We recently bought a kegerator and realized that the CO2 tank was empty, so we needed to find a place to gte it filled. Oak Barrel Winecraft was one of the few places open until 6 PM, which was really convenient since many other places close in the early afternoon. The owner was incredbly friendly and helpful. He walked us through what to check when buying gas tank, including checking the date on the tank. He also invited us to try some of their homemade beer, Chardonnay, and sparkling water, which was sunch a nice touch! We also learned that they offer brewing classes. If I have some free time, I'd definitely love to take one of their courses. Great customer service and a very welcoming atmosphere. Highly recommend stopping by, especially if you're interested in home brewing! read more

Oak Barrel Winecraft - Brewing Supplies Near Me - Berkeley, California

Super helpful and friendly staff. Always a good conversation about brewing and can provide insight/recommendations about which yeast to use. Huge range of supplies for beer. read more

I normally don't give bad reviews UNLESS the merchant deserves it and unfortunately, Oak Barrel Winecraft absolutely deserves it. The reason for such harsh criticism is that they've screwed me over on two separate occasions. The first time was a few months ago when I called to confirm that they had a pre-filled CO2 tank and was told that they had plenty in stock. When I arrived at the store that same day, I was told that they're fresh out and so I went home empty-handed. I grudgingly gave them the benefit of the doubt and went back today (Thursday) after being told on the phone once again that they' had plenty of pre-filled CO2 tanks available and that they close at 6pm. I arrived at their store at 5:30pm only to find it closed. MFer! It's a 2-hour round-trip completely wasted. Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me. Fuuuuccckkk you Oak Barrel Winecraft and the lame horse you rode in on. read more

I'm an amateur wine maker. I get everything I need from Oak Barrel. They have some of the best prices, high quality supplies and equipment and are very helpful. I like their Pinot Noir bottles... lighter but good quality. I've been a satisfied customer for around 20 years! read more

Came for a CO2 tank for my soda stream! They were super friendly and helpful. Also picked up a 4 pack of Jasmine rice beer which is delicious and goes really well with hot pot and Korean fried chicken. Excited to check out the Sake making class they are hosting in a few months! read more

I called 15 minutes after they opened to confirm that they had the CO2 cylinder I was looking for in stock. After the woman working there confirmed that they have it in stock. I drove 45 minutes over there only for the same lady to tell me that she did not have any and she's not sure what happened. Unimpressed with the service. read more

Right place for the home brew shop that has what you need and the advice you want . Pick up a 4 pack of local brews too while you're there! read more

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Everything and anything you can think of for making alcohol. I use this location to refill my CO2 canisters for my aquarium. The cheapest place around great customer service as well. read more

Great service - knowledgeable staff - wonderful selection and will definitely shop there when in need of cider making supplies in the future

Oakbarrel has everything you need to learn about homebrewing. You can use their grain mill in the back to quickly crush your malt for brewing the next day. Often have new beers for sale in the fridge or on tap to sample like the Amber Ale from Origin Brewer and Match Point Brewing. read more

Oak Barrel Winecraft - Milling malt at Oakbarrel - Brewing Supplies Near Me - Berkeley, California

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Called last week for a cleaning cap for a Bronco Keg Tap. They said they had it. Drove all the way down to San Pablo Ave only to be told they did not have it!! Lot of time and gas for nothing read more

The Oak Barrel Winercraft is a place like no other that I know of in Berkeley, except maybe BioFuel Oasis. A super friendly shop, where you can get to know both employees and clientele, exchange information, and maybe even cook up a small time business deal. The place smells great, too! I've always found the supplies useful for various fermentation projects, chemistry at its fineness. read more

We are incredibly thankful that oak barrel Winecraft had C02 tanks available for exchange last week! This store has a wide variety of all your home-brewing needs.... even winemaking, and cheesemaking supplies. Robert was happy to find rocky mountain yeast available for purchase! Looking forward to going back for more supplies in the future. The staff was incredibly helpful and attentive too. read more

Oak Barrel Winecraft - Store front - Brewing Supplies Near Me - Berkeley, California

Great place! Super helpful and friendly staff! Will be going back often. I love their in house cats too!

