After finding these guys on google, I stopped in to purchase some ingredients for making mead. The man behind the counter was helpful after I started asking questions. I didn't get great answers, just reasonable ones. My girlfriend then hooked me up with a beer making kit as a gift that she purchased there. I've been in a few times since then, and after it always seems that I have to start asking in depth questions to get them to really give me some input. This last time I was there, the gentleman was very helpful behind the counter and gave me a lot if advice on things to do better when brewing. Added bonus, the homebrew. They were sampling a homemade mead. It was great and they had the recipe readily available to take home with me. I also like that I can crush the hops and reseal the bag for no extra charge! read more

You the kind of person who has a wort cooler sitting in the middle of your hallway? And 3 giant carboys that freaking live in front of the bathroom when not in use despite pleas to have them removed? The soundtrack to your life has a nasty burbly indigestion sound pretty often? So sad, then guess you're living with beer guy like me. I really shouldn't be writing this review, because I don't make the beer. That's husband's forte. But what the hell,as I have to go with him to all these beer supply places. This place is right next to ACME and I love bread, so that's a bonus. Also there's something sort of seductive about people who are passionate about a particular topic... and these guys are really passionate about fermenting stuff. And there's a bunch of gleaming stainless steel, and a good but small book section with DIY books for all kinds of cool stuff to look at after you checked out the stainless steel, and got your bread,.... and husband is STILL obsessing with fellow brew bros..... read more

I'm new at homebrewing thanks to a kit gifted over the internet from a relative. When I came to Oak Barrel, they took the time to give me careful step by step advice as if I had bought the kit there. Needless to say, I have become a loyal repeat customer since then as I added to my supplies, and hope to also attend their classes and workshops when they resume. A local gem. read more

I've been home brewing for awhile now and have certain expectations: plentiful grain selection, assorted sanitizing fluids, knowledgeable and friendly staff, good selection of gear and some wiggle-room for the odd stupid question. Their grain selection is awesome, they have almost everything you'd want (except for PBW) for cleaning and sanitizing, and their gear selections or pretty modestly priced. The staff is obviously experienced and knowledgeable, but they are pretty clique-y and aren't willing to help anyone who isn't going to ask first. In short, the Oak Barrel can be intimidating for new brewers and experienced brewers for different reasons, but there is a something about the DIY spirit that beckons you to grow a pair and just do your own thing. Don't let their lackadaisical nature deter you; do your thing and brew some beer (or wine or mead). Just be aware of their hours of operation! read more

My comments are based upon years of brewing. Nice supply for wine makers, beer could have more varied 'stuff' to be really good. I didn't find the staff helpful, just there. Even asking for help I had to go find it myself. Why 4 stars? Nice sample of a porter. Beer makes all things right. read more

Really nice staff, able to bounce a lot of ideas off of. Pretty good malt/hop selection, definitely recommend this to anybody in the area. They're free samples are amazing and they often have stuff from local nanobrewers that are incredibly hard to find. The building itself is pretty spacious, you have to walk around people at times but overall its pretty easy to grab your malts. They have pretty good grinders too, sometimes you got to wait a bit but they've worked pretty well for me. Overall great experience, can't wait to go back and hope the best for everybody there. read more

Oak Barrel Winecraft - This is where they make samples. - Brewing Supplies Near Me - Berkeley, California

OK, I'm a poseur. Never, ever made beer before. But I like to drink it! I've been here several times now though, with a confirmed but long denied homebrewer. (We're about to sample his 2nd batch, this one's a stout, yum). The staff are way cool, friendly, yet will leave you alone when you want, or will be more than helpful with advise when requested...even on a busy Saturday afternoon! And while I don't really know much about the beer making, they sound like they know what they're talking about, but don't sound like a bunch of pompous know-it-alls, if you know what I mean. read more

