Beer Me! — Drake's Brewing — San Leandro, California, United States

Read about our trip to Germany and Prague at
The "Beer Me" Blog!

This is not the official web site of

Drake's Brewing

1933 Davis Street #177
San Leandro CA 94577
Telephone: +1 510-568-2739
Hours: Wednesday-Thursday 3:00pm-9:00pm, Friday-Saturday noon-9:00pm, Sunday noon-7:00pm. Closed the first Friday of each month.
Brewer: Alexandra Nowell
[Contact] [Update]

Notes

Opened: 1989

Contributors: Diane Crawford, Arash Shahzadi, Siegfried Binge

Formerly Lind Brewing.

Updated: October 30, 2018

News

2008-10-06: San Leandro craft brewery sold to Triple Rock (Contra Costa Times)

Beer List

1500 Dry-Hopped Pale Ale

American-Style Pale Ale

5.50% abv.
Awards:
- Silver Medal, 2010 World Beer Cup
- Silver Medal, 2008 Great American Beer Festival
- Date: June 29, 2014 (#9446)
  
  Package: draught
  
  Place: Original Gravity Public House, San Jose CA
  
  Score: 18½ points
  
  Appearance (3)
  Bright golden. Dense head.
  
  Aroma (3½)
  Big resiny, piney hops.
  
  Mouthfeel (9)
  Medium body, smooth. Nicely malty, with a big piney hop flavor. Reasonably bitter. Clean hoppy finish.
  
  Overall Impression (3)

Alpha Session

Ordinary Bitter

3.80% abv.

Bacchus Ale

Traditional German-Style Bock

Date: March 26, 1995 (#830)

Package: draught

Place: The HopYard, Pleasanton CA

Score: 11½ points

Overall Impression (2½)
Red, hazy. Fairly thin head. Very fruity...citrus...with some caramel aromas. Very fruity flavor. Not a Bock at all. Very fruity. Very fruity. I wouldn't be opposed to calling this a Barleywine.
Date: May 22, 1994 (#342)

Package: draught

Place: Lyon's Brewery, Dublin CA

Score: 10 points

Overall Impression (1½)
Very red-amber. Thin head. Spicy hop aroma. Very faint malt. Too much hops. Sweet. Sticky. Not well-balanced at all. Some caramel flavor. Bah.

Black Robusto Porter

Robust Porter

Awards:

Silver Medal, 2013 Great American Beer Festival

Captain's Porter

Brown Porter

Date: June 5, 1995 (#998)

Package: draught

Place: The HopYard, Pleasanton CA

Score: 14 points

Overall Impression (2½)
Dark red, clear...not quite as dark as Santa Rosa Porter (14-0997). Slightly perfumey. Some coffee...flavors are subtle compared to Santa Rosa Porter.
Date: June 16, 1994 (#350)

Package: draught

Place: Pacific Coast Brewing, Oakland CA

Score: 19½ points

Overall Impression (4)
Very very very dark red. Just a hint of light through the blackness. No head. Some black malt aroma, and some alcohol? Could be bigger. Good body and balance. Finishes strong but clean. No astringency. Chocolatey notes.

Chinookian Dark Ale

7.50% abv.

Denogginizer

Imperial or Double India Pale Ale

9.75% abv.

Awards:

Silver Medal, 2009 Great American Beer Festival

Drake's Ale

English-Style Brown Ale

Date: September 12, 1995 (#1194)

Package: draught

Place: The HopYard, Pleasanton CA

Score: 13½ points

Overall Impression (2½)
Red, flat, very low head. Caramel, diacetyl aromas. Very bock-like. Big caramel and alcohol flavors.
Date: February 12, 1994 (#311)

Package: draught

Place: Lyon's Brewery, Dublin CA

Score: 13 points

Overall Impression (2½)
Amber, clear. Very fruity nose. Hoppy flavor with a nice grain balance.
Date: February 4, 1994 (#307)

Package: draught

Place: Pacific Coast Brewing, Oakland CA

Score: 15½ points

Overall Impression (3)
Red, fine white head. Citrusy-fruit aroma. Kinda reminds me of Hi-C. Tastes very brown! Sweet (maybe too). Brown finish (and start) (and middle). If this is supposed to be a Brown Ale, it's fine. If it's supposed to be a Pale Ale, bah.
Date: July 5, 1993 (#128)

Package: draught

Place: Lyon's Brewery, Dublin CA

Score: 15 points

Overall Impression (2½)
Red, clear...thick white head. Very fruity nose. A little maltiness. A little thin. Bitter, but not too bitter. Good crystal sweetness...could use more. Like Double Diamond Ale: very Brown-Ale-like.

Date: September 24, 1995 (#1209)

Package: draught

Place: The HopYard, Pleasanton CA

Score: 15 points

Overall Impression (2½)
Red-brown, high carbonation, good head. Caramel and hop aromas. Lots of caramel, finishes very sweet, with a hint of hops. Good Brown Ale.

Date: April 18, 1995 (#864)

Package: draught

Place: The HopYard, Pleasanton CA

Score: 11 points

Overall Impression (2)
Clear, darkish gold. Centennials? Whatever...hops, anyway. Hoppy, not bitter. Sweet. Not impressed.

Date: February 6, 1995 (#762)

Package: draught

Place: The Depot, Concord CA

Score: 14½ points

Overall Impression (3)
OK...it's gold. Fizzy. Spicy nose. Light body, good carbonation bite. Spicy hop flavor.

