Beer Revolution

BeerAficionadoMCMXC

California

3.3/5  rDev -24.3%
vibe: 3 | quality: 3.5 | service: 3 | selection: 4 | food: 2 | $$

It was packed, but the beer selection was great. There was a nice little pub next door that I heard was even better. If I could remember the name that might help. The food wasn't worth my time, and the beers were a bit pricey, but perhaps that is the Oakland rate. Overall, I would certainly come back to this place, especially if a lovely lady were accompanying me.

05-19-2013 07:11:39 | More by BeerAficionadoMCMXC

Ilovebeer1549

California

4.64/5  rDev +6.4%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4.75 | selection: 4.75 | $$

Stumbled into this place on the way to another place when we heard a buzz of a crowd as we walked by. Asked myself, "why not?" Cool vibe inside. No t.v.'s just beer cans, banners, stickers and bottle caps. Oh ya and 50 beers on tap!! The place is a little bit on the trashy side...just like I like my women. I give it two thumbs up.

05-18-2013 03:41:36 | More by Ilovebeer1549

CopeTech

California

3.28/5  rDev -24.8%
vibe: 2.75 | quality: 3.25 | service: 3 | selection: 4.5 | food: 1.5 | $$

Atmosphere - Interior is dark and dank, the new space is more open but flavorless. The exterior is more fun but picnic tables with an occasional umbrella forces you to sit too close to people you probably don't want to. But on a sunny weekday afternoon it can be pretty nice.
Quality - Pretty good, I think the owners carea nad are involved, I disgree with many of their choices but ok.
Service - rough, we were turned away from the bar since we also wanted to order food, then the waitress kept routing away from us.
The bottle list here is very good, if you don't like the extensive tap list, the wall of coolers are very good. Teh tap list tends to have 3-6 beers I want, and the taps vary greatly on style and quality.
the new food is weak, poorly cooked and vegan. No stars.

05-01-2013 03:46:57 | More by CopeTech

BartholomewRoberts

Washington

2.98/5  rDev -31.7%
vibe: 1 | quality: 2 | service: 3 | selection: 5 | $$

The selection is amazing, but this bar proved a terrible disappointment. First, the atmosphere is akin to drinking beer in a dirty, albeit brighter, version of your parents' basement, with the local SCA chapter. The inexcusable part, however, it that they get the beer wrong. My friend's $6 DIPA came in a soapy glass. He didn't drink it. My $7 saison, which was a rare beer that I was excited to try, was flat--not undercarbonated, flat. Clearly, the keg had been mishandled or was too old. And the bouncer (a very nice guy) kicked customers out at 11 pm on a Friday night, which would have been more disappointing if I wasn't ready to leave after 10 minutes. Not a place for people who are serious about beer. More of a clubhouse for a particular hipster subset of the "new Oakland."

03-30-2013 14:06:38 | More by BartholomewRoberts

MilwaukeeCrusher

Wisconsin

4.91/5  rDev +12.6%
vibe: 4.25 | quality: 5 | service: 5 | selection: 5 | $$

First things first. The owner or manager is a true benefit to craft beer. Many taps and offerings I was unable to count, as I was inundated with beers at the tasting I attended also there. Place had the nice homey pub feel, without being dingy or anything of that sort. This was my first downtown Oakland experience and with the farmer's market it was a good one. Previous to the visit, I asked a brewery owner if the Toronado is really THE place in town. He said to skip and go to Beer Revolution.

03-15-2013 23:45:48 | More by MilwaukeeCrusher

Hopsiam14

Minnesota

4.37/5  rDev +0.2%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4.25 | selection: 4.5 | $$

I had the chance to visit Beer Rev in March of '12 for their imperial stout fest. What an awesome display of beers. I think there were at least 52 on tap that day and many I had never even heard of before. Servers were nice and knew their beer and service was good considering the volume of customers. Tons of bottle selection as well inside their coolers. I was really impressed with this place and would recommend it to anyone who will be in the area.

