Bay Area brewery day trip: 3 stops in the Lorin district of Berkeley and beyond

Over the last two years, my Bay Area brewery tours have taken me from Lafayette to Concord, Sunnyvale and Gilroy. But a recent jaunt took me to a part of Berkeley with a history and a name you may not know.

The community of Lorin was once the last stop on the Central Pacific — now the Southern Pacific — rail line before Berkeley. More than a century ago, its residents agreed to be absorbed by that city, but its legend lives on in South Berkeley. Today, the Lorin district includes shops, eateries and arts centers along Adeline Avenue — and, of course, breweries on both sides of the Oakland-Berkeley border.

Hoi Polloi Brewing Taproom and Beat Lounge

Like so many professional brewers, Hoi Polloi co-founder Viet Vu started out as a homebrewer. After a stint at Germany’s World Brewing Academy to hone his craft, he opened Hoi Polloi in 2015 with his brother, first with a small 3-bbl system, which they quickly outgrew. Now they do their brewing offsite in Oakland using a 7-bbl brewhouse.

You’ll find at least half a dozen beers on tap at any given time, including the popular Gabilicious West Coast IPA and People’s Park Pale Ale, two solid, clean beers with good hopping aromas and flavors, and a Red & Black Lumberjack hazy. When I was there, the Belgian-style beer rotation offered The Running Man Tripel, which was quite tasty with great Belgian yeast character.

The name Hoi Polloi, a term used to describe the masses or the common people, is a nod to the kinship they feel for their community. You’ll see that echoed throughout the taproom, from the brewery motto — “Craft beer for the masses” — to the bulletin board announcing community activities and social justice causes and the comfortable, communal feel of the space. Fridays nights feature an in-house DJ, and the brewery hosts occasional shows by local artists.

Details: The brewery is open daily until 11 p.m. or even later, depending on the day of the week, at 1763 Alcatraz Ave. in Berkeley; https://hoipolloibrewing.com/.

Tenma Beer Project

Oakland’s newest brewery opened just a few blocks away on April 12. Its founders include veteran brewer Brennan Perry, his wife, Dana Martindale, and his mother, Debbie Tenma — hence the name. After studying at Chicago’s Siebel Institute, Perry spent more than 10 years at San Diego’s Stone Brewing and was director of brewing at Beachwood’s Huntington Beach location — but he grew up here in the East Bay.

Tenma, which is housed in the former Novel Brewing location, opened with four beers: Regular Occurrence pale ale; Finally Found a Place IPA, a West Coast IPA; Magma Chamber, an Irish Red; and Slow Decay, A Munich dunkel. With room for 16 taps, the offerings — including a forthcoming Liquid Sunbeam helles — are sure to increase in the coming months.

Perry also has a collaboration beer with Laguna Hills’ GameCraft Brewing and hopes to launch other collabs with local breweries. No food service yet, but plans are underway for food trucks and pop-
ups, trivia nights and other community-focused events. (There’s already a stash of board games on hand.)

Details: Hours may vary in these opening days, but right now, they open at 3 p.m. Wednesday-Friday and noon on weekends at 6510 San Pablo Ave. in Oakland. Check tenmabeer.com and Instagram @tenmabeerproject for updates and details.

Great Notion Brewing Taproom

Confession: This taproom is considerably further north than the Lorin district, and it’s not a brewery. But it offers such a distinctive beer experience, I thought it was worth including.

After the Sierra Nevada Torpedo Room closed during the pandemic, founders James Dugan, Andy Miller and Paul Reiter stepped in and reopened the space as a Great Notion taproom. Their Portland-based brewery was a pioneer in bringing New England or hazy IPAs to the West Coast, and they’re known for their fruit sours and culinary-inspired hazies.

Their lead bartender Dominic Barrientos moved from Portland to Berkeley to imbue the company culture in the new location, which opened in January with a lineup of 16 Great Notion beers on tap. As you’d expect, there are several hazy IPAs, including Juice, Jr., a solid example with just a hint of underlying bitterness to balance the sweeter juiciness. I was also really taken with Blueberry Muffin, a fruited sour which nicely approximated the aromas and flavor of the
breakfast staple in liquid form.