Finding Good Beer by BART, station by station

There’s good beer – local west coast ales and other craft brews – all over the Bay Area, and there’s no paucity of good beer within walking distance of public transit. Get out of the car, onto Bay Area Rapid Transit or other transit options and into slow, delicious pints. Oh yeah: B.A.R.T. normally closes (station by station) starting at about midnight. Uncivilized, but important to know. Some SF-MUNI lines run all night.

Detailed guides to a growing number of craft beer places near transit. (Also listed alphabetically in the right column).    One shoe spacer is up to one quarter mile walking, one way:

  • Rockridge Station, Oakland
    • Barclay’s (Bar/restaurant) spacer
    • Ben and Nick’s (Bar/restaurant) spacer
  • Berkeley Station, Berkeley
    •  Jupiter (Brewpub) spacer
    •  Triple Rock (Brewpub) spacer
    •  Bobby G’s (Restaurant/bar) spacer
  • North Berkeley Station, Berkeley
    • The Albatross Pub (Bar) spacer spacer spacer
    • Lanesplitter (Bar/pizza restaurant) spacer spacer spacer
  • El Cerrito Plaza Station, El Cerrito
    • Elevation 66 Brewing Company (Brewpub NEW 2011) spacer
  • Hayward Station, Hayward
    • The Bistro (Bar) spacer
    • Buffalo Bill’s (Brewpub) spacer spacer
  • San Leandro Station, San Leandro
    • Drakes (Brewery/tasting room) spacer spacer spacer spacer spacer
    • The Englander (Bar/restaurant) spacer spacer
  • Concord Station, Concord
    • E. J. Phair (Brewpub) spacer spacer
  • Walnut Creek Station, Walnut Creek
    • Øl Beercafe (Bottle shop and beer bar NEW 2011) spacer spacer
    • Pyramid (Brewpub) spacer spacer spacer
  • Lafayette Station, Lafayette
    • Mountain Mike’s Pizza (Pizza restaurant) spacer
  • MacArthur Station, Oakland
    • Lanesplitter (Bar/pizza restaurant) spacer spacer
    • Cato’s (Bar/restaurant) spacer spacer spacer spacer
  • 19th Street Station, Oakland
    • Luka’s Taproom. (Bar/restaurant) spacer
  • 12th Street Station, Oakland
    • Beer Revolution (Bottle shop & bar) spacer spacer
    • Pacific Coast Brewing Co. (Brewpub) spacer
    • The Trappist (Bar) spacer
  • Embarcadero Station, S.F
    • Gordon Biersch (Brewpub) spacer spacer spacer
    • Marin Brewing Company (Brewpub, by ferry)spacer spacer
    • Noonan’s (CLOSED 2009)
  • Montgomery Station, S.F
    • Anchor and Hope (Restaurant/Bar)spacer
    • Church Key (Bar) spacer spacer spacer
    • ThirstyBear (Brewpub) spacer spacer
    • 21st Amendment (Brewpub) spacer spacer spacer
    • Public House (Bar/restaurant) spacer spacer spacer spacer spacer
    • San Francisco Brewing Co. (CLOSED 2009)
    • Rogue Ale Pub (Bar/restaurant) spacer spacer spacer spacer
    • La Trappe (Bar/restaurant) spacer spacer spacer spacer spacer
  • Powell Station, S.F.
    • Amsterdam Cafe (Bar/cafe) spacer spacer spacer
    • The Beer Zone at Lori’s (Bar/restaurant) spacer
  • Civic Center Station, S.F
    • City Beer Store (Bottle shop & bar Newly Expanded 2011) spacer spacer
    • Suppenküche (Restaurant/bar) spacer spacer spacer
    • Lucky 13 (Bar, take MUNI from BART) spacer
    • Toronado (Bar, take MUNI from BART) spacer
    • Magnolia Gastropub (Brewpub, take MUNI from BART) spacer
    • Social Kitchen Brewery (Brewpub, take MUNI from BART) spacer
    • Beach Chalet (Brewpub, take MUNI light rail from BART, then walk) spacer spacer spacer
  • 16th Street Station, S.F.
    • The Monk’s Kettle (Bar/Restaurant) spacer
    • Southern Pacific Brewing (Brewpub NEW 2012) spacer spacer spacer
    • Zeitgeist (Bar) spacer spacer
  • 24th Street Station, S.F.
    • Amnesia (Bar) spacer spacer
    • Pi Bar (Bar/Restaurant) spacer
    • Shotwell’s (Bar) spacer spacer spacer
    • Rosamunde Sausage Grill (Restaurant/bar) spacer
  • San Bruno Station
    • BJs (Brewpub) spacer
  • Millbrae Station (Another list of brewpubs to the south of this BART station, via CalTrain ) spacer

