Finding Good Beer by BART, station by station

There’s good beer – real local west coast ales and well-crafted brews – all over the Bay Area, and fortunately there is no paucity of good beer within walking distance of public transit. Get out of your car, get onto Bay Area Rapid Transit and into slow, delicious pints. Oh yeah: BART normally closes (station by station) starting at midnight. Uncivilized, but important to know.

A guide to a growing number of great beer places near transit. (Also listed Alphabetically in the right column.) One shoe less than a quarter mileis up to one quarter mile walking, one way:

  • San Leandro Station, San Leandro
  • Walnut Creek Station, Walnut Creek
  • San Bruno Station
    • BJs (Brewpub) less than a quarter mile
  • Millbrae Station (Another list of brewpubs to the south of this BART station, via CalTrain ) train28

List of non-pub breweries: Mass transit to local Microbreweries with tours or open houses

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What else belongs here? you tell us! Can you BART, bus and walk it?

Field research performed by local beer appreciators
Steve Shapiro & Gail Ann Williams. Corrections and suggestions welcome.

What’s going on? Tips for keeping up with the San Francisco Bay Area beer scene. Happy Rails.

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(NOTE: Older comments — with some great additional tips and suggestions — are over here now.)

89 Comments on “Finding Good Beer by BART, station by station”

  1. Julie B Says:

    AWESOME ! As a beer lover who is a CAT scan Tech, I’m all 4 drinking & Barting ! THANX :)

  2. Raymon Cancino Says:

    Hey guys, it was a pleasure meeting you both at the jolly pumpkin tasting. Maybe we will run into one another soon.


  3. Yeah, that was great, Ray!

  4. Greg Fischer Says:

    Great website!

    I referenced it in my blog post about beer in Oakland and Berkeley. Here’s the link to the post: http://www.norcalblogs.com/transportation/2009/02/destinations_getting_sudsy_in_1.html

  5. shap Says:

    Greg,

    Good post on your blog. Keep breaking into conversations (when appropriate) and spreading the word about good beer. Hope to see you at SF Beer Week.

    Steve

  6. craig younger Says:

    Why is Jack’s Brewing Company in Fremont not part of this list of BART-able locations??

    • shap Says:

      Hi Craig,

      Thanks for writing. Jack’s seems to be about 1.5 miles from Fremont BART which is beyond the 1 mile guideline we’ve been using for this site. We visited Jack’s several years ago and liked it quite a bit. I would recommend it to anyone who is in the area.

      Steve

  7. craig younger Says:

    Thanks for your response.

    Will anyone be taking over the column Mr. Brand wrote??

    I miss his charming articles. What a loss. I hope someone picks up where he left off

  8. Mike Says:

    Hi Gail and Steve,
    Gourmet Haus Stadt, 2615 Broadway, Redwood City, now has a beer bar in the back of the store and a miniature outdoor beer garden. German beers well-served by friendly owner (son of previous owner). The beer garden was warm on Thursday (Redwood City–”Climate Best By Government Test”). It is within stumbling distance of the CalTrain station. Also has huge selection of bottled beers I’ve never seen elsewhere. Do not leave without getting a bottle of Innstadt Dopplebock.
    Mike

  9. Andie Says:

    Great seeing you two tonight at the study group. I am really glad I ran into Nicole and that she shared this opportunity with me!! Looking forward to our next class and maybe a post-class beer!! Take care.

  10. John Says:

    I’m not sure what your criteria is, but you might consider adding Pyramid Brewing in Walnut Creek. You can transfer to the “Free Ride” bus at Walnut Creek station. I think the walk is a little over 1/4 mile.

    If you don’t like Pyramid all by itself out there, you might put Casa Orinda and Roundup Saloon (in Lafayette) on the way to Walnut Creek. They are close to the stations and have some character. They aren’t really beer destinations, but they bridge the gap.

  11. craig younger Says:

    Saw the new reviewers first column a few weeks ago. He seems very knowledgeable. Sorry I forgot the name already. When will more of his column be published??


  12. Hi Craig! You must be talking about Bottoms Up and the former What’s On Tap, source of daily local beer news.

    That’s now “Brooks on Beer.” Jay Brooks is a veteran beer writer and blogger, and a familiar site around the Bay Area beer scene. Jay has also invited guest submissions and was kind enough to run one of mine a week ago.

