Speakeasy Ales & Lagers

Speakeasy Ales & Lagers – brewery
1195 Evans St @ Keith (Google Map)
Official site | BeerAdvocate | Yelp
House microbrew: $3.50ish
Open Fridays 4-9pm and occasionally for special events on Saturdays
MUNI: T, 19, 44, 54 (23 and 24 will get you there, too, with a bit of a walk)

Speakeasy is not a place you go for ambiance. See all that outdoor seating above? They only pull that out on their random Saturday events. The weekly Friday happy hour is mostly indoors, though there is an area next to the building where you can smoke. Other than than, you’re drinking in a warehouse that makes beer. It might not sound too appealing, but it’s actually a lot of fun. For starters, there is no douchey after-work crowd, because a) it’s too far from downtown, and 2) it’s on the edge of one of SF’s roughest neighborhoods, Hunter’s Point. So you won’t pick up any chicks, nor will you interface with anyone’s synergy.

What you will be doing is drinking some fucking beer. They check your ID at the door, and you can walk in and buy tokens. (I recommend three tokens plus a shirt for $20.) Squeeze by the massive wall of beer to the bar, where a friendly Speakeasy employee (probably the last one hired) will happily pour you a plastic cup of his employer’s latest offerings. Prohibition, Big Daddy IPA, and Untouchable Pale Ale are their standards, but there’ll be at least two more available there for you to try.

There are a few chairs strewn about, but you may a well just go sit on that 60 pound sack of hops, or on the pallet of Big Daddy IPA ready to get shipped out. If it helps, you can think of it as a party in your friend’s garage, but if your friend has a distribution contract in the PNW. (If you’ve been to Brooklyn Brewery’s Friday/Saturday events, this is similar, but with way fewer obnoxious frat boys.) There’s usually a game or two of washers being played, and the occasional dog (or child) running around. There is a popcorn machine, and if they bothered to call, there might be someone offering burgers or tamales from a booth, but don’t count on it. I’d recommend getting food before you make your way out to Speakeasy, as there is virtually nothing else for blocks around. You can get a pizza delivered, though.

If you’re lucky, they may be having a big Saturday bash. It’s much the same as the Friday happy hours, but with (many many) more people and (much much) more sun. They’re fairly sporadic, though they do have an anniversary party every August. Their mailing list is probably the best place to keep track of the Saturday parties (don’t worry, they’ll email you once a month, at most).

I’m not sure if they still do this, but I often would buy a case/keg from them directly, though last time I emailed them about a keg, they said they didn’t sell to the public. It’s worth a try though (which I will do as soon as I get a chance). But if they don’t, you’ll have no trouble finding their beer in stores or bars around SF.

As mentioned, there is essentially no commerce of any kind in the surrounding neighborhood, and it can be a bit, ah… shooty, though the nighttime walk on Evans back to the T-Third Muni line should be plenty safe. They’ll also be happy to call you a cab.