Beer Revolution

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Beer geek refill stop

A must do, major beer place if you're anywhere near 12th Street Bart or Jack London Square.

Great, ever changing selection both on tap and for takeout.

I liked this place the first couple of years but they seem intent on re-creating yet another Toronado toilet kind of place. It's dark, odiferous, and the bathroom is apparently a playground for unpleasant nine year olds. The sound system is cranked up to painful volume but I couldn't say if it was actually music or something gone wrong with the espresso machine. Only place I have been carded in the Bay Area in thirty years. The deck on the sunny west side is at least a decent place to enjoy a beer if the weather cooperates.

I used to make a special trip here to buy beer, but I keep seeing the same bottles, and the selection seems to get more and more random. You can't read labels without opening the cooler doors and crouching down while people try to get past you. It doesn't look like they've checked on what's on some of those shelves lately. I think I'm done with this place as Oakland is incubating some new brewpubs.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

One of the best places to grab a beer in the entire bay area.
On the short list of places you should check out if you are visiting the east bay

Vibe: Small and not a whole lot of seating. Not a looker, per se. Lots of great people there though. The hops growing outside and hanging on the ceiling are a nice touch [3.75]
Quality: Seems like the taps are always rotating. Fresh IPAs abound. Never an issue with a bad pour or stale beer. The pricing is pretty fair as well (most beers $6-7, and smaller pours on special releases). [5]
Service: This is a bit variable. I've had some incredible service here, and some terrible. For the most part it has been improving though. Everyone knows their beer [3.5]
Selection: 99% of the time I am really pleased here. Always something new or just an incredibly diverse selection of beers on tap. And don't forget about the bottles! There are some gems in there, and they are affordably priced to drink there ($1 corkage) or to go. [5.0]

Excellent selection of bay area brews and knowledgeable friendly staff.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pliney commonly available by the bottle, including to-go (limit 2/per, "unlimited" in-house)

 

This was a positive surprise spot for us on our San Francisco-Oakland visit. It has inside-outside seating, but really is your typical dive craft beer bar.

The bartenders were all nice, relaxed, and seemed to want to cater to regulars as well as new people. The majority of the taps are hyper-local with some breweries having 6 or 8 different beers represented. They also have several beer coolers that you can buy from and open on premise. The selection in the coolers was great, but no whales if you that is what you are in search of at a bar.

The only negative for me was that it closes at 11pm on a Saturday night. I was disappointed, but it was only because I was enjoying my time there.