This distillery makes a nice variety of wonderful spirits at a fairly approachable price point--so much so that you should not be surprised if you go home with a few bottles. We arrived on a Sunday, just as Eric was unlocking the door and opening up. We had a great tasting experience! Eric is incredibly knowledgeable about the distillery's history and the spirits they produce--he brings it all alive in the telling. When we asked for cocktail suggestions, a few other staff overheard us and helpfully contributed to the discussion. The pour sizes on a flight are legally regulated, so there's no real concern about over drinking Just be ready for a fun afternoon! read more

St. George Spirits - Distilleries Near Me - Alameda, California

Top tier tastings and bottles. Extremely knowledgeable staff that go into depth on the process of how they make their spirits. Drew was truly helpful at the bottle shop and made our day - he's an absolute asset to the team! read more

I reserved a tasting on a Saturday and it was a seamless experience. I was even able to bring my young child, which was nice since I was the designated driver. The team was super nice and accommodating. They let us peak at the distillery, even though we didn't reserve the tour. They were very informed about the brand and the history of spirits. We had so much fun. It was super chill and not too packed. Of course we went home with a few bottles to have my own tasting at home. We will definitely be back. read more

Awesome view of the San Francisco skyline at this distillery! If you have time to do the tasting it's totally worth it. They educate you & even let you swap out drinks you may enjoy more! read more

Holy future hangover Batman! lol. Definitely do the tour and tasting, but walk next door to the restaurant and put something on your tummy immediately after. We had a blast! I went here on a date, and it did not disappoint. Everyone was incredibly knowledgeable and generous with their explanations, including the fun fact that if you don't make alcohol correctly, you could actually go blind - so yeah, there's that lol! I'm not usually an absinthe person, but theirs was pretty good. They produce a little bit of everything: gins, vodkas, brandies, whiskeys, and liqueurs. On their website, they list absinthe under "Mixellany." Not going to lie, I have zero clue what a Mixellany is, but you should try it anyway. The location over looks the water a bit (cue the romance). I did not drive so I don't remember the parking situation - I feel like it was in shipping yard of sorts (don't remember). But go anyway, maybe uber lol. 10 out of 10 experience! read more

We took the tour and tasting on a Saturday and had the best time. We got to see the production which was interesting and heard about the history. The tasting was awesome and the way we were guided through the different spirits made the experience especially memorable. Get the Spiced Peat Liqueur. It's so good. read more

One of the joys of living along the Oakland Estuary is easy access to the old Alameda Naval Base whose hangars were repurposed decades ago into the home of now showcase distilleries, wineries, and microbreweries. And St George Spirits sits as one of the crowning gems of these establishments. I was first lured into the enormous, old hangar/headquarters of St George many years ago by their world famous absinthe. IYKYK. But this weekend I was on a mission to procure some coffee liquor for holiday White Russians. Sure, you could settle for kahlua. But then you would be missing all the amazing possibilities of coffee flavor mellowed by chicory in this New Orleans recipe. The coffee meets some high proof spirits and makes magic in every bottle. St George finishes this liquor to 25% ABV, so while it packs a punch, it's not so high powered as to prevent you from sipping it straight. As always, St George has a convenient bottle shop open adjacent to their tasting room. Service has never been problematic. Always friendly and fast. And if you make plans in advance online, you can still tour the facility where the spirits are distilled or find a slot in the tasting room. Back before the pandemic closed St George's tasting room for over a year, this place was the spot for sampling a sip of all the amazing offerings that rotate with the seasons or trying a spirit in some new, delicious cocktail. Their tasting room is slowly coming back from that period of dormancy, but I don't mind if it's a little quieter than it used to be. Laissez les bon temps rouler! read more

St. George Spirits - New Orleans coffee in a steel trap. - Distilleries Near Me - Alameda, California

