Berkeley Alehouse (Pyramid Breweries)

 

 

 

very spacious building easy parking

Great vibe, fun place. Really good food and their flights were really generous pours. Went to this place on a Bay area beer tour. Easy place to find and a lot parking.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The brewery wasn't hard to find and parking was nice.

The ambience was good, food was tasty, and beer range/selection was decent. The range reminded me of real ales in the UK, good quality but overall subtle flavor variations.

The brewery tour was on hold due to remodeling, but the tour guide did his very best to make what tour he could do enjoyable and fun. He was knowledgeable and was liver with the samples.

Good food/place, decent beer. Why not try it!

 

I visited there during Mother's Day 2013. My party was sat promptly and was greeted by the server shortly thereafter. Over 20 beers on tap and brewed in house. Also, had a guest brewery on tap (Portland Brewing Company). The server was knowledgeable of the beers being served and the process sin which it was made. That made the experience that much better. The food is average I would say. We ordered a chicken wing appetizer. The entrees were BBQ Ribs and Ribeye Steak Sandwich. Overall, the atmosphere was nice and I would recommend this place to friends.

Good place to watch games and drink mediocre/decent sometimes/good occasionally (though not often) beer. Their IPAs are OK and might stand out elsewhere but not in the bay area when there are so many other great local hoppy beers to choose from.

Atmosphere is interesting, very large space, and bar is pretty long as well. Lots of TVs and a nice view of the brewhouse. Many tables, of varying heights.

Selection is decent and some of the beers are good but never close to great. They do rotate seasonals in from time to time, which is nice. Growlers are a great deal, cheapest growler prices I've ever seen, $8 for a refill. Quality of the beer just doesn't quite get it done. That said, the space is quite accommodating and not bad for large groups, eating lunch/dinner or watching games.

Don't go out of your way, and there are other better spots in Berkeley, but this place is literally three blocks from the freeway if you are in the area (Gilman St exit off I-80).

As others have mentioned, this place is HUGE. Industrial look and feel from the outside, inside is better, but still kinda cold and impersonal. Felt like I was going to the airport. Anyway, I went with a group of about 10 and they had no problems accomidating us, so perhaps thats what a place like this is good for.

Food made me think of Applebees, looked OK on the menu, but was bland, tasteless, and just a notch or two better then fast food. Beer was passable, but nothing special.

Just a short drive from central Berkeley, by the highway. I'd seek out other, more cozy/friendly options in town

Came here with some friends who aren't that into beer on a Sunday afternoon. The free tour was interesting, but they shut down production on the weekends so it was lacking some pizzazz. We got to sample three beers afterward, each in a 4 ounce glass. Our tour guide's poor attempt at humor was forgiven when he let half of us sample their Outburst DIPA if we answered a question about the brewery tour correctly (we basically shared between the three couples, so everyone got some).

I'm not a huge fan of their beers, so that detracts from my overall rating, but it's a pretty cool place to hang out. This place has more of a sports bar feel to it than I prefer, but it's definitely not for college kids, which is a plus. All the servers and bartenders were helpful and friendly. It's a good place to hang out, but I wouldn't go out of my way to visit.

Stopped in here with a coworker last night (Tuesday) to cap off a successful business trip.

The place was pretty crowded, though we were quickly led to an open table in the restaurant area. I spotted at least two flat screen TVs, each playing muted sports highlights, but most patrons seemed far more interested in conversation (us included). With no loud music and plenty of space, you think it'd be easy to hear the other people at your table, but it was surprisingly loud inside. That said, my coworker and I didn't any real problems conversing; we just had to raise our voices. After 8:00pm, the restaurant crowd began thinning out and things got quieter.

In total, we ordered six pints and two entrees. The beer was above average, but not stellar by any means, and the selection was limited to pale ales, ambers/reds, American wheat beers, and an apricot ale. The food menu consisted of pub grub, but in a slightly healthier sense: it included vegetarian items, side salads instead of fries, grilled fish, turkey meatloaf, etc; not many greasy, artery-clogging items. I went with the fish tacos, and my coworker went with the turkey meatloaf. Both dishes were good - nothing to write home about, but worth getting again.