I am leaving this review specifically for one of the managers who helped me out today. The guy's name was Birdy--he did an excellent job and provided top-notch service. I believe he deserves a raise. read more

This place is the ideal of the local shop. I only come in here for CO2, but everyone is very laid back and friendly and does their best to help out. I love coming in here and seeing what other people are getting into... I do not see myself becoming and amateur brewer anytime soon, but it is fun to peak in on someone else's hobby. If you are a homebrewer give Oak Barrel a shot! read more

If you haven't been to oak barrel for your brewing and fermenting needs, you're missing out. Their customer service is top level. Their knowledge is at the highest range and even when people are calling, walking in and hurrying the staff you will feel like a priority. If you're lucky enough to get Stacy to help you, she and the rest of the crew go above an beyond to make sure you get what you need! 10/10 would recommend! read more

Was lucky enough to register for their Winemaking 101 class in July. Great balance of knowledge and hands on. The class was a mix of newbies, curious, hobbiests, and enthusiasts. Keith led the class and kept it lively. Love the exposure to this potential new hobby with my wife and friends. You can tell the store staff has lots of wisdom making and helping people make wines. Love the vibe of the place. Even just for looking around. read more

Not necessarily completely planning out an upcoming brew day, I found myself in need of your basic Irish ale yeast. Fortunately, as I work in Berkeley, there's Oak Barrel Winecraft. They had what I needed, no problem, & a whole lot more (as the name implies, they also supply wine & vinegar making). & after a couple conversations here, I learned an interesting fact about this place. They've been around since 1957. That makes them an OG (pun intended) of homebrew supply. That date has an impressive distinction. Back then it wasn't legal to do what they're doing now. You gotta seriously love the craft of making beer to break the law for the sake of being able to do it. Bottom line: this is a good spot to pick up some necessities for your next brew day & shoot the breeze with the cool folks who work here. Oh, & there's even free tastings of homebrew on tap. How cool is that? Oak Barrel Winecraft is conveniently located for me & is a great resource that I truly appreciate. read more

I used to shop exclusively at this store. Recently got a case of glass flip top bottles but when I sanitized them along with all the others I had gotten here before, the metal tops instantly rusted. Apparently they switched from carrying a stainless product that I had previously gotten, to a regular steel. The sales person, Homer, said 'no one told me to sanitize them' and 'I should have known better'...adding that i didn't need to be told how to use the bathroom, did I? Very unfriendly and unreasonable experience. The manager did call me back when i emailed her to complain but had no interest in refunding me or replacing the tops despite agreeing that there would be no way for me to know this would have been an issue. I guess they are not really interested in the experience their customers have, or willing to stand behind the products they represent. BUYER BEWARE here. I'll shop on line from now on and I'd recommend if you are looking for brewing supplies that you do the same. read more

Oak Barrel Winecraft - Brewing Supplies Near Me - Berkeley, California

I have to thank these guys, Tom and Homer, for helping me out along the way in my journey in Cider making. They have always been extremely helpful answering my numerous questions over the past year or so. Besides that, its a great shop to get equipment, supplies and additives for what ever you are brewing or making. If they don't have it, they'll get it :) Thanks for all of you help! read more

Spring Break 2015 in CA...What a neat place. If you ever wanted to make your own vinegar, beer, wine, and/or cheese...this is your place. This small warehouse has supplies for all of these to outfit the do-it-yourselfer. Located over on San Pablo just a short ride from the University of California-Berkeley, one can get just about any supply for these brew-it-yourself items, especially the beer making staples. They have a very large selection of yeasts and hops for the home beer brewer. Their supplies also run the gamut of barrels, oversize plastic buckets, and a number of starter sets for those just getting their feet wet. In fact, the started sets for beer - one was roughly $100 and the other just a bit over that - would make great holiday presents for someone who likes a variety of beers...give them a gift of a starter set and they can make their own. Original and creative. Their supplies for cheese making - which is what we went in for - were a bit lighter but just enough to give you a start. They really hold themselves out to specialize in beer and wine...cheese and vinegar being second lines. The staff here was very helpful. They'll answer any question you have and generally put you at ease about trying to brew your own. Give this place a try...it was fun. read more

Bernie was very helpful! It's my first time making a small batch of wine. He helped me try to figure out what type Of grape i have cause i didn't know. Gave me great advice as well and answered all my questions. He sold me only what I needed. I will be back! read more

I love this place! The staff is incredibly helpful and friendly. Good samples and demos too. If you need anything for beer/cider/wine, this is a great place. read more

This is a great little store with lots of supplies for your brewing needs. I bought all my brewing supplies there less than 4 years ago and have been faithfully restocking my co2 tanks only to find out that somewhere in the last rotation they exchanged one that was about to expire. I was not aware of this and thus never checked- please make sure you always check the expiration date on your tanks as they might get you a bad one. read more

I've been a homebrewer for a couple years and I recently moved to the Bay Area. I was in need of a place to refill my CO2 tank for my kegerator. I'm So glad Yelp pointed me to this spot. Very easily swapped out my CO2 tank for $19. While there I looked around and found they have a huge selection of yeast, hops, malt, extract, supplies, etc... read more

