Sierra Nevada Torpedo Room

Excellent selection. I had four ipa’s: earls, hop hunter, tropical, and barrel aged (see pic). Great ambience and knowledgable beer enthusiasts.

This is Sierra Nevada’s Berkeley taproom, not a production facility. It’s in an industrial area, a long and shallow room with a stand-​up bar, plus a few bare-​bones barstools at small tables, and a standup counter along the windows. Also a cooler for their bottle sales, including a few items I’ve never seen in retail stores elsewhere. No food service. Loudish rock background music; no TV. Gift shop section. Restrooms are not only clean but attractively decorated. The patronage, on a Friday afternoon visit, definitely skewed to young and collegiate.
Just east of the University Avenue exit from I-​80; because of the University Avenue flyover, it’s necessary to go east to Sixth Street and circle back to the south to reach Fourth Street. Street parking (some of it metered) is apt to be taken. There’s a free parking lot for the adjacent Grocery Outlet; I have no idea how strictly the limitation to grocery customers is enforced, but I had no problems leaving my car there in a visit of about an hour.
The beer menu (on a chalkboard) features about 15 rotating SN drafts, available in 4-​ounce tasters in the $ 2-​$ 3 range, plus pints (recently added) and 32– and 64-​ounce growlers. I tried six items in four-​ounce samplers:
— Earl’s IPA with Tea Leaves. 5.6% ABV, 38 IBU. Clear brass color, halo head. Citrus nose. Hoppy and «meaty» taste. I’ll take the presence of tea leaves on faith; it wasn’t apparent on my tongue.
— 35^th Anniversary Blend. 8%, 50 IBU. clear amber, light lacy head. Nose suggestive of Juicy Fruit. Taste is well-​balanced malt and bittering hops, and a lingering bitter fade with a hint of coconut. «Chewy» mouth feel.
— Coffee Stout with Lactose. 6.2%, 53 IBU. Opaque black, light head. Nose is dominated by coffee rather than beery elements. Coffee and roast malt taste, with a bit of sweetness in the finish. Creamy mouth feel, though I don’t believe it’s on nitrogen.
— Knightro Dry Irish Stout. 4.8%, 21 IBU. Opaque dark brown; very heavy, slow-​fading head. Weak nose. Malt-​forward, sweeter and less roasty than Guinness. Not much Irish-​stout character. Creamy nitrogen mouth-​feel.
— Oliva Belgian-​Style Abbey Quad with Plums. 10.2%, 22 IBU. Opaque black, halo head. Winey-​ethanol nose. Sweet malt taste; fruity, though in a blind tasting I’d probably have pegged the fruit element as fresh, gritty pear rather than the tarter plum. Delicious; for my money the best of the flight.
— Narwhal Imperial Stout. 10.2%, 60 IBU. Opaque black, with a light cream-​colored head. Winey-​ethanol nose. Complex taste of roast malt, coffee, ethanol, candied pineapple, and something a bit perfumey.

Everyone has great things to say, so I was really excited to come here, but when I finally did I was very disappointed.
This place was overpriced! I am SO confused how people have it rated as one dollar sign! The 4 oz pours range from 2 – 4 dollars on average. If you add that up that is $ 10 – 16 a pint. I am willing to spend a decent amount of money for really good beer, but for a basic, low abv sierra nevada? That kind of pricing is comparable to aged imported sours or something, should not be standard for a sierra nevada pale ale.
I thought it was a really underwhelming experience. There was no seating, even though there weren’t very many people there. Poorly designed.
After I left here I felt pretty sad about wasting my money, it really brought down an otherwise nice day. Won’t be going back, I hope people will manage their expectations! Don’t get your hopes up about this place, it will disappoint. Go to fieldwork instead!

This tap room was amazing! I bought a living social deal for 2 beer flights and 2 meat and cheese plates. At this location there are also a few board games that you can play when hanging out.
Pros:
The staff is very knowledgeable about the beer and extremely helpful when giving advice about what beer to try.
The space is very interesting because it is easy to go solo and meet random people for conversation or go with a group.
You get to choose the beers you want to try in your flight! A lot of tap rooms have prescribed flights.
Free parking!!!
Cons:
There really isn’t food that is served there. We got a cheese plate expecting both meat and cheese.
Overall a great place to go to in Berkeley!

