Almanac Beer Company
| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Brewing |
| Founded | 2010 |
| Founder | Jesse Friedman, Damian Fagan |
| Headquarters | Alameda, California , United States |
Area served | Northern California |
| Products | Craft beer, oak barrel-aged sour beers, farmhouse ales |
| Website | almanacbeer |
Almanac Beer Company is a craft brewery located in Alameda, California, focusing on producing small-batch, farm-to-table beers crafted with fruits, grains, and herbs sourced from nearby family-owned farms. The brewery offers a variety of year-round table beers, limited-edition releases, and oak barrel-aged varieties, earning acclaim particularly for its oak-aged sour beers and farmhouse ales.
History
Established in 2010 by Jesse Friedman and Damian Fagan—who connected through a homebrewing group—Almanac draws inspiration from Alice Waters' dedication to regional and seasonal ingredients. The brewery maintains close relationships with Northern California’s sustainable agriculture sector and prioritizes creating beers designed to pair well with food.
In 2012, Almanac was honored as an editor’s pick in the San Francisco Bay Guardian’s Best of the Bay. Its Farmer's Reserve No. 4 earned a spot among Draft Magazine’s top 25 beers in 2013.
December 2016 marked the opening of Almanac’s inaugural retail location: a taproom situated in San Francisco’s Mission District that features indoor seating alongside a year-round beer garden. By February 2018, the company expanded operations by launching a 30,000-square-foot production facility accompanied by a second taproom housed in a refurbished 1940s hangar at the former Naval Air Station Alameda.
Co-founder Jesse Friedman stepped back from daily management duties in August 2018 but continued to serve on the board of directors.
Beers
Almanac approaches beer production with a philosophy akin to winemaking—emphasizing pricing, aging, marketing, and consumption patterns similar to those of wine. When it debuted in late 2011, its $20 price point per 750ml bottle was comparable to entry-level wines typically found on restaurant menus. The brewery’s die-cut labels take design cues from both wine packaging and 19th-century Scotch whisky bottles. Specializing in oak barrel-aged brews, Almanac actively promotes pairing its beers with meals to enhance beer’s culinary presence.
The brewery’s first release was "Summer 2010 Blackberry Ale," a Belgian-style golden ale brewed using Sonoma County blackberries and matured for 11 months in red wine barrels, yielding 309 cases. After a three-month delay, it launched in San Francisco to positive reviews for appealing even to consumers who generally avoid fruit-flavored beers. The follow-up was "Autumn 2011 Farmhouse Pale," brewed with organic plums from the San Joaquin Valley and wheat. In April 2012, the Fairmont San Francisco hotel introduced a draft version brewed with honey harvested from its rooftop beehives—a reflection of the growing trend of hotel partnerships with local breweries.
In August 2012, Almanac introduced its year-round California Table Beer Series, beginning with Honey Saison and Extra Pale Ale available in four-packs at $11 retail price. Despite initial hesitation due to competitive market conditions, the brewery launched a single-origin IPA in January 2013 featuring hops from Hops-Meister Farm in Clearlake.
January 2013 also saw the release of three "Farm to Barrel" oak-aged beers packaged in 375ml bottles; some had been aged over one year within a barrel collection totaling approximately 250 barrels. Notable releases included Barrel Noir—a bourbon barrel-aged blend of Belgian dark ales—and an American imperial stout. By early 2014, Almanac shifted focus back toward oak-aged sours and farmhouse ales while continuing production of IPAs, lagers, and pilsners. With the opening of its own brewery facility in 2018, Almanac solidified its reputation primarily for these oak-aged sour styles.
Partial list of Almanac beers:
| Series | Beer | Date | Ingredients | Source (California) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| California Table Beers | ||||
| Extra Pale Ale | Aug 2012 | Mandarin oranges | Blossom Bluff Farms (Reedley) | |
| Honey Saison | Aug 2012 | Honey | Marshall Farms (American Canyon) | |
| Biere de Chocolat | Jan 2013 | Madagascar and Río Caribe cacao beans; Ivanhoe hops | Dandelion Chocolate (San Francisco) | |
| Farm to Barrel | ||||
| Barrel Noir | Jan 2013 | |||
| Farmer's Reserve No. 1 wild ale | Jan 2013 | Cabernet Sauvignon, Muscat, Concord grapes; plums | Alfieri Farms; Hamada Farms; Twin Girls Farm | |
| Farmer's Reserve No. 2 | Jan 2013 | Heirloom pumpkins; Fuyu persimmons; ginger | La Tercera Farms (Bodega Bay); Hamada Farms (Kingsburg); Santa Clara Valley | |
| Farmer's Reserve No. 3 | May 2013 | Strawberries; Crimson Baby nectarines | Swanton Berry Farm; Blossom Bluff Farms | |
| Farmer's Reserve No. 4 | May 2013 | Cara Cara oranges, Meyer lemons, Buddha's Hand citron | Hamada Farms (Kingsburg) | |
| Dogpatch Sour | July 2013 | Rainier cherries; sourdough starter | ||
| Heirloom Pumpkin Barleywine | July 2013 | Heirloom pumpkins | La Tercera Farms (Bodega Bay) | |
| Oak-age beers (mostly sours) | From 2014 (~monthly releases) | |||
| Special releases | ||||
| Summer 2010 Belgian-style Golden Ale | Blackberries | Sebastopol Berry Farm | ||
| Autumn 2011 Farmhouse Pale | San Joaquin Valley plums; organic wheat | Twin Girls Farm (Yettem); Massa Organics (Glenn County) | ||
| Winter 2012 Winter Wit | San Joaquin Valley oranges; ginger root | Hamada Farm (Kingsburg); Mellow's Nursery (Morgan Hill) | ||
| Spring 2012 Bière de Mars | Organic baby fennel | Heirloom Organic Gardens (Hollister) | ||
| Fairmont Hotel Honey Saison | April 2012 | Honey | Fairmont San Francisco rooftop apiary | |
| California Fresh Hop Ale (draft only) | Sept 2012 | Crystal malt | Grown by Graham Anderson at Stanford University campus | |
| Single Origin Chinook IPA | Jan 2013 | Chinook hops | Hops-Meister (Clearlake) | |
| Single Origin Cluster IPA | Jan 2013 | Cluster hops | Hops-Meister (Clearlake) | |
| Single Origin Cascade IPA | Jan 2013 | Cascade hops | Hops-Meister (Clearlake) | |
| Flowering Gose | Aug 2013 | Green coriander berries and flowers | Mariquita Farms (Watsonville) |