    It’s time to take the old link to William Brand’s Beer Blog off the Blog Role on the left column, though still hard to do. We miss Bill and talk about him all the time. Thanks for mentioning it.

  13. Carol Says:

    Glen Park Station is two blocks from Glen Park BART station (duh). Not a huge selection of beer, but there’s plenty of other stuff to drink.

  14. janelle Says:

    Your black on blue color scheme makes it impossible to read anything here. Looked like maybe an interesting site, but…

  15. Blow Says:

    Too bad BART administrators and union graph won’t allow themselves the extra work of making the system run until 2:30am. There are identical systems in Montreal and DC, and somehow, they don’t have the same lame excuses, but I guess that’s what we “smart Californians” pay quadruple the ticket fare for.

  16. Brian Cox Says:

    The Attic 24th and mission- great music and $3 beers…

  17. Dave Says:

    I have a bar to suggest:

    The Trappist
    480 8th St
    Oakland, CA 94607

    it’s a 3 – 4 block walk from 12th st. Oakland. they have great Belgium beers.


  18. Thanks for the suggestions! (Janelle, if you are seeing black on blue I am thinking you have set your browser for a special color. This is a standard WordPress Theme, and the main text is all black on white, with links and titles in a toasty tan color.)

  19. Guttersnipe Says:

    Hi,

    I met you (Steve and Gail) at a couple of beer functions in San Francisco. You had mentioned an annual trip that you take to San Diego visiting breweries. Can you let me know which hotel you recommend? We will be visiting there over the summer and want to hit a couple of breweries at that time. I believe you said the place you stayed was within walking distance to a couple?

    Thanks!

    • shap Says:

      Hi Guttersnipe,

      Our strategy has changed in the past couple of years, due primarily to the moving and then closing of the Liars Club in Pacific Beach. We used to set up our base at the Best Western Blue Seas in Pacific Beach. It’s a pretty good, if perhaps slightly over priced hotel right on the ocean boardwalk. Nice location, but not near many beer destinations.
      This January we decided to move around and stay near to the pub where we wanted to end each nite. We stayed at the Beach Terrace Inn 2775 Ocean Street Carlsbad, CA 92008 which is walking distance from Pizza Port. It’s a very nice hotel and was very affordable.

      On the 2nd night we stayed at the Sommerset Suites Hotel – San Diego, 606 Washington Street, San Diego, CA , 800-962-9665. This is in the Hillcrest neighborhood and also nice and affordable. This is not walking distance, but as close as we could find to 30th St. (North and South Park neighborhoods), home to Toronado, Ritual Cafe, The Linkery and Hamilton’s Pub. Can’t really avoid driving or taking cabs to hit all of them.

      If you’re interested in Stone, Lost Abbey and Green Flash, a hotel in the Escondido or San Marcos area might work, though we have not done this. Driving will be involved.

      S.D. is a great beer destination, but not particularly transit-friendly.

      Hope this helps.

      Cheers,

      Steve and Gail

  20. John Duncan Says:

    Hi Steve,

    Still trucking. Went to this unique brew pub in Pittsburg. Thought you might enjoy knowing about it.

    http://www.churchbrew.com/

    All the best, John

    • shap Says:

      Hi John,

      Nice to hear from you. Thanks for the tip in Pittsburgh. Sometime we’ll get there.

      Please let us know if you’re truckin’ out here again.

      Steve

  21. Poppy Says:

    Castro Valley BART: Spanky’s (Baker Rd), Krayon’s (Castro Valley Blvd), Brass Boar (CV Blvd in the Village parking lot), The Waiting Room (Lake Chabot Rd), Doucet’s (off of CV Blvd near Burger King- Rutledge?)

  22. Chris Says:

    Here’s one that may be worth reviewing, Benders at 19th and South Van Ness. 15 taps; the next SF Brewers Guild meeting is supposed to be there on 21JUL.

  23. Rob Says:

    Hey folks,

    Thanks for hosting this month! My humble addition to the flock is here.


