Latest reviews from San Jose
| 76 /100 Trader Joe’s Cupertino (Grocery Store) 7250 BOLLINGER RD “I’m not a fan of having grocery stores in the database, but 1. Since there are many Trader Joe’s already in the database, 2. This is the best beer location of them all, and 3. I’ve bought many beers from here and I would like to enter the correct location. They have around 60 beers, all of them available in singles. Lowest prices for craft beer in Bay Area. Very good turn over (fresh). Not refrigerated (less fresh). Lots of local beers. Walking distance to my house.“ |
| 66 /100 377 SANTANA ROW “Didn't realize that one opened here! Had to pop in for the burnt ends. Nice open space off the main drag on Santana Row, indoor and outdoor seating, large bar. 24 taps including about 8 of their own beers and several from Del Cielo for whatever reason. Nothing really stood out and at $8/pint I ended up with a Diet Coke. Burnt ends were greasier than remembered, but still good. Fries done to perfection, Habanero KC BBQ sauce quite solid.“ |
| 80 /100 2099 S 10TH ST, STE #30 “This was our only brewery stop in San Jose and it was a pretty solid one. Big warehouse interior, next to an RC track. 12 or so beers on tap when I visited. Flights of 4 available for $8 (incl tax), quite a good deal considering the high gravity nature of many of them -- I got a flight with a double IPA, triple IPA, and two imperial stouts, and tasted a few others. I was happy with most of their beers, with their west coast IPA and triple IPA being standouts. Nothing mind-blowing, but they were all well-dialled in. Service was extremely friendly and endearing. I'd stop in again.“ |
| 76 /100 718 S. 1ST STREET “Ok, finally. Who would have thunk that an effing pandemic would get in the way ofc ticking this place. Pretty large space with a big out door courtyard. 13 drafts, pouring in 5,10,16 oz sizes. Service is friendly, perhaps a bit slow. Beer quality is decent. Parking is a pita; unmetered street parking; be prepared to hunt.“ |
| 68 /100 377 SANTANA ROW “Nice branch of Sauced Brewing in beautiful Santana Row. Quite expensive:$18-$40 per plate for barbecue. Beers are $7 ($5 during happy hour). No flights. 16oz+ only. 16 beers on tap: 8 house and 8 local. Beers are mediocre. Barbecue is excellent.“ |
| 70 /100 Total Wine & More San Jose (Stevens Creek) (Beer Store) 5170 STEVENS CREEK BLVD. “Wow, first place review since COVID! I stopped here looking for BCS variants since they tend to accumulate at the big accounts now. I did find the caramela one, but that's it. Also a full set of Eclipses, and a decent number of Fremont BA beers. I would never buy an IPA here, but for durable goods they have great prices and decent selection. This is true of all Total Wines, but walking the aisles made me reminisce about my early days in craft beer. Tons of bottles and brands that I used to buy but haven't even seen in years. I can't remember how many times I said "I didn't know they still made that"
As a Total Wine I would say this place is above average. Better than the one in Mountain View for sure.“ |
| 64 /100 Lunardi’s - Bascom (formerly Cosentinos Market) (Grocery Store) 2666 S BASCOM AVE “Similar selection to Whole Foods. Almost everything is in 4 packs, which is not good for rating. Good selection about 10 cooler doors of beers. Some Pliny the Elder (which is everywhere now). Lots of large micros: Stone, lagunitas, dogfish head. Decent selection of barebottle beers. 1 cooler door of macro. Meh.“ |
| 56 /100 Dry Creek Liquor (Beer Store) 1886 CURTNER AVE “A little better than standard liquor store selection of beer, but everything is in 4 packs, so I didn’t buy anything. Maybe 4 doors of beers: one for macros, 3 for micros, and some local nano breweries. 6 RR beers including pliny the elder, which is everywhere now. They also have new world ales, bare bottle, narrative fermentation, etc.“ |
| 82 /100 101 E ALMA AVE “Great location in downtown San Jose. Visited during early December of Covid. Maybe a dozen beers on tap. I think they took over the location of a previous brewery. Looks like they a doing fairly well. Very well made beers. Lots of barrels. Lots of easy parking and well spaced out tables.“ |
| 60 /100 Brittania Arms (Bar) 1087 S DE ANZA BLVD “Ok, the reviews are a little too harsh. I think grocery stores are rated higher, but I’m not going to compensate for inaccurate reviews with mine. I’ve lived a mile from here for 10 years, and never eaten here. Quite honestly I’m trying it now to get the place rating, but I like it. I like British vibe, the row of 18 taps, 12 of which are British macros, and the other 6 are good IPAs. My son says the food is mediocre, but I love the steak cut fries and large white breaded whitefish. I will definitely visit again, but certainly there are better places that if you are new to the area. Good if you are into the British thing.“ |
