The Trappist

What else is there to say about this place? It's spectacular. Two bars, 25 drafts, some interesting bottles (although not as ridiculously awesome as other local places - e.g., Good Karma) - the stars here are on draft though. I've had a lot of beer all over the world and I haven't even seen at least half of these taps anywhere else. And the stuff I had was either great or interesting. The Bay Area is spectacular for beer. This place has earned a slot near the top of must-visit places.

First visit...amazing place. Not a lot I can add to all the stellar reviews. The reputation of the craftbeer bar, restaurant, and building is warranted in my view. The décor is a very authentic Euro look. Such a fantastic listing of taps...front and back bars. A lot of the best Belgium's and Euro ales...some more common (but not often assembled all in one place like St. Bernardus ABT, North Coast Le Merle, Allagash White)...and some rarer...like Leipziger Rauch-gose "Pineus and La Trappe Dubbel, and Allagash Curieux...the latter rare on draft at least...plus a number of great but hard to find American craftbeers...Revision Dr. Lupulin IIIPA, Evil Twin Even More Coco Jesus, and Wild Card Bandwagon Pale. All of this plus over 100 bottles..."and" absolutely top notch food...both in quality and selection. The Trappist is a must visit when visiting anywhere in the Bay area.

We came pretty late, wasn't very crowded and the back bar was closed. Nice interior and ambiance, reminded me bit of European beer bars. Luckily the beer list had enough interesting US beers, I've enjoyed Saule from The Bruery. Very good service. Well worth visiting.

A bit more upscale-feeling compared to Beer Rev. Great selection of draft beers. No flights or small pours, so not ticker-friendly, but it’s worth having a drink or two here. Very comfortable place to hang out, with tons of other options nearby.

Visited late afternoon on a Wednesday. Located in Old Oakland, near BART. Cool old building, with a small front room and bar as you enter, with two additional smaller rooms past the bar with tables, and a larger outdoor patio in the alley. There is also a back bar which was closed when I visited. There are different tap lists at the front and back bar, though both were available to order from and each were super high quality with a ton of Belgian beers and speciality craft. In total there were 25 beers on tap. Bottle list also available which had a couple of fun beers on it The food menu is Belgian snacks and some lighter meals. Efficient service with higher prices though about what I expected for this level of quality and the location. Certainly a top stop in Oakland.

88 = ★★★★ (best in area, a must for locals and visitors)

I only use the total score, not the component parts.

Second visit of my last day in the area. Tuesday noon, few people in the place so I found easily a spot at the front bar. The back bar was closed but you could still order beers from it’s tap list. Nice relaxing ambiance, good music, interesting tap list. There is also a bottle list with some interesting beers again. Good service, they dont do flights but they offer samples of the beers to try (and tick). For sure I would go again!

Visited on a quiet sunday evening. they had just had a imp. stout theme so mostly dark beers. Good prices, nice selection.

Visited on a Friday afternoon in November 2015. Really nice multi-roomed venue, really nicely decorated and has a beer terrace and a front and back bar. Great selection of beers available, service was good with the barmaid giving a customer more sass than he gave her! It’s a really nice place, a block away from Beer Revolution. I’d recommend both places. This is definitely a huge step up decor wise but a better beer range at the other venue I feel.

If you’re heading into the bay area to check out the beer scene you already know about the Trappist; if you’ve been, you’re going back because the tap selection is diverse and full of quality, the environment successful in it’s old pub feel, the food good enough but working well for pairing, and the service helpful and friendly. If you’ve not gone you’ve heard a lot of hype and probably ready to give the silly white hip Oakland crowd a spanking via their poor beer taste or are enamored by the mythic Trappist lore that you’ve heard of. I think both outlooks will suffice. Go, it’s fucking good.