Fieldwork Brewing Company Transforms a Former Bank into a Huge New Taproom

Berkeley’s Fieldwork Brewing Company, which serves an ever-changing craft beer menu in a constellation of its own taprooms from Sacramento to Monterey, recently launched the 8th and largest location in downtown San Leandro, California. The sprawling 7,800 square foot East Bay taproom is easy walking distance from the town’s Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) station. September’s soft launch of this newest satellite location marks the latest chapter in the rise of the fast-growing independent brewery. 

The Taproom

Fieldwork photo credit Steve Shapiro

The taproom building on Juana Street at East 14th is boldly branded and impossible for its new neighbors to miss. Passers-by, arriving diners and craft beer fans can peek through the doorway into the expansive interior courtyard created when a substantial swath of the building’s roof was removed for the project. The beer garden portion has a capacity of 265 people. There’s seating under the overhang in case of rain as well as a bona fide indoor bar area with 32 taps where up to 65 patrons can hang out. Servers deliver flavorful Fieldwork beers, creative pizzas available in both the round Neapolitan and square Detroit styles, a selection of appetizers and even the occasional glass of wine for those who are so inclined. 

The structure was a vacant bank owned by his realtor when the craft brewery’s co-founder, Barry Braden, first saw it. The brewery’s business plan had always anticipated opening multiple locations following the launch of Berkeley in 2015, but San Leandro was not on the radar. “I knew we wanted to be in Napa and maybe we wanted to be in Monterey. I knew we needed a presence in Sacramento. And then San Mateo dropped into our lap,” Braden recounted. His real estate agent had also proposed that location, as well as the San Ramon site. His main criterion was a good circulation of people around the buildings he looked at.

Design Considerations

Fieldwork courtyard photo credit Eric Wolfinger.jpg

Adapting older buildings is a strategy that’s worked for small breweries around the globe, reconfiguring structures from factories to churches. But despite the presence of a discarded vault, the big boxy building displayed few of the characteristics expected in an older bank. Earlier, in the 50s and 60s, it had been a Firestone Auto Service Center. At the suggestion of the real estate agent, the ambitious renovation included stripping everything down to the bones and removing a significant portion of the roof to create a beer garden patio. The feel is something akin to Drake’s Dealership, in nearby Oakland, California, a popular brewery taproom with a similar automotive heritage and an open rooftop. Braden confirms that he loves the Dealership, and that this design is an homage. 

But rather than featuring retro automotive graphics in its repurposed garage, Fieldwork San Leandro draws on the naturalist theme behind the company name. A verdant mural, featuring a huge bird illustration worthy of an avian field guide, wraps around the courtyard. Three giant roll-up glass garage doors provide additional light to the airy courtyard interior. Long social tables, cozy smaller spaces for couples, warming fire pits, and a characterful 75-year-old olive tree reaching up towards the open roof enhance the comfortable outdoor atmosphere. The space feels distinctive and inviting. 

Hospitality Leads to Innovation

Fieldwork beer flight photo credit Eric Wolfinger.jpg

The bevy of brewery taprooms provides Fieldwork with direct insight into customer preferences. Like many contemporary craft breweries, Fieldwork made its reputation with assorted IPAs, varied by strength and flavor through recipes that blend bold modern hop varieties. Co-founder and brewing mastermind Alex Tweet first came into prominence at Ballast Point Brewing in San Diego where he perfected the breakthrough Grapefruit Sculpin IPA and other fruity, hoppy beers as well as classic beer styles. Today Fieldwork’s collection of IPA variations account for about a third of the company’s production, according to Braden. New recipes are a fact of life. Since its inception in 2015, the brewery has featured more than 500 different beers, only a handful of which are seen frequently. 

Braden confirms that juicy, hazy IPAs – including “Pulp,” which they try to have on tap 90% of the time – continue to be their best sellers. “Pulp is still the number-one selling beer, but […] of the rest of the top 10 sold in the taprooms, 3 are lagers and 2 are sours,” Braden said. “And right now, one is a West Coast style Pale Ale.” 

Fieldwork double IPA photo credit Eric Wolfinger

While visiting the San Leandro taproom, we enjoyed beers from across the IPA family as well as a crisp craft pilsner, a jammy fruit sour and a stout designed to taste just like the corner piece of a chocolate brownie – the kind where the crust is caramelized and crunchy but not quite burnt. Flights are available in glassware that accentuates the aroma of all the beer styles served. 

Braden described Tweet’s formulations as “really big on aroma.” He explained that his partner’s philosophy is “I want a beer that you can smell [...] and you want to drink three of what you just had.” 

Because it’s a satellite taproom, these beers aren’t exclusive to San Leandro. Beer is brewed and fermented in Berkeley where it’s kegged to go on tap at all of the Fieldwork locations. The taprooms, including the original Berkeley location, Corte Madera, Monterey, Napa, Sacramento, San Leandro, San Mateo and San Ramon, also sell cans of Fieldwork beers to go. Fieldwork installed a canning system just prior to the COVID-19 lockdown in a stroke of good timing that allowed the company to continue brewing at scale when customers were staying home. In 2018, the San Francisco Business Times had ranked Fieldwork as the 10th fastest growing private company among “100 Fastest Growing Private Companies in the Bay Area.” 

When the San Leandro site was chosen, there had been a chance that the opening would be bittersweet for Braden and company. It wasn’t until several weeks after a soft launch announcement on Instagram packed the new location that a change in California’s brewery licensing laws was signed, allowing craft breweries to operate 8 external “duplicate” locations that do not brew on premise, up from 6. This prevented San Leandro from being the last Fieldwork outpost without building additional physical breweries. 

Now that AB 2307, has gone into effect, Braden is already turning his eyes to establishing two additional Northern California locations. While unwilling to say where they have found the prospective sites, Braden hinted that one will be outside the Bay Area followed by another location closer to the Bay in 2024. 

Will that be the end of the expansion? Braden allows that the Sacramento taproom might be able to be reconfigured and relicensed to brew on premise. That would mean another site could open. Clearly, the wheels are still turning.