Staying in Berkeley, need local advice on beer buying

Discussion in 'Pacific' started by bubseymour, Aug 11, 2018.

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  1. bubseymour

    bubseymour Grand Pooh-Bah (4,800) Oct 30, 2010 Maryland
    Pooh-Bah Trader

    Got a work trip coming us soon and staying in Berkeley.

    Interested in trying to buy and mule home some Russian River, Sante Adairius, Cellermaker and Fieldwork brews.

    First, I think I'm good with Fieldworks as there is a place in Berkeley so and can visit that one easily. Are the other 3 mentioned available at any bottle shops in the Berkeley / Oakland area to save me alot of drive time/traffic hassles? Its nearly 1.5 hrs - 2 hrs drive up the Russian River and about the same down to Santa Cruz and sounds like driving around Bay area in general is a major issue anyway and not sure if worse if I'm driving around 5pm or so on weekdays. I'll be flying into Oakland airport on a Tuesday around noon and have rest of the day free with a rental car all week. Wed-Friday...only late afternoons and evenings as I'm working at least until 1pm or so each day. Any advice or tips are welcome.
     
    #1 bubseymour, Aug 11, 2018
  2. JayORear

    JayORear Grand Pooh-Bah (3,058) Feb 22, 2012 California
    Society Pooh-Bah Trader

    You won’t find Cellarmaker at bottle shops, SARA only occasionally, and none of their flagship brews. RR has a list of retail accounts on its Web site, but the drive up there is more than worth it. They’re open late, too, so you could leave Berkeley after rush hour and get up there with plenty of time to spare and lots of bottles to go. Plus, right now they’ve got Beatification in bottles, which you should max out on.
     
    #2 JayORear, Aug 11, 2018
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  3. Rbarnes4381

    Rbarnes4381 Zealot (747) Oct 29, 2013 California
    Trader

    Fieldworks is in Berkeley, so just go. I don’t think they distribute outside their tasting rooms.
     
    #3 Rbarnes4381, Aug 11, 2018
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  4. infrared90s

    infrared90s Initiate (0) Jul 20, 2015 California
    Trader

    you might be able to find RR at berkeley bowl, might be thursdays when they get them, but i'm not sure. maybe somebody currently living in the area can confirm.

    i would suggest taking the bart into SF one weeknight and going to mikkeller, toronado, monk's kettle to drink some beer
     
    #4 infrared90s, Aug 11, 2018
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  5. rmdownward

    rmdownward Zealot (648) Feb 10, 2007 California

    #5 rmdownward, Aug 13, 2018
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  6. BayAreaJoe

    BayAreaJoe Pooh-Bah (1,724) Nov 23, 2017 California
    Pooh-Bah Trader

    Berkeley Bowl doesn't have RR, but Whole Foods does - the barrel aged stuff, not Pliny. I frequent Berkeley Bowl West, and they probably have the best craft beer selection for a grocery store - they have tons of rotating local and regional beers and have nice higher-end stuff like Brouwerij 3 Fonteinen bottles as well. They're on Instagram as beerkeleybowl, and regularly posts deliveries.

    For Pliny, The Hop Grenade in Concord is an easy 12-15 min. walk from the Concord BART Station, they get RR & Pliny deliveries 1-2 times a week, and they're on Instagram as well. They lowered their Pliny to-go bottle price to $5.50. I think there's a 2 bottle limit though.
     
    #6 BayAreaJoe, Aug 13, 2018
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  7. Obuwan

    Obuwan Crusader (448) May 12, 2017 California
    BA4LYFE Society

    Ledgers Liquors in Berkeley has Pliny. Also, Bobby G's Pizza on University Ave. in Berkeley normally has Pliny on tap (solid pizza too, love that place!). If you can though head up to Russian River, definitely worth the trip.

    Agreed on Berkeley Bowl West having a brilliant selection.
     
    #7 Obuwan, Aug 14, 2018
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  8. warrendietrich2001

    warrendietrich2001 Pooh-Bah (1,692) Feb 13, 2013 Nevada
    Pooh-Bah Trader

    If you want to try Cellarmaker on tap go to Rare Barrel great sours and a strong tap list. Also very close to Fieldworks. I see their current tap list has Pliny, Cellarmaker and Alverado Stret.
     
    #8 warrendietrich2001, Aug 14, 2018
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  9. bubseymour

    bubseymour Grand Pooh-Bah (4,800) Oct 30, 2010 Maryland
    Pooh-Bah Trader

    Thanks everyone. Great input. I have a rental car, what is the parking situation around Rare Barrel & Fieldworks?
     
    #9 bubseymour, Aug 14, 2018
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  10. anvindr

    anvindr Zealot (608) Jan 6, 2016 California
    Trader

    its pretty easy to park at either place. Ive never had an issue
     
    #10 anvindr, Aug 14, 2018
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  11. grilledsquid

    grilledsquid Initiate (0) Jul 10, 2009 California
    Trader

    There's a parking lot at RB. Fieldwork has street parking which shouldn't be a problem depending on what time you come through. Just don't park in the housing development a block north as that's mostly reserved for tenants.
     
    #11 grilledsquid, Aug 14, 2018
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