As his 60th birthday present my sister and I decided to buy our dad a beer making kit. After reading Oak Barrel's great customer service reviews, we decided that buying the kit should be a family outting. This way we could all learn a bit about the brewing and surprise him on the spot. As promised (thanks Yelp!) service was friendly and informative. We had to engage our helper a bit but it was great. During our conversation we learned about the brewing process and the equipment required. We went in planing to buy one of their two kits (The basic $85 and deluxe $125). We decided on the deluxe. Yes it is more expensive, but the extras that came with it, we felt, would help my dad to enjoy the process more. We were in no way pressured to buy the more expensive one. The kit plus the kettle and the ingredient kit came out to just under $250. Not cheap, but now that he has all of the tools he should be able to just buy ingredient kits (about $30 each) or ingredients a la cart. You make about 50 beers with one ingredient kit, so after initial expensies its not so bad for the quantity you make. Plus it made my dad happy. Hello, it was his 60th birthday! read more

This is by far the best winemaking supply shop in the Bay Area. They have absolutely everything you could possibly need, including every obscure wine yeast strain under the sun. Not only do they have a great selection of products, the staff is very knowledgeable and is willing to field your questions if you aren't sure about something. Bonus, they also usually have a keg of home brew for you to sample as you browse their impressive selection of homebrew and winemaking supplies. Oak Barrel also carries cheese-making and vinegar-making supplies. As if that weren't enough, during grape harvest season you can buy grapes by the pound from them and rent basket presses, floor corkers, crusher/stemmers, etc. You can also buy bottles individually instead of having to buy entire cases at a time. I am so grateful for Oak Barrel Winecraft! read more

I'm drinking a glass of homemade Hefeweizen as i'm typing this... It's my first batch and I have to say, given I came into this new, exciting experience thinking I'd fuck up the first couple batches, it has way surpassed my expectations... not only is it drinkable, but it tastes REALLY good. Anytime I need advise or an opnion or if i just want to go taste good homebrew I make my way into Oak Barrel on San Pablo, pour myself a glass of complimentary homebrew on tap, go wandering through all the malts, get an idea of what I want to brew then ask Homer if he thinks it's a good idea and he tells you whats up. At least that's my routine. I always have questions and, so far, they've always had the answer. For about $30 you can make 5 gallons of anything you want. I think it beats any $20 30 pack of domesticated piss water. But I'm just one man with one opinion..... and 5 gallons of delicious beer you should mosey your way in there to experience home brewing/wine making for yourself! read more

The people are semi-friendly, nothing like More Beer in Los Altos though. This has become a go to spot for grains and hops, and some yeasts for me. Pros: pretty good grains and extracts at reasonable prices. If I was only reviewing on brewing ingredients they would get 5 stars. Cons: Do not buy equipment here. Some of their beer brewing equipment is DOUBLE the price of other LHBS and online stores. At least price compare before making an equipment purchase. They'd be making a lot of $$ if they would make their hardware prices more competitive. Between making my kegerator and brewing equipment, they have probably lost a couple of thousand $$ to competitors on me alone. I have even asked if they would go semi-near a price on a stout faucet, and they wouldn't do it. Even at $20 more it would have saved me time and gas from going across the bay. Their price: $160 about. My purchase price elsewhere: $80. Guess where I didn't buy my stout faucet. read more

Your husband, with you in tow, really likes it here. He brews beer and they have what he needs to do that. It's close to where we live. You would go back. You would recommend this place. They have samples. read more

I'll agree with a lot of reviews in that no one behind the counter will go out of their way to help you. You must go to them. (Does anyone know why most homebrew stores are like this?) They also have a great way of making you feel incompetent if you ask silly questions. And not silly like, "why is the sky blue", but silly like, "when would you recommend adding apricots to the process? End of boil? Primary? Secondary?" (Not all that silly of a question, in my book.) The answer was primary, I think. Anyway, they have a nice selection of equipment there. I haven't got out of the ingredient kits rut just yet but they seem to offer a lot of whole grains and fridges full of yeasts and malts. I think before you visit Oak Barrel you just need to really do the research, know exactly what you're there for and if you plan on asking any questions, you should probably figure out the answer on your own. read more

