Beer Me! — Pacific Coast Brewing — Oakland, California, United States

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Pacific Coast Brewing

906 Washington Street
Oakland CA 94607
Telephone: +1 510-836-2739
Hours: Open daily 11:30am-midnight.
Brewer: Steve Sites, Don Gortemiller
[Contact] [Update]

Notes

Visited: February 27, 1998

Opened: 1988

Closed: 2017

Annual Production: 431 bbl

Contributor: Arash Shahzadi

Pacific Coast was my local haunt during the early 1990s. Pretty good selection of beers, both their own and various micros and imports. They're an extract house, but for what it's worth, they won at least one medal at the GABF every year, until they were finally shut out in 1996. Great kitchen, considering what they have to work with. Tell 'em "RD" sent you...

Directions: If you're coming from San Francisco, take the Bay Bridge to 580 East to 980 "Downtown Oakland". Exit at 11th/12th Street. Turn left on 11th, right on Clay, left on 9th, left on Washington. Pacific Coast is on the right. If you're coming from the South Bay, take 880 North all the way to Oakland. Exit at Broadway, but don't turn at the traffic light. Go one more block and turn right on Washington. Pacific Coast will be about four blocks along on the right.

Updated: September 24, 2017

News

2017-09-22: Oakland’s Pacific Coast Brewing To Close Its Doors After 29 Years (Brookston Beer Bulletin)

Beer List

(Name Deleted By Pilgrim's Pride Lawyers)

Specialty Beer
- Date: November 9, 1994 (#593)
  
  Package: draught
  
  Place: at the brewery
  
  Score: 9½ points
  
  Overall Impression (2½)
  Brown. Head OK. Lots of haze. Aroma: Twang! Flavor: Twang! Is it the maple or the extract? Probably both. There's a good brown flavor under there somewhere. Made with maple syrup.
  This beer really did have a proper name once, but lawyers from Pilgrim's Pride Corporation, "the fourth largest producer of chicken products out of forty-eight in the United States", alleged copyright infringement. They made this allegation almost three years after the last batch was brewed. Shakespeare was right.

Acorn IPA

American-Style India Pale Ale

Date: June 15, 1994 (#348)

Package: draught

Place: at the brewery

Score: 17 points

Overall Impression (3)
Nice amber. Fizzy. Good head, but it fell fairly quickly. Clear. Fruity nose with a good malty background. Could be more assertive. Good body. Excellent balance and bitterness. Heavy enough to be interesting and light enough to be refreshing. Finishes clean. Very slight astringency. Finally something nearly outstanding from PCB.
Date: February 4, 1994 (#306)

Package: draught

Place: at the brewery

Score: 15½ points

Overall Impression (3)
Good color and head. Hazy. Fine hop nose. Big hop taste. Some Pacific Coast house flavor (oak?) evident but not prominent. Carbonation is just a little light but OK. Long bitter finish.
Date: April 23, 1993 (#10)

Package: draught

Place: at the brewery

Score: 14½ points

Overall Impression (3)
Amber color, carbonation very fine and very sparse. Good hop nose...not at all flowery. Thick. Carbonation comes out on the tongue. Nice bitterness from start to finish. This is a pretty good beer. Not a great beer, but a pretty good beer. I wouldn't turn it down if you bought me one. Their description: "...hoppy pale ale with intense hop aroma from dry hopping with Mt.Hood hops and strong oak flavor from extended maturing over oak chips. The brewing water has been adjusted to more closely approximate English hard water."

Amethyst Ale

Garden (Fruit Wheat) Beer

Date: June 4, 1993 (#1166)

Package: draught

Place: at the brewery

Score: 15 points

Overall Impression (2½)
Deep amber. Flowery nose. Good flavors...even though it's a fruit beer. (Found these notes two years after I lost them.)

Belgian Triple

Belgian-Style Tripel

Awards:

Gold Medal, 1995 Great American Beer Festival
Bronze Medal, 1994 Great American Beer Festival

Date: February 5, 1995 (#757)

Package: draught

Place: at the brewery

Score: 11½ points

Overall Impression (2½)
Very hazy dark yellow. No visible carbonation, some head. Aromatic banana esters...lots and lots of them. Tastes like burnt bananas. Thick, cloying. Finished ahead of Celis Grand Cru at the 1995 GABF.
Date: May 7, 1994 (#328)

Package: draught

Place: at the brewery

Score: 12 points

Overall Impression (2½)
Pale amber. Hazy. Spicy-sour aroma. Very thick. Spicy...very fruity. Sweet. Not sour enough. This is much better than it was in December.

