Fred's Market

Store

1929 University Ave
Berkeley, California, 94709
United States

// CLOSED //
PLACE STATS
Average:
3.88
Reviews:
6
Ratings:
6
pDev:
5.67%
View: Place Reviews
Recent ratings and reviews.
Photo of veinless
Reviewed by veinless from Ohio

4.3/5  rDev +10.8%
Fred's Market is always mentioned as the place people go to when Ledger's is closed, or on the way there, and while it is true that Ledger's has a better selection, Fred's stands up to any store around here on its own two feet. Plenty of locals, from most of the major CA breweries, plus lots of the old standbys like DFH and Allagash. Big Belgian selection is great too, and there are tons of bombers to chose from. One downside is the inability to MYO six pack from their many, many sixers, but the hot chicken sandwich they serve MORE than makes up for it, take my word for it. The family that runs the place are very nice and easy to talk to, and often will be arguing about politics or sports that are on TV. Some of the sixers were quite old, (like the DFH Punkin Ale I saw way back in october being there now), but most of the stuff looked fresh and rotated often. Overall this place is great. Stopping here in between class, having an awesome chicken sandwich for 6 bucks, and picking up a couple brews for later is flat out awesome.
Feb 16, 2011
Photo of Falcon91Wolvrn03
Reviewed by Falcon91Wolvrn03 from California

4.03/5  rDev +3.9%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4 | selection: 3.5
I visited Fred's Market after going to Ledger's just down the street. Ledger's is closed Sunday and Monday, so my trip to Ledger's was a failure. But my trip to Fred's was a success.

Fred's had a nice selection of beer all in about 8 coolers (I didn't count them) along the side of the store. Unfortuntately, the majority of their beer was in 4 and 6 packs, which they didn't allow you break apart. The selection was impressive, however, and well above average for a good beer store. They also had a good selection of singles.

While they had lots of quality beer, their selection didn't match Ledger's. But it wasn't bad, and it's a great substitue if you want beer on a Sunday or Monday. I'd also recommend Star Groceries in Berkeley for some of the hard to find beers you might not see here.
Dec 08, 2009
Photo of gubbt
Reviewed by gubbt from California

4/5  rDev +3.1%
Fred's is one of my stops on the 1-2 punch on University Ave. (the other being Ledger's). The eldest son of the family brings in the beers and does a pretty good job. Good mix of English, German, Belgian, and their strong point: west coast micros.

They won't have the really rare stuff like Firestone Anniversaries, RR sours, or the Deschutes specialties, but they will regularly have Stone, Ommegang, Allagash, Moylans, Green Flash, RR Pliny/Damnation, etc. and have them at good prices. All their stuff is refrigerated too.

Stop by, have a deli sandwich, and browse the beer selection if you're in the area.
Dec 09, 2008
Photo of Natural510
Reviewed by Natural510 from Ohio

3.65/5  rDev -5.9%
I've never really thought of Fred's as a beer destination, but they always had a quality selection of micro's and imports. Nothing to go out of the way for (instead check Ledger's down the street), but certainly a great spot to buy beer if you're in the neighborhood.
Personally, I worked next door from them for several years and befriended Fred, Mona and their three sons. It was nice to have a neighborhood store where you could chat current events & politics with the owners and other patrons. And I got to see the Fred family grow up & old. It's nice to hear the elder son is now running the store.
While this review may not be the most beer-specific, and I now live out-of-state, Fred's will always have a special place in my heart.
May 12, 2008
Photo of bcm119
Reviewed by bcm119 from California

3.7/5  rDev -4.6%
The "other" seedy-looking store on University Ave that has a way better beer selection than you'd think.

Fred's is a typical city market, but with an entire wall of coolers dedicated to craft beer. Their strength is in California crafts; there is also a decent selection of Germans and Belgians and the odd eastern European beer. There is a very nice selection of 22's from west coast favorites like AVB, Moylan's, Lagunitas, Rogue, Green Flash, Marin, Stone, and even Firestone. Most of the local breweries' wares are available in cold 6ers too. The biggest drawback (for me at least) is that you can't pick out singles from the six packs.

When compared to Ledger's, Fred's is missing the notoriously hard to find beers (for this area) such as Lost Abbey, Hair of the Dog, or Deschutes seasonals, which puts Ledger's in a different category. And the vibe and service lacks that beer enthusiast feel that Ledger's has. But Fred's is a worthy alternative when Ledger's is closed.
Apr 07, 2008
Photo of Georgiabeer
Reviewed by Georgiabeer from Georgia

3.85/5  rDev -0.8%
I've been going to this place for over a decade, and they have always had a great beer selection. In the last year or so it has even gotten a little better as the elder son of the family that owns the place has gotten interested in keeping up with what's great out there in the market. You would never know that this place had anything but bmc beers. It looks perfectly ratty from the outside- dirty and decrepit, but inside is a deli and a long wall of coolers filled with beer, and great beer at that. They have both sixers and 22 ozers, and quite a good selection of each. The selection is strong in California micros and there are a smattering of english and belgian beers as well as some other random stuff. This place isn't as strong as Ledger Liquor down the street, but its a good deal closer to UC Berkeley's campus. A good alternate stop on University ave. I was able to find Moylan's Hopsickle here when Ledger was out.
Sep 07, 2006
Fred's Market in Berkeley, CA
Place rating: 3.88 out of 5 with 6 ratings