  24. Excellent! Some are also being posted here:

    http://beerbybart.com/2009/06/04/announcing-session-29-will-travel-for-beer/

    We’ll be starting to pull the roundup together soon.

  25. Alicia Says:

    Near 24th St BART is also Shotwell’s (http://www.shotwellsbar.com/). Nice selection of local and Belgian beers on tap, and I had a great Scottish ale in the bottle last time I went.

    • shap Says:

      Hi Alicia,

      Thanks so much for tipping us to Shotwell’s. We agree, it’s a great neighborhood bar with a terrific beer selection. We are in the process of writing them up and will have Shotwell’s posted soon. Hope to see you there sometime.

      Cheers,

      Steve

  26. Avin Says:

    Thanks for the list this is great. I’m going to print it out and leave it in my bag.

    One suggestion -

    I live in SF and work in Lafayette. I noticed no Lafayette bars. I’d suggest the Round Up. They have a good beer selection and they are about a third to half mile from the Lafayette BART station (just right down Mt. Diablo). Here’s their Yelp info – http://www.yelp.com/biz/the-round-up-lafayette

    Thanks again for the list.

    • shap Says:

      Hi Avin,

      Thanks for contacting us and thanks for the tip. We love hearing that people find our little site useful.

      Can you tell us more about the beer list at the Round Up? We would love to fill in the “good beer” gaps in the East Bay.

      Cheers,

      Steve

    • ben Says:

      Mountain Mike’s Pizza located just behind Lafayette Bart on Mt Diablo carries Concords own Ale Industries. They always have two of their beers on tap Orange Kush and Ryed Piper with an occasional third handle. Great Beers by a good little local brewery. Mountain Mike’s website- mountainmikeslafayette.com

      • Ben MAhoney Says:

        update on Mt Mikes-they now carry 5 handles of Ale Industies, also Firestone Walker ojn tap and Two Rivers Cider

  27. Gianni Says:

    1/4 mile North of Pleasant Hill station along Oak Road/Buskirk is:
    Back Forty Texas BBQ
    Roadhouse & Saloon

    As of 8/4/2009, on tap they pour:
    Guiness
    Lagunitas IPA
    Fat Tire
    Pyramid Curve Ball
    Blue Moon
    Sierra Nevada
    Widmer Hefewiesen
    Kona Longboard
    Stella Artois
    Coor’s Light
    Budweiser
    Budweiser Light

    Back Forty Texas BBQ
    Roadhouse & Saloon
    Pleasant Hill
    100 Coggins Drive
    Pleasant Hill, CA 94523

    http://www.backforty.us/
    Tel: (925) 935-1440
    Fax: (925) 935-1343
    email: information@backforty.us
    map: http://maps.yahoo.com/maps_result?newFL=Use+Address+Below&addr=100+Coggins+Drive&csz=pleasant+hill%2C+ca+94523&.intl=us&name=&lat=&lon=&srchtype=a&qty=&new=1&trf=0&getmap=Get+Map


  28. Thanks for the info about Back 40. Sounds like a nice place. It’s not exactly what we’re about with this guide, though, since this is for those who are seeking out elite regional craft beers or unusual imports. There are some perfectly nice beers on the list, along with some commonplace international American-style fizzy lagers, but we’re aiming for a step up from that sort of beer list. Places that perhaps carry Moonlight or other local “cult” beers, or that brew on site, or that have unusual imports will catch our attention. There are many cozy bars worth a visit, but not so many that appeal to the extreme beer geek as well as the beginning beer hunter. Those are the places we really want to list.

  29. Morgan Cox Says:

    Right off of Concord bart next to E.J. Phair there is a resturant named Fin’s. They only have one tap, but they are the only place that pours Concord’s newest Brewery, Ale Industries! They pour the Orange Kush, and also batter their fish with it!

  30. SAN Says:

    Tried a few of the places. Both Pacific Coast and the Trappist were very good. Was disappointed in Gordon Biersch. The festival beer was marginal, the hezenweisen only decent, and the food similar. But nice list – wish I had time in Frisco to try more.

    • Steve Shapiro Says:

      SAN,

      Glad you made it to at least a few of the venues on our list. We’ll do our best field research to keep it up to date so that when you visit again you can explore more good beer. Keep in mind San Francisco Beer Week, February 5-14, 2010. This would be a great time to visit us again.