Date: January 15, 1995 (#716)

Package: draught

Place: at the brewery

Score: 15 points

Overall Impression (2½)
Nice amber, clear. Big amber head. Centennial nose? Very spicy hops and nothing else. Big body. Spicy. Long long bitter finish...too much? Never the same beer twice. Goes good with Beer Nuts.

Date: May 22, 1994 (#332)

Package: draught

Place: Berkeley Beer Festival, Berkeley CA

Score: 14 points

Overall Impression (2½)
Brown-amber. Cloudy. Thick white head. Very spicy aroma. Good body...maltiness is there but it vanishes quickly to be replaced by those mighty spicy hops. Very short bitter finish. Better than I remember it.

Date: June 30, 1993 (#112)

Package: draught

Place: at the brewery

Score: 15 points

Overall Impression (2½)
Very very dark red. Fine head. Smells of crystal malts. Great smooth body, and while bitter, it's not the hop bomb that I remember. Crystal malt gives a good smoky sweetness. Tasty...and tastes very strong.

Date: September 5, 1997 (#2237)

Package: real ale

Place: at the brewery

Score: 16½ points

Overall Impression (3½)
Red-brown, real nice head. Alcoholic, spicy aroma. Real smooth, bitter enough, nice balance. Creamy.

Date: January 15, 1995 (#718)

Package: draught

Place: at the brewery

Score: 19 points

Overall Impression (3½)
Deep amber. Throws an alarmingly large head. Sweet, alcoholic aroma. Bitter, but smooth. Really complex and tasty. Blue Whale on steroids.

Date: March 22, 1995 (#814)

Package: draught

Place: at the brewery

Score: 14½ points

Overall Impression (3)
Red, moderate carbonation, not much head. Caramel nose, some alcohol. Reasonably chewy and well-balanced. Some bite and astringency in finish.

Date: November 14, 1994 (#600)

Package: draught

Place: at the brewery

Overall Impression
49ers vs. Cowboys on TV. It was supposed to be hockey season by now. Thank you, Gary Bettman...you suck. I was so mad I forgot to write down any notes for this beer.

Date: August 23, 1994 (#425)

Package: draught

Place: at the brewery

Score: 13½ points

Overall Impression (2½)
Thin head. Red. Very hazy. Sharp "house" nose. Some caramel comes through. Full body and flavors. Chocolate notes. Good carbonation. Lingering sweetness in finish OK...bitter too. OG 1060. "Strong Red Ale...most popular seasonal beer."

Date: March 22, 1993 (#3)

Package: draught

Place: at the brewery

Score: 13½ points

Overall Impression (2½)
Deep red color, very nice. Minimal head. Slightly malty nose, but unremarkable. Good enough flavor. A bit too much residual sweetness, but that's my taste. It's a lot like McNalley's Extra Ale, but not quite.

Date: February 27, 1998 (#2405)

Package: real ale

Place: at the brewery

Score: 16 points

Overall Impression (3)
Dark golden hazy, thick head. Herbal sweet aroma. Thick, nearly flat, pretty malty. Not nearly so hoppy as the CO₂ version...much better balance.

Date: November 27, 1994 (#620)

Package: draught

Place: at the brewery

Score: 12½ points

Overall Impression (2½)
Yellow hazy. Coarse carbonation. OK white head. Citrus fruit aroma, with a hint of spice. Bitter...too much in start. Fruitiness OK. Too light to carry bitterness.

Date: July 13, 1993 (#142)

Package: draught

Place: at the brewery

Score: 10½ points

Overall Impression (2)
Yellowish-brown. Fruity hops. Thin. Sour, even. It's usually better than this! Too young, maybe? Bah! Was much better last week.

Date: June 21, 1993 (#92)

Package: draught

Place: at the brewery

Score: 13 points

Overall Impression (2½)
Quite red. Flowery. Very hoppy, in fact more than I remember.

