Faction Brewing

What a great way to repurpose an old military building (airplane hanger)! We took a Lyft from Sierra Nevada Torpedo Room and I didn’t realize that we were going to the old Alameda NAS. The day was bright and hot and the view of SF was stunning. The beers were pretty awesome as well. We didn’t have time to check them out but there is a winery and distillery in the adjacent buildings.
The place was packed when we arrived and the deck was pretty crowded. There is an area for dogs and the food truck was busy. We were on a beer mission, however, and made our way inside to get a couple of flights. Ten samples later, it was time to move on.
Definitely a place to visit again on my next trip to SF.

I LOVE THIS SPOT! The dark beers are awesome and the porch overlooking the city is fantastic. Everyone seems nice here too!

This is one of my favorites places in the Bay Area, let alone one of the best breweries. They have a crapton of beers on tap all the time — all their own, all are pretty good, and some are really remarkable. They do hop-​heavy styles well, and I like the Defcon series. I love that there’s so much space both indoors and outside. Their new deck is great and badly needed because this place can be hopping on weekends! The views of the bay and SF skyline are to be cherished. My favorite way to get here from SF is to take the ferry and then take the 10 – 15 min walk along the water and through the abandoned barracks. Faction, St. George and Rockwall Winery make a great day-​long escape from the city.
PROS:
— Ample space and tables indoors and outside
— Beautiful views of my city and the sunset
— There’s something for everyone: a variety of IBUs, ABVs, flavors, and styles
— Great bartenders
— James
— They host lots of festivals and events like Brewbies and Ales for ALS
— Usually have a food truck during peak hours
— Dog friendly
— Chill atmosphere
— Cool logo
CONS:
— It’s not closer to my home ;)
— Ladies’ restroom is quite a trek

Awesome beer, awesome vibe, awesome staff, awesome view with a great patio. Need to add shade for hot days otherwise no complaints. Please add shade!

Great place to have a beer with the crew after work. And they close early enough so you can still drive home. ;-)

I am not a big beer person. I love wine, whiskey, tequila…
But I love trying new beers. My friend who I was with HATES beer. But she was a trooper and was down to get a flight with me.
Even she liked the beer here. MUST TRY. Environment was very cool too. Cool/​chill vibes. Beautiful view of the bay.

Beer is one of those beverages that I can take it or leave it and I usually leave it. I met Kevin and Pam and their wonderful dog Dingo here after we hung a show at the Historical Museum, to enjoy pizza and beer.
I don’t drink enough beer to know whether what they serve here is good or bad. I enjoyed the glass that I did have. What makes this spot special is the view from the patio. It is beauriful to look out over the water in any weather of time of day.
I think the beer must be really good; the place was packed inside. Everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves. It a nice way to spend a few hours on a Saturday or Sunday afternoon.

Their beer, seemingly regardless of style, is far too sweet to enjoy it. The blonde light colored beer is yummy, but it is the only one that isn’t overwhelmingly sweet.
Quite the disappointment.
There is an indoor seating area, but the front area is painfully exposed to the Sun, not good for drinking beer. If we’re to drink cold beer, we need shade. Covering will not obscure the view of the City but it will shade us from the rays, and keep the beer safe from unnecessary heat exposure.
I’m still puzzled as to the sweetness of the beer, from pale ale, to ipa, even to their stout. It was just strange.

THIS PLACE IS AMAZING.
Highly recommend everyone to come here for a delicious variety of brews and a over the top spectacular view of San Francisco. (The sunset is just incredible.)

Awesome brewery with great beers but I ordered a grilled cheese an hour ago at the outdoor food tent, still haven’t gotten the grilled cheese…
Got my grilled cheese. It’s delicious. Still… over an hour?

Love the warehouse vibe of this place, love the beers on tap, love that they allow dogs — basically, this is an awesome place to come taste some beers. The only thing I didn’t love is how crowded it was, but we got lucky and got a table pretty quickly.
Flights are based on which beers you select, but ours came out to about $ 17 (6 tasters, about 1.5 to maybe 2 beers). Not necessarily the most bang for your buck, but definitely fun!

Loved Faction. Came here on a recommendation by a friend and brought some friends. It’s really out there and you’ll drive by a lot of the old naval base. The actual brewery is in an old hangar which is fantastic. The views of the bay are phenomenal and I really look forward to coming in the summer. There isn’t a whole lot of space to grab a seat inside especially if you’re in a larger party. We came in December and it was cold so we couldn’t take advantage of the outdoor seating. N.B.: if you come in the winter, wear a coat/​gloves/​scarves if you feel the chill easily — its not very warm in there.
Faction beers are varied and there is something for everyone! I’m sure if you’ve hit up some local bottleshops and beer cafes you’ve had some, but there’s nothing like driving out to Alameda for the full experience.
Note: no regular food, there’s something online about food trucks that come by, but there wasn’t one when we were there.
I would give this place 5 stars except for the day that we went, it took us 30min to grab a beer. Only one, albeit very nice, person working behind the bar and the line was almost out the door. I’m not sure if this is the norm, and I’d love to update this review after a future experience!
Definitely worth a visit, support our local breweries folks!

Came here on a Sunday afternoon and it hit the spot. Taster beers are $ 2.50 each for 5 oz., and they’ve got a bunch of their own brews on tap, maybe like, 20 or so.
I liked all the beers I had, and I really liked the oatmeal stout. None of them seemed like they were playing with fun flavors or ingredients, but there were some different hops and stuff in the mix, which made it more interesting.
Seems like it would be a nice spot to watch the sunset from the new deck they are building. Fist of flour was outside making pizzas and we got some of that to go with our beer.
There’s a lot of space, both in the interior area, on the deck, and in the brewing area. I don’t know if I’d just come back for the sake of it, but if I lived in the area I’d probably take people here when they visited.