Take a break from shopping on 4^th Street, relax, grab a board game, and enjoy some beer in the relaxed atmosphere of the Torpedo Room. While Sierra Nevada is known for its signature Pale Ale, they have tons of other offerings on tap including wheat beers, pilsners, stouts, and IPAs, as well as barrel aged bottles. Even though point of coming here is to try out different things you can get pints of anything under 8% alcohol. The chalkboard menu behind the bar is very clear and shows both alcohol percentages as well as IBUs (International Bitterness Units) so that both novices and hop heads have a sense of what they’re getting themselves into.
If you live nearby and plan on coming back, make sure to pick up a growler (they have both 32 oz. and 64 oz. growlers) and have it re-​filled later. The growlers offer a great bang for your buck ($ 7 and up to fill a small growler, $ 13 and up to fill a large growler, plus the one-​time cost of the growler itself). If you want to share your love of Sierra Nevada with the world, they have some schwag for purchase (hats, t-​shirts, bottle openers, etc.) and you can also get some things like posters for free.

Love how this place is decorated. The inside has a great mood and there’s games to play as well. We got a flight of
Otra Vez
German IPA
Tropical IPA *
Ovila Quad with Plums
Overall, the Tropical IPA was our favorite. The Ovila Quad was a dark beer that was very flavorful without being as heavy as other dark beers. The German IPA was good but not as good as the Tropical. And the Otra Vez was the lightest of the beers we got. It was refreshing and light with a citrus-​y flavor.

Almost everyone who was a teenager between the years of 1979 to present day that’s ever lived in a place that matters, should have had that fateful moment when a parental unit handed you that iconic green bottle of Sierra Nevada’s Pale Ale at a barbecue or perhaps during a holiday family gathering.
Whereas general perception of Sierra Nevada might stray a little bit from «craft» due to the ubiquitous and dangerously-​drinkable nature of its flagship brew the Torpedo Room serves as a reminder that Sierra Nevada is, has, and always will be, as «craft» as one could ever get — without the arduous journey up to Chico.
If you’ve never tried any of Sierra Nevada’s other year-​round/​seasonal/​barrel-​aged offerings because there are so many amazing choices available to you in California, this is your lucky day, as the Torpedo Room pretty much carries all the year-​rounds and seasonals on tap. They also carry the much sought-​after bourbonified versions of their much darker Narwhal and Bigfoot on a rotational basis, both of which are available in sampler format and sometimes as a growler fill, if you liked what you tasted.
The atmosphere is more Berkeley than Sierra Nevada, but that was actually a welcome sight for me; I was expecting something like a rustic, barnyard theme open area bar, but the Torpedo Room instead has a cozy modern-​chic atmosphere, with a loooooong serving counter surrounded by little two-​seater tables and window seating to the side.
I know this isn’t the most convincing of reviews, but do give the Torpedo Room a shot if you’re a beergeek making the Norcal pilgrimage (that is if Chico isn’t on your list of destinations already) — you definitely will not regret the choice, unless your entire party drove here, in which case good luck figuring out who’s going to be charged with the DUI =)

This is a great addition to all of the offerings in downtown Berkeley. The pours are very affordable and tasty! I really like their kellerweis, which smells and tastes like bananas to me. They also have board games now! This place gets very crowded and finding a table or seat can be very difficult, but it’s worth standing for!

Stumble upon this place while doing a little shopping on 4^th Street.
A tasting room of beers to taste, smell, and explore the awesome flavors of Sierra Nevada. We did a taster of four beers:
1) Hoptimum Dipa
2) Torpedo Extra
3) Snow Wit IPA
4) Kolsch *my favorite*
Overall, this place is completely off the beaten path but is absolutely enjoyable with friendly staff and fun atmosphere.
I hope you give this tasting room a try. Cheers!

This isn’t a bar. It’s an experience.
If you planned a night of debauchery and getting sloshed on delicious Sierra Nevada, this is not for you.
This place is where you go if you want to explore, taste, experience, and learn to love beer. Be ready to talk flavors, notes, palates, smells, and colors with the bartenders. Lock down for an evening of knowledge because that’s what you’re gonna get.
This place is clean, friendly, vivacious, educational, and inspiring. The staff will answer any and all questions you have. And they always have beers you wouldn’t find at the store.
They have a great selection SN swag too. And feel free to ask for their complementary stickers, bottle openers, Chapstick and pens! This place is the best. Bar none.