LOVE this place! We started making our own wine at home this past summer after seeing our neighbor's setup and we have really dove in head first, much in part thanks to this wonderful place! My only complaint is that the area that you actually "shop" in feels a little small compared to a place like More Beer in Concord, but even with that, the charm is there in all the right places, and the staff is always friendly and fun to talk with. Screw paying for alcohol, MAKE YOR OWN LIKE A TOTAL BOSS! read more

this is where I have been buying my incidentals. I think they are a little pricey & they didn't have a wine degassing spoon - but it's cool, I used a beer paddle & some tie-downs to build my whip. now that I am an east bay rat, i look forward to getting to know them more. probably when I buy wine bottles for my "recession red." Recession Red: Primary Fermentation Nondescript canadian merlot concentrate 50g Bentonite Mixture Levospeak BK1 w/French Oak Chips must 1.092+-1 3.30.2009 Secondary Fermentation begin must 1.014+-1 4.9.2009 end must 0.994+-2 4.20.2009 De-gas 4.20.2009 Stabilization 4.20.2009 7g Potassium Metabisulfite & Ascorbic Acid + 125ml water 15g Kieselsol (Flokul30 Preparation) 53g Chitosan (Chitek* Preparation) Blending 4.20.2009 1.5L Cabernet Franc (2005 Lieu-dit Beauregard Bourgueil) Filtration & Bottling 5.x.2009 Cost/Bottle: $3.77 USD btw. it is harder to make good jerky than you think. read more

This business is awesome. So helpful many times to me and I cannot recommend them enough. I have made many visits here to get parts and advice for my home fridge/keg setup. The whole team here has helped me somewhere along the way. While you're there, ask them if you can try a taste of their home brewed beers and/or ales.... read more

Every time I have been in here it has been a joy. I am especially fond of the big grain silos right in the main room. Some people have complained in reviews that the staff doesn't "go out of their way" to help. You know what? I'm OK with that. I come to this shop with an ingredient list in hand, and I just pour out what I need and grab the rest from the coolers. Done and done. If there's something on my list they don't have, I ask and they're good about finding a replacement. The selection of grains is superb, as are the yeast varieties. They've got an assortment of kits, though I've not made any of them yet. Definitely consider coming here if you homebrew. read more

Friendly advice, good quality ingredients, and free beer. This is no illusion. Great free parking too. They have a wide range of malts, yeasts, hops and adjuncts. There are plenty of tools and gadgets to help you out. They have a book of recipes and you can ask any old dumb question you want. These guys are cool with it. Homer is a great guy. He throws an annual free BBQ every year in the parking lot with many brewers bringing their latest releases. Loads of fun! Be sure to visit the back room where the really experimental tastings are. You might try a raspberry honey wheat beer, or a stout with chocolate, szechuan chilis and spruce extract. Wild stuff. There are only a few weak spots. If you are trying to re-create a famous international brew you will have trouble getting ahold of the ingredients native to those countries. Also, there aren't as many kits-in-a-can as some places. These are not major drawbacks though. It's much more fun crafting your own recipe. While you're there, bring home a little bag of crystal malt to snack on. Tasty stuff! read more

Oak Barrel is good spot to pick up home brewing supplies in berkeley. After shopping around a little bit, I can say that it is a little bit overpriced, however, they have a great staff and a great selection of hops. Ou the hops, not just pellets too, the flowers. mmm. I just finished my irish red ale. pretty malty, excited about it. Good stuff at Oak barrel. read more

My girlfriend got me the deluxe beer brewing kit for Hanukkah. At first, I thought it was awkward opening up a veritable meth lab of equipment in front of her family. I was skeptical and I didn't want a huge time waster in my life. Fast forward six months later, I am on my third batch of beer and couldn't be happier. It turned out to be a great bonding experience in the brewing and bottling with my brother. My first batch was the amber ale kit I received, which was a quite good, middle of the road beer. I went here for the first time to get ingredients for my second batch. We didn't want to go too crazy or different since we liked the amber ale so big black og told us to "pump up the alcohol" by adding 2 cups of brown sugar and another pound of malt to the boil. This made the batch 100x better (despite having the top explode in my room). We finally got the Black Death Stout kit for our third batch and added extra sugar/malt to the recipe and it is 7.1% alcohol. The staff here is very willing to help answer your questions and will give you much more info than you thought you needed. I did a lot of comparison shopping online and this place is definitely the least expensive way to make an exceptional kit homebrew. Also, get a DD because they have some potent samples on tap for you to drink while you shop around for gear. read more

It's always been a dream of mine to brew my own beer. I knew nothing. I came to Oak Barrel with no experience and no idea where to start. I left with my very first home brewing kit, ready to brew my first Blonde Ale. I totally botched that first batch and came back to buy more ingredients to try again. It's been two months and I've officially brewed my first batch of beer. I owe this success to the amazing staff. They were completely helpful and friendly. There are those types of beer snobs who are snooty and treat you a certain way, especially if you are new on the scene. I sensed none of that here. The staff was very kind and eager to help me in my pursuits. The store is very easy to navigate and they even have stations where you can grind your grains. They have everything you need to get going! Their beer kits are very helpful and are great for beginners like myself. If you're looking to get started on your own home brewing endeavors, I highly recommend starting at Oak Barrel. Great kits and helpful staff make this place a great starting block for beginning home brewers. read more