| 64 /100 The Slavic Shop (Grocery Store) 1080 SARATOGA AVE, STE 1 “A few miles from my house. Slavic shop has 5-6 isles: snacks, canned fish, vodkas and liquors, jars of jellies and vegetables and ..... about 60 beers from Eastern Europe, and a nice deli. Yes, mostly for ticking off countries, but also for some interesting tasty food. Great prices.“ |
| 72 /100 South Winchester Barbeque (Restaurant) 1362 SOUTH WINCHESTER BLVD “Dropped by with my son on Friday night during Covid. 3 huge coolers of cans of mostly local IPAs, plus a dozen more on tap. A bbq sandwich with a side is about $16. $8/beer. On par with Silicon Valley prices. Beer selection is very good. Some harder to find locals. BBQ good, but not the best.“ |
| 80 /100 1627 S 7TH ST “Dropped by during Covid summer to pick up bottles, but didn’t give a review. Now in late October, they finally have the taproom open, but only full pours, no tasters. A little pricey, $10, for sour rating, but the beers are very good. Other beers are $7-8/a pint. No food truck today. Good place to visit.“ |
| 72 /100 1723 ROGERS AVE SUITE E “Visit 6 months after covid started. Just started selling 16oz cans at the door. 7 can flavors for $7 each + $18 large bottles of 3 other flavors. A little hard to find, because google maps leads you to the back of the building and it’s a long drive to get to the front. Very small sign: basically you are looking for a sleeping duck logo. Much easier, in normal times, where they roll up two large doors to the taproom. At the door, there are 1-2 customers waiting. You order online a day ahead, and pick up to go. Worth the hassle if the beers are good.“ |
| 76 /100 777 THE ALAMEDA “Dropped by during Covid. Almost closed, but what they are doing now is filling crowlers and selling them at the attached Whole Foods. Normally they have a decent selection. Maybe 1/2 house and half guest taps, with small pour options.“ |
| 80 /100 Growler USA (Bar) 787 THE ALAMEDA UNIT 10 “Dropped by during CoVid. I think they allow only 2 tables inside, and they have 3 tables outside. Huge sparse place. Lots of taps. Good selection of local beers. Flights. Bar food like burgers and appetizers. Very close to SAP, so a good place to drop by before/after a game or concert.“ |
| 84 /100 Royal Wines and Spirits (Beer Store) 3144 WILLIAMS ROAD “9/13/20: Wow. I was realized surprised to see the rare beer emphasis. Very well layed out, with printed shelf labels for each beer. Best in the world, but expensive, Anchorage rare beers. Lots of hard to find locals. Lots of single can options, which are great for rating. Good prices, which are a little cheaper. Lots of barrel aged and sour beers. Truly a wonderful place....Maybe it’s a reorganization, or I’ve never noticed. Kind of like Cask and Flask, and Santa Clara Liquors, but closer to Cupertino.“ |
| 78 /100 Southgate Liquors (Beer Store) 445 BLOSSOM HILL RD “About 12 4’x2’x2’ coolers full of cans in the far back. Initially I just saw 1/2 row of warm barrel aged beers and sours, maybe dusty, which was discouraging, until I saw the extensive selection in the coolers. Store was pretty packed despite covid. Very good.“ |
| 48 /100 Mitsuwa Marketplace - San Jose (Grocery Store) 675 SARATOGA AVE “Mitsuwa and Marukai have the best selection of Sake around, and of course being a grocery store they have excellent Japanese food, including raw sushi. I love it. But in general I’m not a big fan of grocery stores in the places section.“ |
| 80 /100 Cask & Flask (Beer Store) 14520 CAMDEN AVE “In a hunt for Bay Area nano brewery beers (like new world ales, promised land, Pacifica, etc.) I found Cask & Flask has a bunch of them. Some nano breweries don’t have tasting rooms. There is staff is super knowledgeable, and in constant contact with nanos to find brew dates and shipment dates. Cask and Flask has a fantastic selection of sours, barrel aged, locals, and rarities in general. Highly recommended, especially when combined with a trip to other south San Jose beer destinations.“ |
| 76 /100 980 S. FIRST ST. STE. B “Visited once many years ago to get tasters, but now with Covid, you can only get 16oz cans, which are around $5 each. They pour directly from the tap, and can it directly in front of you. Around 16 taps, with some very good IPAs, kettle sours, amongst many other styles. No barrel aged beers at this time. Very friendly staff. No lines at all. I really like this place for some reason....like a good quality underdog.“ |
| 88 /100 Southgate Liquors (Beer Store) 445 BLOSSOM HILL RD “I don't see how Mr. Hoppy's review and a 2.1 score go together.
