American Craft Beer The Best Craft Beer, Breweries, Bars, Brewpubs, Beer Stores, And Restaurants Serving Serious Beer.
Craft beer tourism has truly arrived in America and increasingly fans are building their travel plans around exciting cities that also brew serious beer. We recently drank our way through Oakland’s emerging craft beer scene and we’ve hit a number of places that you don’t want to miss when you’re there. And here are some more craft beer destinations worth travelling for…
Independent Brewing
Hidden away on the corner of 5th Street and Harrison, in Oakland’s Jack London District, you’ll happen upon Independent Brewing Company. Simple signage announces its presence and invites you into a big open room decorated casually with a “craigslist decor” that fronts the larger brewery to the back.
Independent Brewing is a low-key and unpretentious place but they couldn’t be more serious about their beer…
Founded by Utah transplant, Stephen McDaniel, Independent Brewing was built to serve as both a community “public house” as well as a production facility.
Their approach to brewing is refreshingly “straight-forward” (they don’t do seasonals here!). Most of the beers that they offer tend to be sessionable and all them are stylistically dead-on.
And be sure to try a Sticky Zipper IPA when you’re there…It’s absolutely killer!
Novel Brewing
One of Oakland’s newest breweries is also one of its most surprising. Housed in an industrial chic setting, along Oakland’s bustling San Paulo Avenue, Novel Brewing is a literary-themed brewery and tasting room that was founded by husband and wife team, Brian and Theresa Koloszyc.
Brian had originally wanted to be the next great American novelist, but he got sidetracked by homebrewing and couldn’t shake it, and that eventually led him to trying his hand at brewing professionally.
The best way to appreciate Novel Brewing is to try as many of their fresh beer offerings as humanly possible, and their samplers (served on actual book trays) are the way to go. And although their unfiltered IPA was pretty awesome, their Belgian-style Dubbel was outstanding and one of the best we encountered in Oakland.
Temescal Brewing
Located on Telegraph Avenue in Oakland’s up-and-coming Temescal neighborhood, Temescal Brewing is one of the city’s most vibrant new operations. The brewery bills itself as offering “Fresh Beer” and “No Jerks” and it keeps its word.
It was founded by Sam Gilbert, who was part of BrewLab, San Francisco’s almost underground homebrewing party collective, before opening his own brewery in Oakland (cheaper real estate & the city’s quirky creative vibe). Opened in June of 2016, Temescal became an immediate success, and its indoor lounge barroom and outside patio beer garden were both packed when we came through.
Do try one of their Fruited Kettle Sours when you visit and they’ve also a Winter Dark Ale that’s “to die for.”