      Cheers,

      Steve

    • mike Says:

      try the ROUGUE ALE HOUSE @ union & columbus and a few blocks farther KENNEDY’s (across from bimbos)


  31. Anchor & Hope Restaurant on 83 Minna, right near the Embarcadero and Montgomery Bart Stop, has 16 beers on tap and over 80 in the bottle!

  32. Charles Says:

    Anything good near the Orinda stop?

    • mike Says:

      there is a deli near the movie theare with very few good beers {mostly B-M-C) and a bev mo around the otherother side of the block

  33. Nathan Says:

    I don’t know if you do beer stores or not (I see City Beer, but they also sell beer on-site,) but if so, one suggestion would be Ledger’s Liquors, a 0.3 mile walk from the North Berkeley station:

    http://www.ledgersliquors.com

    • shap Says:

      Nathan, Thanks for contacting us. We don’t yet list beer stores. If we did, Healthy Spirits (15th and Castro, S.F.) would be on it, in addition to City Beer. We are discussing adding this list as well as restaurants with good beer lists to our site. Stay tuned.

      Cheers,

      Steve


  34. Thank you Nathan. Ledger’s is great and was already mentioned on the page about walking to Lanesplitter’s from North Berkeley Station already. Like Steve says, we’re looking at ways to keep the site simple, yet have more kinds of places.

  35. jinenne Says:

    The area around the 24th and mission station is a major bar zone. Two of my favorites are El Rio and Argus Lounge. We are always looking for dog friendly places to go for beanandolly.com so if you ever find a good dog bar please let us know or send us a guest post.

  36. troymccluresf Says:

    Hey, I’d suggest Kilowatt as a good option for 16th/SF. Right across from Monk’s Kettle, and it has a surprisingly good selection, especially for a shithole (in the good way) Mission dive.

  37. fraggle Says:

    ok, so maybe i didn’t e-mail you guys. in my brain i did!
    so, here it is writing, our Public Zoning Board meeting with the city of Oakland is Wednesday Dec 2nd.
    6pm
    Oakland City Hall
    One Frank H. Ogawa Plaza
    (14th and Broadway)
    1st Floor
    Hearing Room 1

    our website is
    http://www.beer-revolution.com (granted, there isn’t much there right now!)
    also have a myspace
    http://www.myspace.com/500286073
    and finally a facebook page which has confused the ehck out of me, so let me kick it a few more times

    our place will be (hopefully) at 464 3rd Street, corner of Broadway
    510-452-2337 (again, nuthin there yet!)
    and trallalalalalala
    good to see ya yesterday
    cheers
    fraggle and Rebecca

  38. Ben Mahoney Says:

    Mountain Mikes Lafayette has Ale Industries on tap Ryed Piper and Orange Kush as well as a large selection of other beers on tap as well. They are located directly behind Lafayette Bart(just take the stairs down) mountainmikeslafayette.com for complete beer list.


  39. What a great idea .. I wish public transportation was a little better around me so I could take advantage of something like this!

    Keep it up, cheers!


  40. You should add Bobby G’s Pizzeria on University Ave to your list for Downtown Berkeley BART. they only have 9 taps but they always have a good rotating tap (Unibroue, Moonlight and others) and they always have Pliny the Elder on draught. http://www.bobbygspizzeria.com
    Also Looney’s BBQ, they have about ~15 taps and lots of rotating, recently Anchor Xmas and Anchor Hopping. looneysbbq.com
    another is Meridian International Sports Bar with 20+ taps. several are rotating. (also on University Ave. http://www.berkeleymeridian.com

  41. Heather Says:

    Hey Gail and Steve,

    I met you a few months back at the Russian River, I was with my sister. I had mentioned to the both of you that I was interested in talking with you more about developing the beer program at my work in the Mission. If you could please email me I would love to talk with you more as the ball is finally rolling to a better beer selection. Happy New Year to you both and I look forward to getting back in contact

    Regards,
    Heather

    • shap Says:

      Hi Heather,

      We remember you from RR. We’d be happy to talk with you about the beer program at your restaurant. Email us at:

      beerbybart (at) yahoo (dot) com and we can set up a time to talk.