Anyways, I've been eyeing these folks for a bit on social media and Untappd but they are in a part of San Jose I don't often have a reason to go near. Thankfully, they decided to launch an app with delivery in light of COVID-19, so I decided to take advantage of it to try to make sure that I didn't (gasp!) run out of beer during what looks like an extended social distancing period.
So first the downsides: I think I'm one of the first customers on the app to go into the corners of their selection. So the app was a bit buggy and the stock wasn't 100% up to date, although, like, COVID guys. This is a chance for market share and I respect them going for it. Upsides more than made up for it.
So, the upsides. Selection is very good - focus on Northern California stuff from most of the big players (including a great Moonraker selection). Other big stuff from the rest of California (Firestone limited releases and vintages, Bottle Logic - these guys have good stuff). The owner / manager worked with me personally on my order (at some cost to him) and took some stuff out of his own cellar for me (always a good sign when the person running the place seems like a beer geek). Personalized service and flexibility. Willingness to just go for it during these bizarre times.
Prices were reasonable (including for delivery up to Palo Alto).
The rating on this place is criminally low. Service was excellent and selection is great. Once they clean up the app a bit this place could be a go-to - the delivery and selection combo is really a game-changer for when traffic gets back to being really bad.“ |
| 76 /100 Wine Affairs (Bar) 1435 THE ALAMEDA “Solid beer selection - nothing amazing while I was there but it was a good sampling of "very good" choices from some of northern California's top brewers (Moonraker, Alvarado, Fieldwork) and a few more from the west coast (Modern Times).
Bottle list was more of the same.
Around 20 taps, around 20 bottles (available for there or to go).
Place itself is what you'd think of as an yuppie wine bar with good craft beer.
Basically good place but would not go out of your way to go here.“ |
| 58 /100 The Slavic Shop (Grocery Store) 1080 SARATOGA AVE, STE 1 “As the other reviewers basically indicate, you go here for Eastern Europe / old USSR beers that you'll never find anywhere outside of Eastern Europe / the old USSR (I've been to Lithuania, Russia and Ukraine and except for Obolon, I haven't seen the beers from those countries they had here, let alone the multiple Armenian selections).
Don't get me wrong, most of this stuff is probably Eastern European Blue Moon or Amber Bock equivalent, but you won't see this stuff too many other places, so it's worth a stop just for that reason. Can't go too high here though just because there's nothing else and I can say from personal experience that there is some legit good craft beer in most of these countries.
Place itself is basically an ethnic grocery store in a strip mall, so it won't score highly on the intangibles. It's fine for what it is though and I'm sure if I were really into Russian cuisine, I would love this place.
Reasonable prices though.“ |
| 80 /100 2099 S 10TH ST, STE #30 “15 taps. Slightly of downtown. Very close to San Jose Sharks stadium. In a big warehouse with plenty of parking. Quiet, but plenty of people(20 or so) about an hour before closing on a Thursday night. Very nice.“ |
| 72 /100 Total Wine & More San Jose (Stevens Creek) (Beer Store) 5170 STEVENS CREEK BLVD. “It’s a Total Wine. Has many “local” beers I don’t see 90 miles away in Sacramento.“ |
| 76 /100 460 LINCOLN AVE. STE. 90 “Awesome location near downtown San Jose next to the great Chromatic coffee. About 15 beers on tap. Decent selection, but lacking barrel aged, but still a sour or two. Fun family environment. Recommended. 3.2
Update 8/21/2020. I’ve become a fan of Hapas lately, because of their wonderful hazy IPAs. Update rating to 3.8. One of very few places still serving flights.“ |
| 88 /100 ISO: Beers (Bar) 75 E SANTA CLARA ST, STE 120 “Incredible bottle shop/bar in downtown San Jose. Approximately 35 taps of all styles includes sours and barrel aged beers. 6oz pours for $4 or glass or $8 for full glass. Huge approximately 400 bottle selection.“ |
| 56 /100 1723 ROGERS AVE SUITE E “Small place, garage decour; 6 own beers on tap, mostly sour when I visited, no WiFi, interesting if not amazing beer“ |
| 64 /100 Smoke Eaters (Restaurant) 29 S 3RD ST “Seriously, why are people rating places on their wings on a beer site? Perfectly good bar food, perfectly good tap list. Bit like a BWW (for better or worse) with more of a focus on local beers.“ |
| 80 /100 980 S. FIRST ST. STE. B “Would say ~16 taps here, all their own stuff. Really fresh stuff, really creative beers. Nothing really knocked out of the park when I was there but will give points for creative flavors (best thing I had was a ginger / black currant porter) and unusual styles (I had a grodziskie! They've had roggenbier!).
