Bistro (Hayward)
The Bistro in Hayward is a cozy neighborhood bar noted for an excellent beer menu, and major but compact and intimate regional beer festivals and events throughout the year.
The Bistro sponsors the Double IPA Festival in February, one of the key events of SF Beer Week. They also feature a Hop rhizome planting festival in April. (If you want to grow elite varieties of hops on your back porch this is a don’t-miss event.) There is an extensive and historically significant IPA Festival in August which has had all the great West Coast brewers competing for years now. Then they celebrate the harvest with a freshly-picked Wet Hop harvest beer fest in early October. The Barrel-Aged Beer Festival has followed each November since 2006, with soured, bourbon-flavored and other exotic barrel beers. Owners Cynthia and Vic Kralj always roll up their sleeves and put on world class but intimate events.
When not in the festival mode, they are a comfortable destination with 12 taps (never short on choices of big-hopped beers) and an extensive collection of bottled Belgian beers. They usually offer a simple food menu with sandwich and soup choices.
Extras: The Bistro features live local music every night (and at festivals). You can also visit an historic brewpub from this station. Just 1 block away is Buffalo Bill’s Brewery for site-seeing purposes.
Walking from BART: Exit the station towards B Street, and turn right towards the hills. Continue for about three and a half blocks to the corner of B and Main. The Bistro is on your right.
Official Hayward Station Info
from BART to the Bistro. (Extra: On foot you can take a shortcut by crossing directly from BART, and following around the City Hall building on a pleasant walkway by a fountain. Return to the street route at B street and Watkins.)
November 30, 2007 at 12:47 pm
just a couple of items I thought I could correct for you :
We have a Hop Rhizome Festival in April
We have a Wet Hop Festival in October
12 taps on the wall — always an extreme beer by the bottle and also we have live music every night.
thanks for including us!!
Cheers,
Cynthia
December 14, 2007 at 12:33 am
Cynthia,
Thanks for the update and of course for your great hospitality at the Bistro. I don’t know how we forgot these two festivals. See you soon.
Cheers,
Steve
February 16, 2008 at 12:52 am
[...] February 9: Double IPA: Take BART to The Bistro. [...]
October 7, 2008 at 7:00 pm
Another wonderful festival at The Bistro Saturday. Love those wet hopped harvest beers http://www.flickr.com/photos/gail/2922734703
November 18, 2008 at 3:48 am
[...] at The Bistro in Hayward, California, the Barrel Aged Festival arrived like a cherished holiday. What can you say [...]
January 25, 2009 at 3:58 pm
Of course The Bistro has amazing events lined up for SF BEER WEEK 2009, including the legendary Double IPA Festival that has always made February magic around here.
We will be there. They also have sensory experimenting, cheese pairing, and more. Trust that they have their events described and listed on their always together website:
http://www.the-bistro.com/events.htm
Also, if you come to our beer judging class on the 15th, you might go back over to the Bistro for food or drinks following. It’s easy by BART.
December 18, 2009 at 3:56 am
Thanks so much for providing the map!!!!
December 20, 2009 at 1:00 am
BKR,
Glad we could be of assistance. The Bistro was one of the great beer bars that spurred us to create this website.
Cheers,
Steve
February 10, 2011 at 7:15 am
[...] main page, with details that will assure you how easy it is to get to places like Hayward (for the Double IPA Festival), and dozens of other [...]
October 4, 2012 at 4:52 pm
[...] dried and baled first, is the Wet Hop Festival, this Saturday. The low key annual festival at the Bistro in Hayward, California, is happily near a BART station. Over the years this has been one of our [...]