Beer Me! — Pyramid Alehouse, Brewery and Restaurant — Berkeley

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Pyramid Alehouse, Brewery and Restaurant — Berkeley

(Cervecería Costa Rica)

(Closed)

901 Gilman Street
Berkeley CA 94710
[Update]

Notes

Visited: September 4, 1997

Opened: 1997

Closed: 2015

Annual Production: 80,000 bbl

Contributors: Karl Poppenberg, Siegfried Binge

They were brewing an obscene number of beers here when I visited in 1997. Or rather, they were serving an obscene number of beers here...I'm not sure if they were all brewed on-site.

Tours are offered Monday-Friday at 5:00pm and Saturday-Sunday at 2:00pm and 4:00pm.

Acquired by North American Breweries in 2010, stopped brewing in 2013, closed in 2015.

Updated: July 31, 2015

News

2015-07-21: Pyramid Closes Berkeley Brewery (Brookston Beer Bulletin)
2013-10-08: Pyramid Breweries workers laid off, accuse corporate of reacting to staff unionizing (Craft Brewing Business)

Beer List

Amber Lager

Vienna-Style Lager
- Date: September 4, 1997 (#2193)
  
  Package: draught
  
  Place: at the brewery
  
  Score: 13 points
  
  Overall Impression (2½)
  Red-brown. Spicy, clean aroma. Tastes clean, some spicy hops.

Amber Weizen

Dark American Wheat Beer with Yeast

5.50% abv.

Apricot Ale (formerly Apricot Weizen)

Garden (Fruit Wheat) Beer

5.10% abv.

Awards:

Gold Medal, 2006 Los Angeles County Fair Competition

Date: January 17, 2008 (#6823)

Package: bottled

Place: Beertopia, Omaha NE

Score: 16 points

Appearance (3)
Bright golden. Moderate head.

Aroma (3)
Intense perfumey apricot.

Mouthfeel (8)
Light body, fizzy. Huge apricot flavor on top of mild grainy malt. Finishes surprisingly quick and clean.

Overall Impression (2)
Date: September 4, 1997 (#2183)

Package: draught

Place: at the brewery

Score: 13½ points

Overall Impression (2½)
Yellow opaque, OK head. Smells like apricot juice. Lots and lots of apricot flavor. Anything else? No.

Best Brown

English-Style Brown Ale

Date: September 4, 1997 (#2185)

Package: draught

Place: at the brewery

Score: 14 points

Overall Impression (2½)
Brown, clear, OK head. Smoky-sweet aroma. Sweet, lots of brown malt. Sticky sweet brown beer.

Broken Rake

American-Style Amber/Red Ale

6.10% abv.

Date: September 23, 2008 (#7361)

Package: bottled

Place: Beertopia, Omaha NE

Score: 16 points

Appearance (3)
Bright copper color. High carbonation. Thick head.

Aroma (3)
Fruity hops. Sweet biscuity malt.

Mouthfeel (8)
Medium body, moderate carbonation. Big sweet, toasty, earthy maltiness. Mild resiny bitterness.

Overall Impression (2)

Date: July 10, 2013 (#9224)

Package: bottled

Place: Hy-Vee Stony Brook, Omaha NE

Score: 16 points

Appearance (3)
Bright yellow. Low dense head.

Aroma (3)
Sweet malt. Really fruity.

Mouthfeel (8)
Light body, fizzy. Sweet and fruity. Very low bitterness. Sweet clean finish.

Overall Impression (2)

Date: September 4, 1997 (#2184)

Package: draught

Place: at the brewery

Score: 14½ points

Overall Impression (3)
Red-brown, clear, good head. Smells brown and sweet. Sweet. Brown. Sweet. Brown. This is a Brown Ale.

Date: April 9, 1997 (#2189)

Package: draught

Place: at the brewery

Score: 14½ points

Overall Impression (3)
Brown-amber, low head. Sweet roasty aroma. Good brown flavor, not particularly bitter.

Date: September 4, 1997 (#2188)

Package: draught

Place: at the brewery

Score: 14½ points

Overall Impression (3)
Dark yellow opaque, good head. Very clean aroma. Some clove flavor, some spice. Sweet wheat. Not a bad beer.

Date: September 4, 1997 (#2177)

Package: draught

Place: at the brewery

Score: 14 points

Overall Impression (2½)
Darkish golden, OK head, some haze. Real clean aroma. Nice body, sweet, wheat-ish with a lot of honey. "Mit Roggen."