I love Oak Barrel. I'm still fairly new to brewing, so I always have lots of questions when I go in, and everyone on the staff has been incredibly helpful. The second time I went in I asked about making a particular beer that I liked and wanted to try to clone (Moose Drool). The staff person wrote a recipe for me off the top of his head, I made the beer, and it was darn close and quite tasty! I've made two more batches of it since then. read more

I wish I could give them a six star review, but I'll happily give them a High-Five! Bernie, Homer and the crew at the best Home-Brew-Wine-Vinegar-Making Shop in the Bay Area* have always been top-notch professional, helpful and super friendly. I started home brewing in 1978, and have visited many shops - including the original location of Oak Barrel on University Ave. And they have always been there when I needed them and were and are super helpful and offered great advice when I needed it. I recommend Oak Barrel Winecraft to anyone. *Okay, full disclosure: Beer, Beer and More Beer in Concord is really pretty great too. I recommend both. It's just that I live much closer to Oak Barrel and have known them for much longer, so it's almost like visiting family! Don't worry, have a home-brew! read more

Went in to buy beermaking supplies for the first time and the customer service was incredible - the staff didn't up sell at all, even when I asked about extra equipment they were totally honest about what I didn't need. Plus, free beer on tap! I will definitely be coming back for more after this batch is done. read more

This is where I got my Start 5 years ago & the saga continues! Have to give an extra Special Thanks to Ben and Homer(the Brew Yoda) Whether your interested in getting started (they have great extract kits ready to go!) Or you've been brewing it up for years- this is the place! Hands down the best ! read more

Gotta go with the 5star, f0 sh0. The employees are nice and KNOWLEDGEABLE. They've got the goods to make the goods and for a good price. We are vintners and although this has not been our primary supply store, it's always a pleasurable experience! Now that we're stepping into the fruity territory of "hard" ciders, juices, and whatnot, I think I might be visiting a bit more often. We picked up a grape list and may even make our next purchase here. Great, great store. read more

I like the Oak Barrel because they sell barrels for planting. 1/2 barrels are to be had at a good price, but best-of-all, you can pay more and have a barrel custom cut. I have just the tops cut-off and grow dwarf citrus trees in them. My trees love the extra warmth that being above ground gives them and they bloom and produce wonderfully! Nothing like your own citrus grove! read more

I had a customer with a wine question that I didn't have the answer for. Called Homer @ Oak Barrel and he walked me through the answer. Thank you Homer!! read more

It's probably good that I wasn't able to post my original review through my phone because I'm not as upset as I was then. I bought brewing buckets from here and neither of them sealed. I ended up losing a batch of beer for my husband's birthday. When I called about it they said they had a 1 in 5 failure rate. That's 20% that don't seal and they know it. I did go and return them and the owner copped this attitude that really made me realize how easy it is to destroy a customer relationship. He's the one selling this crap, after all. I brew and have for many years. I've typically gone to this store and gotten decent help from the guys there and always bought my ingredients here. It helps if you're not a complete noobie, but they've been helpful. I typically try to support brick and mortar stores because I like that they exist (and you don't have to wait to get ingredients). But the markup here on equipment is pretty extreme. And after what happened I'm doing my best to avoid this store altogether now. Too bad there's no where else to buy brew ingredients nearby. I guess I'll have to figure out the online space for this stuff now. Or just go back. Nawww, probably not that. read more

I'm making wine this year, and even picked and destemmed ALL the grapes myself (well, with the BF, but we did it by hand, yes indeed). Having done that, I tried to go to the Crush Pad, and, well, they were okay if a wee bit condescending about telling me you need thousands of pounds of grapes to work with them, not 80 (okay, okay, how would I know). So I yelped and found Oak Barrel. Perfect. Helpful, recommended books, gave me the step-by-step and the 411. So instead of crushing by machine, they gave me a nice cheese cloth bag (now, that was exercise). Now I'm oaking! And soon to bottle, and to rest and then, to drink! In about 2 years. I'm a little more about immediate gratification, but it's still fun, in a chemistry set sort of way. Thanks to the guys at Oak Barrel. Somehow I think they ALL spend a lot of time there. As would I, if I lived in the East Bay. read more