02-19-2013 22:35:44 | More by Hopsiam14

johnmichaelsen

Oregon

4.29/5  rDev -1.6%
vibe: 3.75 | quality: 5 | service: 3.25 | selection: 4.75 | $$

The end of a recent California trip saw us staying at the Inn at Jack London square. As we were pulling into the parking lot, I saw this tiny beer bar across the street that was just packed with people. The thought crossed my mind that this might be a younger event, so I ran right over to see what was up. No younger, as it turned out, but I was far from disappointed by what I saw on offer.

As part of SF beer week, the BR was hosting a Sierra Nevada tap takeover. I about fainted when I saw what was on offer; 48 different SN beers, with 5 vintages of Big Foot. The draft selection was just awesome, and then there looked to be another 300 or some bottled beers as well (with nary an adjunct lager to be seen anywhere). This place is undeniably tiny, with a small indoor bar and table service area, and then a modest size outside patio area as well. There were kegs and beer paraphenelia strewn everywhere inside, and quarters were undeniably tight. Service was OK.... I was there at closing (9:00 on a Sunday), and I think the staff was a bit worn out at the end of a long day. So service was a bit slow, and the staff wasn't exactly gushing with friendliness, but no matter... no one was nasty or unpleasant, and I had no problem with any of the servers here. Prices were fine I thought... all the SN beers were priced at $5 or $6 a glass, served either in a pint glass or tulip.

This place is just outstanding, and I can completely understand the high BA score. I'll definitely be back.

02-11-2013 05:15:16 | More by johnmichaelsen

DocJitsu

California

3.8/5  rDev -12.8%
vibe: 3.5 | quality: 4 | service: 4 | selection: 3.5 | $$

This place is usually pretty busy. They seem to have a following that outdoes the quality, selection, and environment. I think they might be the only beer bar with this many taps and selections of to-go bottles in the East Bay area. The service is usually pretty good. That snotty, know-it-all, impatient quality often found in the service in Bohemian places like Beer Rev was very noticeably absent. This was a huge plus. Prices are fairly reasonable. Only one bathroom. And it is a unisex. It's a tight fit inside the bar. The only reason I'd give it an above average on environment is that it has outdoor seating. Of course, in that part of Oakland, there's not a lot to look at out there. They close early and sometimes, whenever they choose. They have a huge variety of tap beers that get rotated regularly. They offer several different options of to-go bottles, but the bottle beers aren't anything impressive. Some are obscure, but none that are remarkably sought after. Pliny the Elder seems to sell out pretty quickly.

10-29-2012 00:08:44 | More by DocJitsu

Morgan-makes-Cloud

4.86/5  rDev +11.5%
vibe: 5 | quality: 5 | service: 5 | selection: 4.5 | $$

I love this place so much. The staff is knowledgeable and clearly cares about every beer they have. For having as many beers as they have they know their brews each one they kind describe vividly and thy get into your head enough to know what you want.

One of the best things about this place is that all the beers on tap are between $4 - $6. Really it's beer for the people. They always have different beers which is good and bad, I have often come in for a hankering for a particular beer only to find that it is no longer there in a 6 day period.

Another great thing about this place is that it has an outside patio. The inside sometimes gets a little too crowded and has that musty beer smell which adds to the atmosphere in my opinion.

This place is a great place to go on a beautiful day and for me is one of my regular staples. it's places like this that make Oakland's beer scene superior even to San Francisco, which has great places but not places with this kind of character and "for the people" mentality.

10-04-2012 06:56:59 | More by Morgan-makes-Cloud

BenHesk12

California

4.58/5  rDev +5%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4.5 | selection: 5 | $

Beer Revolution has 47 taps, most of which are hand selected american microbrew, including many local selections from small breweries you won't find anywhere else. The staff is friendly and helpful, and it seems like every single beer is between $5-7 for big pours. They sell cold bottled beer and only charge a dollar to drink it there. I saw on the wall they have an active calendar of events which I will enjoy coming back for. The atmosphere is typical of a dive bar, no windows, and they use old wooden barrels as tables. This place is just about what you would expect for downtown Oakland and is walking distance from Bart. If youre in the Bay Area and you're into beer more than scene, I say skip San Francisco and go straight to Beer Revolution.

03-19-2012 03:25:28 | More by BenHesk12