the brewhaus. Their entrees rival even some fancier restaurants, yet never with the arrogance. A "number one" place to take your friends for a memorable evening. – TomT4540, Zagat