Theresa and Santino are amazing! Arrived at opening and received VIP treatment! Will be back for sure!

First time at the Sierra Nevada Torpedo Room! It’s not a bar, but a tasting room. They just recently started selling in amounts greater than tasters ie. half pints and full pints. They also have growlers in larger sizes to take home!
I am a big fan of IPA and tried a taster of 4 beers. The barrel aged Torpedo IPA was amazing with a punch of the barrel aged flavor. However, the pumpkin ale was my favorite from this visit! I have to come back here again and try everything on tap eventually haha.

What a neat place! And it’s located in Berkeley away from all of SF’ hipster fan base. This place seemed like it attracted the people in the neighborhood. I noticed that a lot of people were bringing in their glass jugs for refills on the beer.
We were in the neighborhood and the boyfriend loves beer so we couldn’t resist. We grabbed a couple samplers and a glass or two. Everything was good, I loved that this place wasn’t overly crowded. You could actually walk up to the counter and order as soon as you walk in– you didn’t need to fight or scour for a spot just to order drinks.
As for the drinks, we picked out a wide range of beer from light to dark. The one I can really remember was their celebration IPA– it was very strong and carried a ton of flavor.

This was my first trip to the west coast and as a beer lover I was thrilled to see my good friend was walking distance from the torpedo room. We got to her apartment threw our stuff down and headed over. This place is great! It had a huge bar area with tall tables and stools. They also had a great variety of beers on tap and the bartender was great at suggesting different types and explaining the options. The beer flights were great. I went with two friends and between the three of us we were able to try all almost all the beers they had on tap. They also have almost all the beers and then some in bottles so you can buy them and take them to go which I had to do! Definitely recommend checking out the torpedo room if you’re into craft beers! I recommend trying the hop hunter ipa, nooner Pilsner, and the kellerweis. They were all great.

I am a big beer, I attribute my physique to beer and all of its forms. First time I came here to kill some time before meeting up with some friends and I was surprised by the selection they had here. They got stuff that they only have here and Chico so if you are a Sierra Nevada fan this is a must stop for that alone.
I ended up here twice, three days apart and I was surprised that they had different pairing menus each time; first time was a chocolate pairing and the second time was a cheese pairing.
Only real knock is no real food or food trucks to help ease the hunger after a couple of beers.

Barrel-​aged heaven!
We (unluckily) were turned away when trying to visit Rare Barrel around the block, but (luckily) stumbled upon the Sierra Nevada Torpedo Room instead! It’s a great little tasting room with plenty of bar space. You’ll be able to find some great beers you may not typically encounter elsewhere, which was what we were so thankful for.
Definitely stop by if you’re in the area. You won’t regret it.
(And if you’re wondering, we came back for Rare Barrel the following day and still got our sours on!)

My favorite beer growing up was the Sierra Nevada Pale ale. I’m happy to see the company has branched out both out of Chico and also in the variety of beers they make — and all to a comfortable location in Berkeley.
The venue is small but well decorated. Theres a bar where you are served and two seating areas flanked to the sides. We ordered flights of 4 oz beers which worked out to be about $ 2 on average. They were served in a order the bar tender felt appropriate to drink in. When we went last night there was a pop up shop selling pizzas outside. To my knowledge, the room doesn’t serve food.
I’ll be going here again. It’s a fun place with good people.

