Vive la (Beer) Revolution!

January 20, 2013 By Ben | Filed in Reviews

When I moved to the Bay Area a few months ago, many friends and colleagues, knowing my love of beer, recommended Oakland’s Beer Revolution as a must-visit. It sounded like a place I could disappear into for days but sadly it took me a while to make it over (despite it only being about 5 miles from my office). The stars aligned recently and my co-workers and I stopped in ready to join the revolution.

Beer Revolution:
www.beer-revolution.com
464 3^rd St.
Oakland, CA 94607

Overall, it was a really nice evening filled with a remarkable number of beers consumed (I work with some stout folk, including several Brits). They had a tremendous beer selection, as expected, with a wide selection on their 47 taps including a sizable number of barley wines and a handful of Ninkasi brews (leftover from a “meet the brewer” event, which they hold every Wednesday apparently). As a special treat, they even had a keg of Stone’s 11.11.11 Vertical Epic on tap!

Handily, they also feature a wall of 3 large, double-size refrigerators holding an eye-popping number of beers that are available for take-out or drink in (with a $1 bottle opening fee) and arranged by style. Fun to explore their contents although it got more difficult as patrons filed in.

The location is small and grungy inside, with a very homey atmosphere, and a decent-sized deck out front. It’s low lit, with a nice selection of rock and roll playing in the background, and the bartenders are friendly and knowledgeable if a little overwhelmed at times as the place fills UP. Barrels are what stand in for tables and while they don’t serve food, they do allow it to be brought in (there’s a tasty rib place across the street). The biggest knock on the place for me was the single, unsavory toilet that always had a long line for it.