Something to keep an eye on and wish they were closer.
Place itself is standard converted warehouse brewpub. Good energy on a Thursday night.
Flights are 6/$12.
Would absolutely go back.“ |
| 92 /100 Total Wine & More San Jose (Stevens Creek) (Beer Store) 5170 STEVENS CREEK BLVD. “Total Wine is clearly the best place for rating beer in Silicon Valley. This store just opened outside Cupertino. Enormous selection with 100’s to 1000’s of different beers, most sold in single bottles around $2-3.“ |
| 90 /100 ISO: Beers (Bar) 75 E SANTA CLARA ST, STE 120 “... how on earth is this place not 90+? Around 40 taps, every beer style, some local rarities (had a great New Glory RIS), some vintages (had a 2013 Bruery which was my best beer of the night), all well curated. One wall of bottles (for here or to go) - they have a cellar and that fills up about 1/5 of the wall of bottles which had like 2011 Hair of the Dog, 2010 Goose BCBS - tons of other stuff. Apparently there is a lot more in the cellar.
Modern urban indoor space, outdoor beer garden right off Santa Clara Ave (it's acceptable for outdoor drinking). No food, but tons of food options around. I would expect to pay quite a bit more for the stuff I got given its quality.
I don't know if I would take Good Karma or this place but they're within a 5 minute walk of each other so you can do both so long as you arrange transportation home. But this is a spectacular beer bar - like world class - and people need to rate this place to get it up where it belongs. This is better than Original Gravity and from a beer perspective in this area, would compare it to Gourmet Haus in Redwood City. Need to check it out if in this end of Silicon Valley.“ |
| 78 /100 718 S. 1ST STREET “Converted industrial-building type space about 5-10 minutes walking south of first avenue past the more hipstery-part of it. Got a flight - they had a few interesting styles on draft (around 8 lines total - they had an ESB, a schwarzbier, a dunkelweizen - stuff you normally don't see with that few lines). Beer was generally competently brewed and enjoyable (nice to see a place that doesn't load their menu with IPAs).
Their milk coffee stout deserves its own shout-out. That's a superb beer.
Decently lively on a Wednesday evening. No food of their own but looks like they have external food most days (was tacos when I was there).
Worth a stop. Good addition to the San Jose beer scene.“ |
| 78 /100 1627 S 7TH ST “Beer here is very good. Around 20 taps when I was there, all their own stuff. They're known for sours and it's a well-earned reputation as the sours are excellent. Non-sours were also quite good but sours are where it's at for these guys.
Place itself is behind a giant weed store and a little tough to find. Worth a stop but budget some extra time to find the place.“ |
| 78 /100 The Cider Junction (Bar) 800 WILLOW STREET “Visited here around a year ago but didn't see it on the site then. If cider is your bag, this place has a great selection of ciders - 32 lines when I was there (for an anniversary celebration for the store), plus a cooler with some supplementary bottles (which you sadly have to drink on premises). Food is light and Germanic. If you love cider this is kind of a destination place.