OH HELL YES, SIERRA NEVADA FOR THE WIN.
Sierra Nevada Pale Ale is a great go-​to beer, especially for the craft beer novice. Their Torpedo Room is AWESOME. Great setup. Lots of great beer. Cheap prices. What more can you ask for?
You order at the bar and can find seating elsewhere at their many tables or counters. Merchandise against the left wall and bottled beer fridge of 6pk, 12pk, and bombers against the right wall.
Chalkboard lists the offerings of the day and their prices in 4oz pour, pint, 32oz growler, and 64 growler. Each 4oz pour is more than enough to sample and range from as cheap as a $ 1.50 (I think the cheapest the last time I was here was $ 1.75) to $ 3.50. I always love trying the stuff you can’t get bottled since Sierra Nevada is pretty well marketed.
Bigfoot is the best. Especially when they have their vintage. Bigfoot 2012 was delightful. I also particularly enjoy Knightro and Hoppy Lager, which they ended up canning and distributing in stores.
They are animal-​friendly and the only real downside is that they don’t serve food here other than a cheese plate or meat plate. They do sell their assortment of mustard here for $ 3.75 each and their Stout one is amazing.
They had free posters the first time I visited. They were down one staff who called in sick when I visited the second time, but the one guy was a trooper! Another coworker came in while I was there and quickly jumped in to help the growing crowd.
Parking available in the shared lot with the Grocery Outlet.
Make sure to walk out with a growler. $ 7 for an empty 32oz growler and $ 12 for an empty 64oz growler, which is not too shabby. 32oz growler refills go as cheap as $ 6! What’s not to love?

Me liking Beer is one of the things I give credit to my Unilocal friends for.
Before Unilocal,all I knew were those generic (almost water-​down) beers, and never cared for them. If you offered me a beer I would look at you weird and go directly to rum. Now, things have definitely changed. It all started with a UYE Glenn & Marisol organized, and Patrick & Stephanie brought two bottles of Sour Beer. They all started telling me about all these beers I must try, and also introduced me to one of our breweries in FL.
Ronny is another that, knowing my sour beer preference, always makes recommendations when he’s around and I thank them all for this.
I’m still not a «beer-​snob» nor do I collect or swap beers but, I have learned to appreciate the «beer culture», the craft beers and especially the sour beers. Thanks to my Unilocal friends I keep finding more I like, getting to know breweries and know what to order when I go out and feel like having one.
At a recent beer themed Unilocal event, some of the guys mentioned some California breweries, including Sierra Nevada. At the moment I didn’t think anything of it. I know I can find some of their beers here in Florida but, once in California, and noticed the brewery wasn’t far from where I was, and convinced my friends to go and visit the Torpedo Room.
Again, not knowing much about beer, I asked for help deciding what to order and the lady behind the counter immediately knew what I should get.
Couple of recommendations later, I had my flight and can’t complaint about any of them. Each of the ones I tried I would order again, without hesitation.
I had the following:
Nooner Pilsner — easy to drink, light, smooth. One you can drink on a hot summer day.
Ovila Saison — This had a citrus light taste to it. It’s a little dry and there’s a hint of sweetness to it. Very easy to drink as well, and I love the color of this one.
Bigfoot — a little stronger and thicker. Darker color, a little bitter but still smooth to drink, and also a more aromatic smell (if that’s the correct term)
Rain Check — I was a little afraid of this one… I like some stouts but others I find them too strong or bitter for my taste. This was not the case with the Rein Check. Color is very dark, thick, and less carbonation than the other three I had. It’s still full-​bodied like a stout but not as strong as some I’ve had in the past, which is a good thing for me. It’s smooth and has a bit of sweetness to it. I think I would have this one at night or cold season.
As if I hadn’t learned enough, again, crediting my Unilocal friends, John M. (the Duke) stopped by to say Hi, and told us about «cask night». Every Thursday a different beer will be available on cask until they run out. Lucky for us, we got to try some. I don’t remember the name of it but, was told it was an IPA. I thought I hated all IPAs (don’t like the aftertaste) but apparently I was wrong. This one was really good.
With all this beer we needed some food so we got some bacon pretzels and charcuterie plate. This last one came with 4 (pre-​fixed, for lack of a better word) beers, so we each took the one we liked the most from our tasting and I left the Torpedo Room feeling happy I expanded my beer knowledge and taste.

We’ve been twice now. Both times we built our own four-​taster samples. They offer 4-​ounce pours, as well as 8-​ounce pours (not posted) and growler fills, so you can mix and match to your hearts content. You pick what you want and write it down on the tasting sheet, and they add numbers to let you know the order to go in.
The beers themselves are quite good and there is a wide range that should meet most beer preferences. They were out of meat and cheese plates both times when we’ve been there. They must be popular, and/​or not well stocked.
Service is just fine. We haven’t gotten a great deal of attention while tasting but we also don’t need it. We’re seasoned beer drinkers. It can get a bit crowded but the turnover seems pretty quick and consistent.