I'll admit that I was pleasantly surprised by this Pyramid restaurant/brewery. I've had Pyramid beers from the bottle before and never recall them being good. Last night changed my perception though. The service was speedy and helpful; the beer and food were both tasty and paired well together; the atmosphere was relaxed. I'll probably stop by again on my next trip to the east bay.

Pyramid Alehouse in Berkeley is actually quite a nice venue. Dont know how old it is but it essentially looks brand new inside. Tap selection is mainly their own so if your looking for more then this may not be your place necessarily. Tough place to get a seat in also. Bar is long, lots of seats. TVs for all sporting events. I did have a chance to eat here and I would say its way above average pub fare. Great job in that department. Atmosphere of an old warehouse, high ceilings, beans etc and a view of the brewing operation make it a great place to have a bite and a pint.

Had the opportunity to get a little pre-easter dinner "drink", here with the family. We shared a pitcher of the Apricot Ale, which is always a sure winner with many different tastes. Then we ventured into a sampler. The highlights were the Imperial Hef and the Weiss Beer. The others were kind of, eh, but the lows of the sampler were the blonde and alehouse amber. Blonde tasted like perm and the alehouse amber was bland. Waitress was actually very knowledgable about their beers and service was prompt. Root beer was pretty good too.

Located on Gilman Street at 8th Street, they had a huge parking lot with an Outdoor Cinema on the 8th Street side and an extensive patio area on the Gilman Street side. The entry was oriented to the corner and as I entered, the Gift Shop was right and the m.d.s. center. A semi-private meeting room was to the right before the m.d.s. The long, copper-topped bar was center aft with an upstairs seating area above the back bar, which could be accessed by long, curving flights of stairs out of GWTW on either side of the space. The right end of the bar overlooked the immense production facility behind a glass wall fronted by booth seating. The left end of the bar overlooked the kitchen. Aft of the back bar were standard tables and chairs as well as a padded bench fronted by tables and chairs. A long, high, copper-topped plank with high chairs sat In front of the bar. The immenseness of this place cannot be overstated! It was utterly impressive and totally hopping during Happy Hour which goes down Monday to Friday from 1530 to 1830.

Beers: Same as at their other locations. This time, I had the Thunderhead IPA.

Mom: Definitely at this one! Big, open, well-lit, non- threatening spaces are her speed.

Live near the place so thought I should finally give it a try. Had their apricot ale a while back and it wasn't anything amazing, so I never bothered to make the trek. But they have a great cream porter there that I will probably get the next time I go. Most of their other beers, however, are a bit too light for me. They have a couple more substantial ones, but not many. Also, for a brewpub, I was hoping they'd have a better selection--at least some guest beers. The others with me enjoyed the food they got, though I didn't get anything. Overall, for local brews, the beers are more substantial and interesting at Triple Rock or Jupiter. The overall atmosphere feels more like an Applebees or P.F. Changs than a brewpub. I didn't get to go on the tour but will hopefully do so in the near future.

Ambiance is very cozy and the building is aesthetically pleasing and modern. The service was pretty unacceptable, but it may have just been our particular waiter. Once we actually received the food, it was great. I would definitely recommend one of their pizzas for an appetizer to share. The beer was delicious and they sell their six packs. And they have some interesting mixtures. I'd say if you're in the area, definitely stop in. I'm a huge fan of their apricot hefe. Just don't ask for a lemon for any of their beers.

This is a pretty big open place, very clean. It carries itself more as a restaurant than as a pub, but this is great. They have a bunch of TVs inside just in case you want to watch your favorite game.

The quality is excellent, as they have a wide variety of different sorts of beers. I like the beer here, and it seems like it's pretty fresh, too.

The service is great because it's similar to that of a restaurant. The servers are always ready to take more orders and bring more food and drink. Excellent service!