      Steve

  42. fraggle Says:

    thank you thank you thank you for making today a smashing success!

  43. G.R. Medina Says:

    You should check out Mua. It’s 5 blocks from 19th St BART in Oakland. They have a good beer selection (including Belgian) The taps rotate but they have several of them and you the kitchen is open until 1am Monday and Friday. It’s not the best burger I’ve had in my life, but I can’t tell you where to get a better one off the top of my head. http://www.muaoakland.com

  44. Harry Says:

    Cafe Biere has a great beer menu (posted on their website) and the food is good too. Small inside, but also some outside seating. Its about 1/2 mile from MacArthur BART Station at 3986 Adeline Street, emeryville, CA 94608.

  45. APSpitzer Says:

    Try Beckett’s in Berkeley, just a few blocks down from Downtown Berkeley BART station.

    2271 Shattuck Avenue between Bancroft and Kittridge.

    http://www.beckettsirishpub.com/


  46. You should add the wonderful Amsterdam Cafe on Geary between Larkin & Polk. Lots of bottles. Belgians. I think 12 taps. I really like this place. Nearest to Civic Center BART:

    http://www.amsterdamcafesf.com/

  47. mike Says:

    berkeley there is another place…MERIDIAN rest. 2 doors down from bobby g’s & MANNY’s 1/4 mile up to telegraph also the BEARS LAIR at the campus in sproul plaza

  48. snwbd Says:

    beer by bart is great but living in alameda theres beer on the 51 bus that starts in ala. near the lucky 13 (on park st) (to webster)SHAMROCK (also the PACIFIC PINBALL MUSEUM) and runs past BARTs 12th st, 19th st, near macarthur (CATO’S ALE HOUSE) , rockridge(BEN & NICK’s), berkeley, then past LEDGERS then down to san pablo ave (LANESPLITTERS & ALBTROSS)& on into the berkeley marina P.S. i will be doing this as a beer tour after the snow melts

  49. snwbd Says:

    30 TAPs 20 bottles at the LUCKY 13 in alameda via the 51 ac trans. bus from 12th st bart to park st walk 4 blocks south or fruitvale & 50 bus

  50. Adam Says:

    There’s a Pyramid Alehouse (and Brewery) at 901 Gilman St, Berkeley. It sits 1.5 miles away from the North Berkeley BART station, not much further from Lanesplitters which is also listed for that BART station.

    There’s also daily tours (and tastings) of the brewery at 4:00pm and they’re free. No reservation required.

    Walking Directions via Google Maps: http://maps.google.com/maps?f=d&source=s_d&saddr=North+Berkeley+BART,+Berkeley,+CA&daddr=901+Gilman+Street,+Berkeley,+CA&hl=en&geocode=FWrpQQIdlhi2-Cn9YcTsvn6FgDHrouLzB6mW0A%3BFRADQgIdldm1-ClBVekE0n6FgDFwbF220KbxSQ&mra=cc&dirflg=w&sll=37.876988,-122.291822&sspn=0.013076,0.02708&ie=UTF8&z=15

  51. Sean Joakimson Says:

    For anyone who likes Ale Industries beer, there is a Mountain Mike’s Pizza in Lafayette just a couple mins walk from the Lafayette Bart station and they serve 4 types of Ale Industries beer. Orange Kush, Ryed Piper, Extra Pale Ale, Anniversary Ale, and as soon as Orange Kush runs out they have Bill Brand Brown ready to go.

  52. Heidi Says:

    I wanted to let you know about a beer dinner that’s coming up at Paragon restaurant (they just implemented 12 new craft beers on tap, 6 more on the way) featuring Greg Koch CEO of Stone Brew CO, Brewers Kushal and Matt from Speakeasy and Shaun from 21A…4 courses from Spencer who’s been doing gastro pub since before it was a buzz word, dare I say old skool gastro pub? Anyway great people great beer, great food – I for one am psyched! Ticket link is here https://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/114615. Hope to see you there!

  53. alan Says:

    check us out! just opened for 6 weeks…got green flash ipa, speakeasy double daddy, spaten octoberfest, drakes red eye, drakes 1500 pale, bluestar wheat, longboard lager, guinness on tap right now!

    cheers,
    alan

  54. Cranberry Says:

    My friend wants to BART out to the Northbeach area to drink and find men-what’s our best bet?