Love these wine and beer geeks! Great advice, good prices, troubleshooting help, crusher/destemmer rentals, carboys, yeast packets just sitting there waiting for must, malolactic yeast, stainless steel must stirrers,.... Just got their grape price list and contemplating an attempt on sauv. Blanc! The Oak Barrel is an amazing resource for us fermentationly challenged! read more

I frequent this place quite often and the staff is often very cool and friendly. I think they are exceptionally knowledgeable and passionate about the craft. I do feel that this is a pricier shop, thus a half star drop. The other half loss is based on the fact that I think they're closer to a 4 than a five. I would give them a solid 4.25 if I could split hairs. read more

It is a good place to get your necessary equipment and other supplies. They have decent quality/selection and are pretty much the only game in town. They have good quality ingredients and equipment for beer, wine, etc. The only downside I saw was that the prices were a bit on the high side and they really try to sell you things you might not need. If your recipe doesn't require a liquid yeast, they will try to pressure and convince you to buy the more expensive liquid yeast (or other higher-priced item). I have brewed many times before, I'm also a microbiologist, and I felt like I was, "talked down" to, strange sensation. I like their quality and selection, but there is room for improvement when it comes to customer service. Just my two cents.. read more

The best beer supply store near SF. The staff is friendly and knowledgeable, the supplies are varied and fresh and the keg in the corner is usually fantastic. Sweet! read more

My lord, yes there is a place this cool on earth. They are super smart here, they have free beer (usually 2) on tap (yeah if you buy stuff dude). This is the place for home wine and beer making, not the cheapest but one of the best. They help you. They know. They rule. read more

Great selection, helpful staff, and you can even sample a fresh brew while you're in the store.

Stopped by to grab a capper and some ingredients for a Kolsch. Dude was super helpful and found us a recipe and showed us our way around the shop. We were offered free glasses of beer too. Definitely will be back again. read more

Been back a few times, when I needed something in a pinch. Was helped out tremendously by staff members, even including the guy I dismissed before. Best way to get service - ask a question that proves you know something about brewing. Not too easy as a newbie. Once you pop that cherry, they're very willing to help and offer good advice. read more

I'm puzzled by people complaining about the staff. I went in there only knowing I wanted an imperial stout, and an employee helped me through every step. He even photo copied the recipe so i could use it at home! Very helpful staff in my experience. read more

Aw these guys are awesome. I've been a customer for years. They have everything you'll need to make great beer, wine, cider and mead. The owners, Bernie and Homer have about 100 years experience between them and are responsible for helping many great Bay Area pro brewers getting their start. They are knowledgeable and they take the time to discuss the craft with you to make sure you know everything to do it right. read more

Oak Barrel is absolutely fantastic for the home brewer. Great selection of hops and super jazzed to find out that they can replace CO2 tanks! Homer helped us out on our last visit and suggested some variations on our recipe which came out delicious. I definitely recommend Oak Barrel for your brewing needs. read more

I wish my friends who tried making beer in SoCal had access to this store. I'm sure their "beer" would have come out a lot better.

It's been a few years since I lived in Berkeley. I miss nothing about Berkeley as much as I miss the Oak Barrel. That place taught me how to brew and it taught me to relax and have a homebrew. Hands down the best LHBS I have ever been to, and I live in the homebrew capital of America. read more

Complete home brew store with many many different recipes for home brew. Staff is very knowledgeable and helpful. I went there after work one day to check it out. Store was large and well kept for a brew shop. They offer all types of equipment for all your brewing needs. read more

In addition to what's already been said, I really appreciate the respect they afford everyone who walks in the door. A female, I walked in another [unnamed] place off 680 and I got this sort of eye-roll sneer thing like I had just invaded the "man cave." These folks care about beer and wine and are there to share their knowledge, listen to your preferences, and guide you to success. If you need 5 minutes, you got it. 30 minutes? No problem. And if you show some technical savvy, they'll push you as far as you want to go. I note some comments about price. Their prices are not as low as the place I went with less-than-good service, but they are still good and I love supporting them. I just consider the higher price the "training" fee. Good people. And the best thing: Where else can you get beer advice from a guy named HOMER? He's the best. read more

Just went there to get a beer making kit. They have everything you need and are really passionate about beer! They give you honest advice and don't force anything down your throat or make you feel like a chump for not knowing all the various things needed for different recipes. read more