The selection in terms of both food and drink are excellent as well. There are roughly 15 beers on tap at any given point, and they also serve a beer sampler so you can try the different beers they offer. The food is also very good; you have your standard pub fare, but they also offer other foods that are very good.

Things are a tab bit pricey, especially the food, but it's not too bad. In all, this is a very decent place to try, especially if you're hungry.

One of my buddies from Berkeley loves this place so we go there a bunch.

I like the atmosphere, good prices, lots of happenings, very good food. The only drawback is their beer. I dont like there beer at all. But the building is very cool. I guess in the summer they have movies screened in the parking lot, the service is great. I always meet fun people to talk to, the food is pretty good, but I dont like the beer. Anyway, I keep going back, so it cant be all that bad.

All in all go for the good food and atmosphere and get a subpar beer on tap.

I definitely think the beers on tap here are better than their bottled versions, but that could be said of most breweries. Their nitrogen DPA is tasty, as is the standard Hefe and the Thunderhead IPA, and the Snow Cap on tap almost tastes like a completely different beer than the bottled version, which I don't care for at all. Also, since Pyramid merged w/ Portland Brewing years ago, they also have MacTarnahans (one of my fave ambers) on tap, which is an added bonus.

My main (ongoing) complaint with Pyramid is their music/mix tapes. It's bad....really bad. Like, so bad I've literally had to leave vs. ordering another round. The one incident that's unfortunately seared into my memory was a few mos back when they were playing the Worst Mix Tape Ever. I blocked most of the experience out of my head, but the last 3 songs I heard before snapping and fleeing for the safety of my car, were 1) something really lame by Madonna, 2) Sunglasses at Night by Richard Marx, and 3) I Think We're Alone Now by Tiffany. Yes, Tiffany.

But aside from the awful tunes, it's a pretty mellow place to have a beer or three after work, the food is decent as far as brewery fare is concerned, and they have a couple really cute waitresses to boot. However, I have experienced the same problem (more than once) mentioned by a previous reviewer, where you show up thirsting for a brew and the entire place is shut down for a "private function". So if you're traveling any significant distance to go there, you might be wise to call ahead, especially during the holiday months.

Large Industrial looking space in an industrial looking part of town on Gilman between San Pablo Ave. and I-80 (or The 80 if you're from "cali"). The atmosphere is a little cold- very high metal ceilings and cookie cutter fernbar booths and tables and way too brightly lit. The bar itself is pretty nice. The quality of the product is pretty good- very fresh. I'm not a huge fan of Pyramid beers, but there are a few I like, and most are pleasant enough. They have seasonals on tap here (like snowcap) as well. There are also samplers and plenty of info about each beer on the menu. The service is fine- usually pretty frirndly and prompt, but not knowledeable for the most part. The food is pretty standard fare, if maybe a touch fresher and more plentiful than some places- it can definitely be hit or miss. I like the big cobb salad. Annoyingly, I've stopped by on ocassion during normal hours and been turned away since the whole place has been rented out for some corporate shindig. Not a bad stop if you need a meal as well as a beer, but there are plenty of better places on San Pablo to drink

Located minutes from the Cal-Berkeley campus and the freeway. This place is a huge, 'industrial warehouse-esque' establishment with a brewhouse, spacious indoor restaurant with bar, and outdoor biergarden. We opted for the smaller outdoor biergarden on a beautiful day, and were shaded from the sun by some well placed palms. Besides the outdoor patio, the rest of the place was very commercial in feel.

On our visit there were about ten taps devoted to house brews that included: Hefeweizen, Crystal weizen, Amber weizen, Apricot weizen, Cream Porter, an IPA, an ESB, and a few others. The Cream Porter was a decent offering, and the Hefe was your run of the mill version of the style. Service was slow at times, and a bit disjointed as new waitstaff were being trained. The barbeque chicken pizza was sub-par, and a few minor mistakes in ordering didn't help. My next trip to the West Coast won't include Pyramid, but I'd be up for sampling more of their offerings.