    • shap Says:

      Cranberry,

      Check our site for the Montgomery St. BART station. From there it is a mile or so walk to some great North Beach Pubs.

      Cheers

  55. Al Says:

    Right in front of the Lafayette Station, maybe a 3 minute walk north on Mt. Diablo, is a pizza franchise called Mountain Mikes. This particular location has a special partnership or something with Ale Industries in Concord (http://www.ratebeer.com/brewers/ale-industries/10397/) and serves 5 or so of that brewers’ highly rated brews among a few other micro and macro taps. These beers are awesome and you’d never expect this little pizza joint to have such great micros – very cheap during happy hour, too. Gotta try it if you end up in Lafayette – it completely blows the local bar, The Saloon, out of the water.

  56. Shane Says:

    Excellent site guys. I think I will turn this list into some pub crawls.

  57. Damon Says:

    Great work!
    Found this linked from Beer Revolution’s site.

    Here are a few suggestions for additions near my local stop, 16th St, in SF: I second Chris’ mention, above, of Bender’s, at 19th St. and South Van Ness (whazzat, 4 pretty short blocks?), where it’s worth mentioning–free BBQ on Sunday afternoons; a little closer, on 16th, btwn Valencia and Guerrero, is Kilowatt, and across the street from that, roasting brats (’cause, like, not only do they serve sausages, but it can get extremely fucking hot and crowded) is the uber fixie friendly Gestalt.

    While I’m at it, stepping out of the Montgomery Station, if you’re keen to walk as far as Rogue or La Trappe, you might spare yourself a few steps, and stop at Church Key (sample menu).

    Anyhoo: cheers! I’ll bookmark this.

  58. Larry Says:

    No entries for Fremont Station?

  59. Bobby Says:

    Is there a Droid app for this?

    • shap Says:

      Bobby,

      Unfortunately, no. We have thought about this quite a bit. Since this is a hobby, not a business for us and we do not have the technical skill to develop apps for mobile devices, we probably need an App Angel to step forward to make this happen.

      Thanks for visiting our site.

      Steve

  60. alan yu Says:

    how do i get my pub/resto on your list?

    • shap Says:

      Hi Alan,

      Our list is dedicated to brewpubs, taverns other establishments that feature a wide selection of craft beers. We also limit our listings to those that are within a mile walking distance from a BART station. We visit any establishment meeting those criteria, usually more than once before listing.

      Thanks for visiting our site.

      Steve

  61. emily Says:

    Raleigh’s on Telegraph is a good one to add to the Downtown Berkeley stop.

  62. Drew Says:

    Hey I run a website called people of BART where we post pictures of the colorful people of BART check it out and add us to your blogroll if you like it.

  63. Cabran Says:

    I have one for your list: The Sutter Station, directly above the Montgomery BART station. It’s a great downtown SF bar with TV screens and tables and chairs in the front half, and a pool table in the back. Also a back door onto Sutter Street for those who are playing pool and want to step outside for a smoke… you don’t have to walk all the way to the front door and step out on to Market Street to do so!


  64. Thanks, Cabran. There are a lot of perfectly fine bars near BART stations that are not on this list because they are not specialized as places to discover and enjoy the bounty of this Craft Beer renaissance. You can get a decent beer at many places nowadays, but only select places offer top craft beer lists or produce their own in-house brews. Those are the ones we feature on this site, though you will see some less beer-savvy bars cited in the comments, such as Sutter Station.

  65. Amber Says:

    Your Civic Center Bart station needs some work. there are a buzzillion bars north of the station, yet you have people taking the muni to get some beer??


  66. No, no, no. Not “some beer.” Some of the best beers in the world. Worth a transfer.

    This is not meant to be a bar guide. It’s a good beer guide, for when you want to be pretty damn choosy about seeking out fine beers. Most of our destinations are easily walkable, but we had to make a few exceptions. If you fly into SF looking for beer, you will want to know how to get to Toronado, and it could not be left off. The 71 bus goes closest from Civic Center, and the N Judah line comes pretty close, too. Had to be included for beer geeks everywhere!


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