Date: October 28, 2007 (#6669)

Package: bottled

Place: Beertopia, Omaha NE

Score: 15½ points

Appearance (3)
Golden-amber. Opaque with yeast. Big thick head.

Aroma (3)
Spicy, yeasty, and alcoholic. Smoky and phenolic.

Mouthfeel (8)
Big body, fizzy. Smoothly malty with lots of wheat flavor. Noticeable alcohol. Very mild clove spiciness. Hint of smoke in the finish. Some rubbery, autolysed yeast flavor as it warms.

Overall Impression (1½)
Think Helles Bock, fermented with Weizen yeast.

Date: September 4, 1997 (#2187)

Package: draught

Place: at the brewery

Score: 18 points

Overall Impression (3)
Golden-brown, good head. Spicy fruity aroma. Real nice body, real spicy, real good flavor. Second best beer we've had today.

Date: September 4, 1997 (#2194)

Package: draught

Place: at the brewery

Score: 14½ points

Overall Impression (3)
Red, good head. Fruity aroma, some spice. Malty, toasty flavors.

Date: September 4, 1997 (#2191)

Package: draught

Place: at the brewery

Score: 15 points

Overall Impression (2½)
Amber-clear, good head. Bit of spice aroma. Real nice body. Spicy hops. Finishes real clean.

Date: September 4, 1997 (#2186)

Package: draught

Place: at the brewery

Score: 14½ points

Overall Impression (3)
Completely black, OK head. Big coffee nose. Huge sweet coffee flavor. Absolutely Nothing Else.

Date: January 20, 2009 (#7689)

Package: bottled

Place: Beertopia, Omaha NE

Score: 16 points

Appearance (3)
Bright red. Moderate head.

Aroma (3)
Lots of malt, even more toffee.

Mouthfeel (8)
Medium-big body, smooth and sweet. Huge toffee flavor, lots of grassy, resiny hops. Fairly bitter. Resiny bitter sweet finish.

Overall Impression (2)

Date: September 4, 1997 (#2196)

Package: draught

Place: at the brewery

Score: 15 points

Overall Impression (2½)
Brown, clear, good head. Toasty aroma. Sweet, good body, toasty. Finishes toasty and sweet.

Date: September 4, 1997 (#2192)

Package: draught

Place: at the brewery

Score: 15 points

Overall Impression (2½)
Dark red, no head. Roasty-coffee aroma. Real good body, real good mix of black and bitter.

Date: September 4, 1997 (#2182)

Package: draught

Place: at the brewery

Score: 12½ points

Overall Impression (2½)
Yellow opaque, low head. Very clean aroma. Very sweet, citric. Yet Another American Wheat Beer.

Date: September 4, 1997 (#2181)

Package: draught

Place: at the brewery

Score: 13 points

Overall Impression (2½)
Golden, OK head. Smells fruity...watermelon! More American wheat beer. (I didn't know it was supposed to be a Pilsner until I saw the bottle a week later.)

Date: September 4, 1997 (#2180)

Package: draught

Place: at the brewery

Score: 12½ points

Overall Impression (2½)
Golden, hazy, OK head. Good coriander nose. Lots of spice, but kinda rubbery. Sweet, cloying finish.

Date: September 4, 1997 (#2195)

Package: draught

Place: at the brewery

Score: 11 points

Overall Impression (2)
Yellow opaque, OK head. Clean aroma. Tastes nasty. Stale, rubbery. Eleven points is generous. Ick.

Date: September 4, 1997 (#2190)

Package: draught

Place: at the brewery

Score: 15 points

Overall Impression (2½)
Black, big tan head. Bit of coffee aroma. Spicy, bitter, sweet. Finishes sweet.

Date: September 4, 1997 (#2178)

Package: draught

Place: at the brewery

Score: 11½ points

Overall Impression (2½)
Dark golden, OK head, some haze. Smells and tastes like Hi-C.

Date: September 4, 1997 (#2179)

Package: draught

Place: at the brewery

Score: 11 points

Overall Impression (2)
Dark yellow, clear, no head. Very clean aroma. Very very clean beer. A bit of wheat sweetness. Eh. I said, "Put the lemon on the side." She said, "That's the way we do it...besides, it's on the side of the glass."