I don’t find much love here for Fieldwork, even as they continue to expand across California. But they must be doing something right— I imagine their taprooms stay busy even as so many other storied (and not so storied) breweries are closing. (Of course, this is all just speculation on my part as I haven’t stopped in their Berkeley location since …before COVID?) So, what’s their secret? And what’s their ceiling? Since they show no signs of slowing down.
Beer is pretty good. They don't just serve beer at their spots. It's a reliable IPA in distro when I see it on the board.
I used to love their hazy IPAs. don't really like haze anymore, but theirs were super inconsistent. but there was one batch of pulp that was up there as maybe my favorite citra ever, and a canned batch of galaxy juice that was for sure my favorite galaxy ever. probably 2018ish. really liked imperial hot chocolate too, but don't think I've had any other stouts from them I liked much. Oh yeah, Saint Thomas was always pretty good, both the hazy and clear one, although obviously the clear was better
It’s been a while since our last visit to Fieldworks Monterey, 2019. Looking at the draft list for Berkeley & Monterey the don’t have any seltzer’s listed. So they don’t brew seltzer’s? They have a solid draft list of everything but seltzer’s. I thought the seltzer’s would be the reason they are so popular
The only Fieldwork I can recall seeing in a shop down here in southern Cal is/was Pulp. I bought a can and thought it was pretty good. A few years back I ordered a couple of shipments from them, mostly their Belgian influenced beers, and enjoyed them.
Back in 2016 - 2018, as some of you have mentioned, Fieldwork was absolutely mindblowing. Pulp and Galaxy Juice were beautiful beers that I showed off to co-workers and friends who didn't know craft beer, and they were also blown away. I don't know if it's the focus on expansion, brewing wayyyy too much beer to support the bajillion taprooms, or what but their flavor profile lost their way. At some point, all their beers were marked by the same awful hop-burn that I ridiculed Alvarado Street Brewing all these years here for on BA. (Ironically, having tried both Fieldwork and ASB this year in Monterey area, I now think ASB has improved their hazies, while Fieldwork is undrinkable IMO). I have liked OG St Thomas in the past, but I've also tried it a couple times in the last few years and although it's OK... it's just not as good as it once was. I never liked Fieldwork's lagers or Belgians... something always felt off about them. My craft beer nerd friends don't go to Fieldwork at all, but I know some casual beer drinkers who like them. So I guess that may be who is keeping them afloat.
I just checked my local beer store. They are selling 3 different Fieldwork NA beers, but nothing else.
Their locations have large, varied tap lists including N/A options, each serve food and they all seem to be child-friendly. I'm sure there's a lot more to it, but it's not hard to see why people would flock to Fieldwork.
been to napa. felt like a mix of karl strauss, pizza port and a bennigans. lots of beer options that were fine and forgettable and liked detroit style pizza. good value for the area. a ton of kids. can see why they would be successful.
More or less this. Strong with the normies, and beer enjoyers. Maybe they aren't beloved by the BA crowd but let's be real you can't really build a business on just that unless you're Monkish or Horus, and even then there's a lot of normie appeal as they've scaled, at least for Monkish.
Visited Monterey last week for a 2 day trip and the Satellite tasting room was a 5 min walk from hotel so this was an easy nightcap for both my wife and myself. Selection of beer was solid, really enjoyed Pulp Gold Label and wife enjoyed some stout they had.
It's mainly due to location for me. Living in the South Bay, I don't get up to Berkley or East Bay often. If do up for a brewery visit, I would rather go to Wonderous or Cellermaker. In the 2016-2020 range, I did visit them when going up to the SN Taproom in Berkley (Alpha Hops pickups/party). I liked there beer and would order Pulp when I would see in tap rooms over the years.
I’m still mad the southbay was supposed to get a fieldwork taphouse before Covid hit. Then those plans went out the window. I used to be a huge fan of their haze from 2016-2020, but they always had consistency issues. I remember lining up for their can releases Saturday mornings around 2018ish. Haven’t had a can of FW in a few years so maybe I’ll give em another try.
The San Ramon location is in a big upscale shopping mall. Lots of seating, kid and dog friendly, serve food (including a kid's menu). Huge draft list, includes wine and NA options. Easy, free parking, comfortable setting. Plenty of other restaurants to choose from if pizza and pub food isn't appealing. Pretty obvious why the place is packed all the time.
I was just reading this article: https://brewdeck.ghost.io/meet-the-2025-babg-freshman-class/?ref=babg-testing-newsletter about new Bay Area Breweries. Not one friggin one in the South Bay (closest is Belmont). Sad to think the big days of beer in the South Bay was in the 1980s with micro breweries (Gordan Bierch, Tied House).
I’ve seen the can that says brewed and canned by Fieldwork San Diego, CA with the AMP logo (AleSmith Miramar Production). See if this link works: https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?...et=gm.4098160126981422&type=3&mibextid=wwXIfr