List of non-pub craft breweries: Mass transit to non-brewpub craft breweries 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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64 Comments on “Finding Good Beer by BART, station by station”

  1. spacer Gail Ann Williams Says:

    July 30, 2010 at 9:35 pm

    Quick clean-up note — just moved the older comments to this page: beerbybart.com/comments/ where we’ll archive the suggestions and comments. Onward!

    Reply
    • spacer Rajiv Khanna Says:

      March 18, 2011 at 3:35 pm

      Thanks for the website, guys. Another suggestion: Gestalt Haus right by the 16th St Mission SF BART. This place is close to Monk’s Kettle, but less pretentious.

      Reply
    • spacer shap Says:

      March 19, 2011 at 2:36 pm

      Hi Rajiv, Thanks for contacting us. We have actually listed Gestalt on our 16th St page. There is a link to them at the bottom of the page along with Dalva and Elixer. I have noticed that their beer list has been improving in the past 6 months and we may consider them for a full listing. Cheers, Steve

      Reply
  2. spacer Damon Says:

    July 31, 2010 at 7:24 am

    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.

    Reply
  3. spacer Larry Says:

    August 11, 2010 at 7:09 am

    No entries for Fremont Station?

    Reply
  4. spacer Bobby Says:

    August 11, 2010 at 11:22 am

    Is there a Droid app for this?

    Reply
    • spacer shap Says:

      August 11, 2010 at 1:47 pm

      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

      Reply
  5. spacer alan yu Says:

    August 11, 2010 at 11:35 am

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

    Reply
    • spacer shap Says:

      August 11, 2010 at 1:43 pm

      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

      Reply
  6. spacer emily Says:

    August 11, 2010 at 5:36 pm

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

    Reply
  7. spacer Drew Says:

    August 12, 2010 at 3:44 pm

    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.

    Reply
  8. spacer Cabran Says:

    August 14, 2010 at 11:02 pm

    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!

    Reply
  9. spacer Gail Ann Williams Says:

    August 16, 2010 at 12:08 pm

    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 some 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 fun but less beer-savvy bars cited in the comments, such as Sutter Station.

    Reply
  10. spacer Amber Says:

    August 17, 2010 at 10:19 am

    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??

    Reply
  11. spacer Gail Ann Williams Says:

    August 17, 2010 at 10:27 am

    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!

    Reply
  12. spacer Aaron C. Says:

    September 9, 2010 at 8:04 pm

    Hello Beerbybarters . . .

    First, let me thank you for this great resource. It was a great help when I visited SF last November. I will be in San Francisco September 24-27 and would love to shoot a quick interview with you all. It would only take a few moments of your time. It is for my website (mylastpint.com). I would love to have Beer by BART featured on the site.

    As an example, this is the one I shot with Sam Calagione: www.mylastpint.com/?p=17

    The questions:

    What would be the last pint of your life, if you could choose anything?

    What would be the setting for your last pint? It could be anywhere.

    What would you eat with your last pint, if anything?

    With whom would you drink your last pint?

    Thank you, hope to see you soon.

    Aaron Chamberlain
    www.mylastpint.com
    www.twitter.com/mylastpint
    www.twitter.com/elmachuca

    Reply
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