Who can say no to free beer while you shop? As much as you want, and good homebrew at that! I love Oak Barrel Winecraft. It's one of the two homebrewing stores in the Bay Area, at least that I know of. The other one is in the city and is also good but it doesn't have free beer. If you're interested in homebrewing and you're driving down San Pablo in Berkeley and you've got nothing better to do than sip some good free beer and browse a few beer recipes or check out some cool homebrewing gear or chat with a couple of cool locals, you should check this place out. It's locally owned, and they're there to help you out. You can also learn about the process of wine-making here, although I don't know much about this. Another plus: They have all of the Triple Rock Brewery recipes on hand for free! In case you didn't know, I'm a huge fan of Triple Rock. I think it's the best-kept beer secret in the Bay Area. I just brewed two batches last weekend. A nice rich mellow amber that's going to tip out at 8%. And a pale ale loaded with Cascade hops. For $50 I can brew $200 worth of beer and I don't have to go anywhere to get it. Not bad. read more

While this place was generally ok, I suggest some of you try "Beer, Beer, and More Beer" in Concord if you can make it out that way. Bigger selection, cheaper equipment, friendlier staff, wayyyyyyyyyyyyy more ingredient kits to choose from, and just a generally nicer store. Oak Barrel is fine, and I will be back as I live very close by. But just thought I'd give yall an option. (: p.s. The basic beer making kit lacks some pretty essential equipment. Go for the deluxe. read more

I got a beer kit for Christmas and have brewed 6 times now. The staff is SUPER helpful and knowledgeable. To all the people who posted any complaints about the staff: * they don't try to sell you anything * you have to take the time to learn the beer lexicon to tap their knowledge. At first, I didn't know what I was doing or what I needed to ask. This week, I brought in a list of left over hops I had from other brews, described a beer I want (Pliny the Elder), and Bob wrote me a custom recipe. I couldn't ask for better service! If you ask about techniques, malts, hops, yeasts, etc they will talk for hours as you sip the sample beer on tap (ask for a cup). Oh, and the beer we are making is superb thanks to the Oak Barrel! read more

It was the summer of 2004. Me and my roommate had just graduated. We were still living in Berkeley and had a lot of free time. This combined with our love of beer, the Good Eats episode about brewing beer, and having met a few people who brewed, we decided to give brewing a shot. But where would we find the supplies? Luck was on our side and we came to know Oak Barrel. The inside is no-frills, just the equipment, supplies, and the staff. The staff here really know their stuff and are super friendly. We asked a lot of questions and you could tell they were really passionate about brewing. We came away with a brewing kit and ingredients for one of their brews. Our first batch wasn't so great because we forgot a key ingredient (what's this? oh no, we forgot the dry malt) Oak Barrel certainly helped me get hooked on brewing. read more

Love having such a well stocked brewing store so close to home. They have a great selection of everything you need. Their stock of hops and yeast is especially good for the size of their store. If you can't find what you need, it's probably stored behind the counter; just ask someone and they'll get it for you. Speaking of which, the people that work there are super nice. They will take as much time as you need to answer all your questions. If you're just getting into brewing, would be a great place to walk around and see what the hobby has to offer. They have two grain mills, which means there is almost never a wait to crush your grains, even at their busiest times. Would love for them to stay open late on the weekdays so I could get my brewing stuff after I get home from work. At this point, I can only go on Saturday mornings and it can get a bit busy with everyone there preparing for their brew day. read more

Sweet guy with a welcome smile. I thought the beer making bulk supplies were excellent. The wine making supplies were good for home wine maker. I think they have a decent rental list for small scale. I think for beer this place is 'the cat's meow'! read more

Oak Barrel Winecraft - Brewing Supplies Near Me - Berkeley, California

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All of the staff at this shop are really helpful. I walked in there not knowing a thing about brewing beer, and walked out with the right equipment and knowledge to get me started on my first brew. Each time I come back I have new questions and I always get the information I need to perfect my beers. If you've ever wanted to brew your own, I highly recommend you stop in. read more

Fair price, fair staff, good selection of products. The price is fair at Oakbarrel. MoreBeer at concord has the cheapest price. Since I live around Oakland, I will be better off visiting Oakbarrel and pay higher, rather than driving all the way to MoreBeer just to knock off a few bucks. Pretty good selection of hops, yeasts, and misc goodies. I've read so many reviews booing their staffs. I have to admit the guys over there don't usually reach out to you and pretend to be helpful, but hey, at least they don't have any attitudes at all. There were couple of times I've asked them questions about planting the hop rhizomes and the guy with beard gave me a very detailed answer. So I guess...if it's questions that you can probably find the answer online, then don't bother to ask or they'll give you a very short answer. If you are asking for their opinions (recipe ideas, experiences, hop schedules), then they will be more than happy to tell you what they think. CONCLUSION- fair price and fair staff. Bring your list and know what you are looking for. Don't shop around and expect those guys to be your shopping guide. read more