Really cool spot. Happy to have found this brewery off the beaten path. Located in a random and cool location… old military hangers. Next to the brewery are other hangers with other fun spots to visit (e.g. wine tasting rooms, distilleries, etc.)
Great beer (I almost liked every single beer that I tasted!!!) and fun laid back atmosphere. Front room is a bar and back area is a huge hanger with table seating, a visiting BBQ food company (kind of like having a visiting food truck without the truck), barrels, and oversized art.
I recommend that you do that tasting route. 2 oz. pours of anything on the list. Your selections end up in a small circular tray. It was a lot of fun.
I look forward to returning!

Faction is a great brewery and addition to Alameda’s old naval area. You have a great winery next to a great brewery, next to great distilleries. The views are incredible and the beer is very good.
It’s a large facility with tables inside, tables outside and tables on the factory floor. Room for everyone with a beer that will please even the toughest critics. Given that we love our beers, we often go for a sampler to taste all the favorites and any new offerings.
This place is a great destination for a beer lover or anyone who loves sun, beautiful views and food trucks.

Brought a most mildly hardcore beer connoisseur (sister) to Faction. We went on a rainy Sunday afternoon and the place was pretty packed. I found a high top and sat while sister and husband ordered the tastings.
I love the fact they are in a gigantic warehouse on the Alameda Point, which was an old Navy base. There is plenty of parking, good for bikes also. Right next door is St. George Spirits, so if the «spirit» moves you, you can walk and sample some liquor.
We have been in the summer time and the scenery is great, with views of San Fran and beyond. You can sit outside, bring your lunch, or there are food trucks on weekends. There is Hal’s bbq in the back where the huge vats are. Nice big tables with black tablecloths await you. From what I saw and smelled it looked great.
Dog and kid friendly! Staff is eager to please and help you find just the right beer for your palate.

Really great beer with an amazing view.
Amongst the dilapidated hangers, barracks, and old warehouses sits an outcropping of distilleries, wineries, and this brewery. A phenominal brewery in fact. A wide variety of styles including stouts, Belgians, and reds but mostly hop-​centric in flavors. Try their season IPA or their A-​Town Pale Ale (only available on the island) if you like things a little more bitter. Food is a little lacking in this part of the island so they’ll employ a truck on busier days. The brewery does feature a few salty snacks but you might be better off eating before heading out to the old Naval Base.
The ambiance is much like most breweries with a tasting room. High tables around central room and a bar on one side. What makes this brewery special is that the brewhouse is actually an old airplane hangar. You can hangout next to a massive mural or play some cornhole while sipping on your cold brew. If you’re looking for that perfect afternoon drinking experience go sit on the patio. The view of San Francisco is like none other. Stay after a beautiful sunset to see the city light up.

I love beer and was blown away by the sheer number of taps they have on site. Too many to try them all but it means I need to go back!
It was a little hectic on a sunny Saturday so I didn’t get to ask about custom flights. Apparently they do them which is great. I thought I was limited to what they had posted on the board. Learn from my mistake…
Our bartender was fantastic. He gave us tastes of everything we wanted without even flinching. He was fast too! Liked the Puddy Porter and the Anomaly. Wasn’t sold on the soho stout. Absolutely LOVED the Summer IPA! Damn that’s a good beer!
They have the same fantastic view of San Francisco and they had a lot of outdoor seating as well. There were two food truck options. It’s nice to have that available when you realize you like the place so much that you want to stay a lot longer than you intended.
Would most definitely go back, especially via ferry from the city since it’s a long drive from Pacifica to Alameda.

This is the review that almost didn’t happen. When we first visited early in the day, the line for beer snaked around the entire inside of the small taproom area. We decided to come back later to see if it was any less busy, which it was.
This is such a popular beer spot that I would like to see them leave their beer sampler checklist and pencils closer to where the line begins. This was an effective method of crowd control at another crowded brewery we visited. It helps when choosing beers for your sampler while standing in line. Especially when there’s 20 or so on tap. Since they do not, it’s always wise to grab your cheat sheet and a pencil from up front before making your way to the back of the line
Other than that, everything was great. With less folks crowding the room, I saw that there is more seating in the rear brewing area. While it would be nice to relax out front with the view of the bay, it’s always nice to sample beer directly next to where it’s made. My babygirl grabbed me a taster tray while I scored us a table in the back.
I went small on the sampler, only trying 8 beers because I knew I wanted to save room for a full pour of their Soho Stout. Also because their Defcon series of Belgian ales takes up several taps. I wasn’t really feeling any Belgian beers on this night.
I often order Faction beers when I see it on the menu at any restaurant or beer bar. Their Pale Ale’s are some of the best in the industry. I finally got to try an IPA of theirs and I wasn’t as impressed with it as I am their Pales. The specialty Pales on tap were of the two hop variety. While good on it’s own, it doesn’t stand up to the tried and true A-​town or Faction Pale.
That Soho Stout that I was saving up for was well worth it. It’s listed as a «Foreign Style Stout». To my basic palate, it’s an Imperial Stout. It was really good. I could’ve went for a growler of this.
4 stars for the beer plus 2 stars for the environment = 3 stars overall.
I enjoy some Faction Beers, I just don’t think I enjoy them enough to want to come back here with Drakes and 21^st Amendment much more conveniently located for me. I’ll certainly order any of their Pales wherever I see them on the menu.

Friday July 3^rd… approximately 4:00pm in the afternoon… the long line for beer takes us 35 – 40 minutes to finally get to the bar. There is another beer tap station, but its unmanned.
Some beers were pretty good, but some beers were pretty bad… but that longass wait just really really really sucked.