Date: December 13, 1994 (#648)

Package: hand-pumped

Place: The HopYard, Pleasanton CA

Score: 18 points

Overall Impression (3)
Light amber, some haze. Huge white head. Remarkably clear coming from the hand pump. Some spicy hop aroma. A little soapy. Very smooth. Great long finish.

Date: January 25, 1992 (#2507)

Package: draught

Place: Lyon's Brewery, Dublin CA

Overall Impression
Fresh keg. Outstanding! Smells like hops fresh from the bag.

Date: June 24, 1994 (#357)

Package: draught

Place: Lyon's Brewery, Dublin CA

Score: 17 points

Overall Impression (3)
Yellow. Clear. Good carbonation. Very lager-like aroma. No discernible wheat. Good body. Sweet from start to finish with good hop balance. Some toasted malt? This makes two hits in a row for Roger...see Captain's Porter (6-0350).

Date: January 27, 1995 (#736)

Package: draught

Place: The HopYard, Pleasanton CA

Score: 16½ points

Overall Impression (3½)
Very red. OK head. Caramel aroma and flavor. Alcohol taste. If I didn't know better, I'd call it a Barleywine.

Date: December 18, 1994 (#652)

Package: draught

Place: Pacific Coast Brewing, Oakland CA

Score: 16½ points

Overall Impression (3½)
Dark amber, good white head. Clean aroma. Smooth. Bitter. Dark.

Date: December 12, 1992 (#2497)

Package: draught

Score: 12 points

Overall Impression (2½)
No head, low carbonation. Considerable alcoholic strength. Very sweet, like a minor Barleywine. (Billed as a "Strong Amber".) Maybe it's just young. A LOT of people like this beer.

Date: June 28, 1993 (#109)

Package: draught

Place: Pacific Coast Brewing, Oakland CA

Score: 16 points

Overall Impression (3)
Surprise! Not on the menu...expectations aren't high. Good amber, head. Sweet malty nose. Hops in background, where they should be. Good caramel..."brown" taste. Great body! Holy cow...best beer Roger has done! Used Sudwerk's yeast.

Date: (Date unknown) (#1966)

Package: draught

Place: Pacific Coast Brewing, Oakland CA

Overall Impression
Not very hoppy, grainy taste. Red in color. This is good stuff.

Date: January 27, 1995 (#731)

Package: draught

Place: The HopYard, Pleasanton CA

Score: 13 points

Overall Impression (2½)
Amber, not particularly red. Strawberries and malt aroma. Hi-C flavor.

Date: July 5, 1993 (#135)

Package: draught

Place: Lyon's Brewery, Dublin CA

Score: 14 points

Overall Impression (2½)
Looks pretty flat. Dark yellow-amber. Lots o'raspberry aroma. Good. Typical wheat beer body with just enough raspberry flavor. "25% wheat, raspberry concentrate essence".

Date: September 6, 1994 (#443)

Package: draught

Place: The HopYard, Pleasanton CA

Score: 13½ points

Overall Impression (2½)
Beautiful red. Thick white head. Chocolate spicy nose. OK balance. Fruity. OK body. Quite smooth.

Date: September 12, 1995 (#1195)

Package: draught

Place: The HopYard, Pleasanton CA

Score: 16 points

Overall Impression (3)
Black, good brown head. Coffee aroma. Thick and black and bitter.

Date: February 7, 1993 (#2521)

Package: hand-pumped

Place: Lyon's Brewery, Dublin CA

Overall Impression
Very burnt. Warm, creamy.

Date: April 7, 1995 (#854)

Package: hand-pumped

Place: The HopYard, Pleasanton CA

Score: 11 points

Overall Impression (2)
Dark yellow-amber opaque. Enormous big head, of course. Fresh hop aroma...but something is very slightly off. Thick, finishes pretty quick. Mild rancid nose really detracts from a great beer!

Date: February 18, 1995 (#780)

Package: nitrogenated

Place: The HopYard, Pleasanton CA

Score: 18 points

Overall Impression (3)
Yellow hazy. Huge head from this "nitro-charged funny tap". Fresh hop aroma. Thick. Great pale ale flavors...great body too. Looks, smells, and feels like a great Hefeweizen, without the wheat.

Date: June 27, 1993 (#98)

Package: draught

Place: Lyon's Brewery, Dublin CA

Score: 14½ points

Overall Impression (3)
Unfiltered? This stuff is crystal-clear. Yellow, light carbonation. Faint wheat malt aroma. Typical "pilsner" body with strong wheat sweetness...a bit too much. Certainly a good wheat beer, but definitely not "Hefe". Very sweet from start to finish.

Date: November 26, 1994 (#614)

Package: draught

Place: The HopYard, Pleasanton CA

Score: 15 points

Overall Impression (2½)
Red. Slight haze. Flat. Some fruit aroma, some spice...all reasonably faint. Nutmeg etc flavors. Nicely done, not overpowering. A little sweet...OK.

Date: August 8, 1994 (#404)

Package: draught

Place: The HopYard, Pleasanton CA

Score: 14 points

Overall Impression (2½)
Golden. Great head. Clear. Grainy aroma...very slightly musty. Bitter, then sweet! Then a long bitter finish. Good...weird, but good.