Date: December 12, 1992 (#2499)

Package: draught

Score: 16½ points

Overall Impression (3½)
Wow! He's right - more like port than beer. Slight lactic acid taste. Good stuff! Strong alcohol, but not overpowering alcohol flavor.

Date: August 13, 1993 (#157)

Package: draught

Place: at the brewery

Score: 15 points

Overall Impression (2½)
Very nice copper color. Very hazy. Light carbonation. Bitter hop smell! Thick, sweet, and bitter...fair balance. Slightly alcoholic. Some lactic sourness? No, I guess not.

Date: November 5, 1992 (#1943)

Package: draught

Place: at the brewery

Overall Impression
They call it an "unfiltered amber wheat bock". Smells, tastes like paint thinner. Got better after the first few tastes, though...

Date: December 18, 1994 (#651)

Package: draught

Place: at the brewery

Score: 17 points

Overall Impression (3)
Dark amber, hazy. Big spicy hop nose. Big spicy hop flavor, but pretty well-balanced. Probably the best beer they've ever brewed. Columbus hops replace Centennials...I like 'em! (This beer was renamed Columbus IPA in 1995.)

Date: February 26, 1998 (#2403)

Package: bottled

Place: from the brewery

Score: 14½ points

Overall Impression (3)
Dark red brown, large head, high carbonation. Herbal, caramelly aroma. High carbonation, lots of alcohol. Thick, sweet. Too much fizz. Bottled 11/5/97.

Date: November 9, 1994 (#594)

Package: draught

Place: at the brewery

Score: 14 points

Overall Impression (2½)
Amber flat hazy. Quick head. Slight hoppy aroma. Body OK...a little thin. Good bitterness lingers.

Date: December 18, 1994 (#656)

Package: draught

Place: at the brewery

Score: 19 points

Overall Impression (3½)
Black. Thin brown head. Black aroma, and alcohol! Black flavor, and alcohol! Very burnt, some astringency. My all-time favorite PCB beer.

Date: May 22, 1994 (#331)

Package: draught

Place: Berkeley Beer Festival, Berkeley CA

Score: 18 points

Overall Impression (3)
Dead black. Good brown head. Alcohol and chocolate nose. Thick. Alcoholic, chocolate and black malts. Bitter...well-balanced.

Date: August 12, 1993 (#155)

Package: draught

Place: at the brewery

Score: 16 points

Overall Impression (3)
Black opaque. Thick head. Alcoholic and burnt aromas. Thick. This is a very strong beer, flavor and alcohol content. Bitter/sour bite.

Date: December 12, 1992 (#2506)

Package: draught

Score: 17 points

Overall Impression (3)

Date: March 22, 1995 (#815)

Package: draught

Place: at the brewery

Score: 16 points

Overall Impression (3)
Black, good brown head. Burnt aroma and flavors. Pretty clean. Quick bitterness in finish.

Date: June 18, 1994 (#354)

Package: draught

Place: at the brewery

Score: 12 points

Overall Impression (2½)
Dark brown-red. Brown head. Some haze. Brown sugar and diacetyl aromas. Bitter. Black malt overpowering. Not much body.

Date: June 21, 1993 (#89)

Package: draught

Place: at the brewery

Score: 13 points

Overall Impression (2½)
Black! Head is almost but not quite thick and creamy. Almost but not quite right. Burnt and roasty, but there's a slight sourness that I'm tempted to attribute to extract. Sourness much more evident in flavor than in aroma. Otherwise fine...too bad. Infected?

Date: May 7, 1994 (#326)

Package: draught

Place: at the brewery

Score: 16 points

Overall Impression (3)
Brown opaque. Lots o'alcohol in the nose. Smells like a Porter otherwise. Tastes like a Porter, but very high alcohol and a big sweet finish.

Date: May 16, 1993 (#34)

Package: draught

Score: 15½ points

Overall Impression (3)
Very dark. Smells like a Porter. Sweet. Lots of dark malt flavors, and a rare hop bitterness. Best Doppelbock of the day.

Date: June 28, 1993 (#107)

Package: draught

Place: at the brewery

Score: 11½ points

Overall Impression (2½)
Hazy yellow, fine bubbles. Faint hop aroma...had to swirl a lot to bring them out. Very sweet - honey too strong, I think. Odd bitter finish. Not impressed.