They do flights, which is nice.“ |
| 94 /100 ISO: Beers (Bar) 75 E SANTA CLARA ST, STE 120 “This is my happy place in San Jose. Friendly staff, great beer.“ |
| 46 /100 1661 AIRPORT BLVD “It's a Gordon Biersch in an airport. Mediocre beer in mediocre atmosphere at stratospheric prices.“ |
| 76 /100 O’Flaherty’s Irish Pub (Restaurant) 25 N SAN PEDRO ST “I have been in San Jose a week and not bothered to visit because I assumed it was just another fake Irish bar selling little more interesting than Guinness. But tonight it was late I was in need of a beer (!) and was walking past. The decor is indeed faux-Irish. But 52 beers on tap and a very good interesting range. It busy, maybe a bit rowdy, with some serous looking security but for all that pretty comfortable. Service good and friendly.“ |
| 78 /100 777 THE ALAMEDA “Unusual place - open air on top of a whole food store. Pleasant ambience. Lively but not too loud or busy. Small bar with 15 or so beers on tap. Friendly staff.“ |
| 74 /100 ISO: Beers (Bar) 75 E SANTA CLARA ST, STE 120 “Dark, boxy room, a bit noisy. Huge range of bottled beers - a whole wall of fridges and maybe 40 taps. Service is friendly but slow. No obvious food. Reasonable value.“ |
| 78 /100 The Farmers Union (Restaurant) 151 W. SANTA CLARA ST. “This is a big cavernous restaurant with excellent food and a huge range of interesting beer. The service was super friendly l, if a little slow. The food was great. I couldn’t count the number of beer taps, maybe 30.“ |
| 78 /100 66 S 1ST ST “The ambience is beer-centric. It’s a big tall room and not exactly cozy, there’s a fairly small bar as you come in with 21 interesting beers on tap. The service was quick and friendly. Food is served. Definitely worth visiting.“ |
| 96 /100 The Cider Junction (Bar) 800 WILLOW STREET “It’s crazy that I’m the 1st person to add and review this place. Such an awesome find. A cider bar in San Jose. With 32 taps and 60 bottles. Mostly ciders and a few awesome beers. I wish I lived next door. Awesome food ( I got pulled pork sliders). Must visit!“ |
| 76 /100 Beverages and More (BevMo!) - Prospect (Beer Store) 5205 PROSPECT RD, STE 157 “Why is it that every San Jose place has a rating of 68? Maybe that it the default for low number of ratings. BevMo has a pretty decent selection in general, but this one is not as good as the one of Stevens Creek not too far away. Lots of bombers, but I prefer single 12oz bottles (less alcohol, more ratings)“ |
| 50 /100 Sprouts Farmers Market - San Jose (Grocery Store) 5205 PROSPECT RD “Not really deserving of a place in ratebeer. Great selection of vegetables and fruit, which is much cheaper than any other supermarket. Usually sales of fruits during the weekends. Nice bins of nuts and seeds. Medium small beer selection. Worth a visit only because it has BevMo next door.“ |
| 80 /100 Whole Foods - San Jose (Alameda) (Grocery Store) 777 THE ALAMEDA “Whole Foods has a great selection of beers with lots of barrel aged and sours and Belgians, some at high prices, but they have a nice single bottle rack at around $2-3/bottle. This Whole Foods is special, because they have a mini taproom and brewery. Convenient location to everything downtown. Selection is mediocre on taps. Very nice place to visit.“ |
| 76 /100 66 S 1ST ST “Came on a Thursday after work, not that busy but took me a surprising amount of time to get a bartender's attention (once procured, no problems, but this was surprising given how not busy they were). The beer selection itself was better than average for NoCal beer (tons of local stuff and I think everything I had was West Coast), with half pours of the boozier beers.
It's a very good beer bar and maybe I just caught them on a not ideal day, but Good Karma across the street is much better in my opinion.
Food at OG is better if you like meat though (and really, meat + beer is a winning combo). Fries + sausages here were excellent.“ |
| 68 /100 Dry Creek Liquor (Beer Store) 1886 CURTNER AVE “I added this place based on its appearance on the Yelp 2019 "Best Bottle Shops in Silicon Valley" list, and its location within a couple miles of the iconic Cask & Flask. This is a more traditional strip mall liquor store. The beer selection is not huge, but surprisingly interesting. It is very can-focused, all in multipacks - no singles that I saw. Lots of interesting things from lots of primarily CA/NV breweries. There is one small shelf with an eclectic mix of decent bottles, but its the cans that are the draw, and they are all in the cooler.“ |
| 86 /100 Good Karma (Restaurant) 37 S FIRST ST “Visited this place for dinner after drinking some beers at the Original Gravity Public House which is located next to it. I am not a vegetarian but I liked the food. Small place, nice ambiance. Around 20 taps (no half pours if I remember correctly). Some nice local hoppy beers available that were new for me (ok this was not something difficult since I come from Greece). There were bottles of Rare Barrel available (among other bottles). Good service.“ |