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Spirits Alley consists of artisan distilleries, breweries and tasting rooms at Alameda Point that were once historic buildings and hangars of the Old Naval Air Station. The area has become a popular destination for locals and tourists. Prior to a Bandaloop performance at Alameda Point, we registered for a tour and tasting at St George's Spirits. To accommodate the Bandaloop event, the tour and tasting experience was a shortened version of their standard tour. We started at the bar and were poured their Valley Gin. Then we were poured The Baller, their single malt whiskey and we were led to the distillery area and were given an introduction to the history of St. George's Spirits and of their distillery process. We then returned to the bar for a pour of the Spiced Pear Liqueur to end the tour and tasting experience. Since I'm not really a gin drinker, I preferred the Baller and the Spiced Pear Liqueur. A nice whiskey and liqueur. It was a nice experience, though abbreviated. I would probably be back for a full experience to see more of the production area and to taste more of their offerings. read more

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This is such a fun stop if you are in the area! We dropped in to do a tasting but ended up doing a taster menu instead. The service was friendly and everyone was very knowledgeable. You get great views here and it's definitely a fun date spot! There's also lots of seating both indoor and outside. read more

St. George Spirits - Spirits - Distilleries Near Me - Alameda, California

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Love the ambiance of the place. Love their products. I love the pear desert wine. Perfect for after dinner. The owner Lance is a very nice gentleman read more

Highly recommend the cheese pairing tasting! Got to taste 6 amazing products from the distillery paired with amazing cheeses. Staff was fun and knowledgeable. View of the city was amazing. Plenty of parking and there is a brewery next door which had a food truck if you wanted to grab a bite. The Pear liqueur and Reposada Gin were my favorites... but honestly all were so good. Each I could imagine would make an outstanding cocktail and some just on their own. read more

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We had scheduled a spirit tasting at St. George Spirits on a sunny Saturday. We arrived a little later, but they were friendly in helping accomodate our timing. The woman who guided us through the tasting menu was a great story teller, and was very engaged with our party of seven. We greatly enjoyed listening to her describe each of the drinks. Our surrounding was clean and industrial in feel, with glass doors allowing you to look through to the distillery rooms. The interior was neat and clean, with room for seating large gatherings of people. We greatly enjoyed out visit, and left with a few of our favorite St. George Spirits. read more

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Made reservations online, St. George is located on an old naval base. What I enjoyed most about the testing is they gave you history about about each spirit and why it aaa made a particular way. We had a new employee who has been there for about 2 to 3 weeks, she was very knowledgeable and patient answered the questions and made sure our water was refilled the coffee liquor is a must and well as the pear brandy!! This is a very laid back distillery, everyone is super nice, I told the young lady how my BF was not going to make me breakfast tomorrow and I was right!! lol. read more

St. George Spirits - 5 pairing plus one of your choice - Distilleries Near Me - Alameda, California

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Tour and tasting. This experience is really fun and worth it! You'll learn about how gin is made and how the brand evolved by the knowledgeable guide who gave us lots of cultural information and backstories. .We really enjoyed that the tasting took place in a separate room that was beautifully set up. read more

St. George Spirits - Table set up for after tour tasting - Distilleries Near Me - Alameda, California

OMG. Audrey was phenomenal. She had a vast knowledge of spirits. When she told us she had only been with the company for 6 months we were blown away. Thanks for the memorable experience. We will definitely be back. read more

You have to have a reservation to come in the place. We were in the area and we're checking out the different selections they had on the wall and just wanted to ask a few questions but because we didn't have an appointment, we couldn't stay they would not accommodate any walk-ins because they were already busy with the people that booked so be prepared and plan ahead read more

There was such creativity in how the cocktails were compiled, and I really enjoyed getting to nerd out with the bartender, Daniel, who was amazing, and who answered all of my questions about various things distilling and Chemistry. The spirits themselves, at least the ones we got to try, were so cool, unique, and complex (I have never really been into vodkas, for example, but the Green Chile Vodka made a drink that tasted like I was smelling a lush tomato plant... it was wild, and delicious). I want to try everything they have, getting a bottle and just experimenting to see what I can do. I should say, I also asked another employee (Spencer) a question about the distilling room, and he was really friendly and helpful too. We did have an issue toward the end of our stay, where we felt rushed out before we really understood their closing time protocol, but a distillery rep has helped reassure me that how we were communicated with should not happen again in future visits. I appreciate the level of communication from the distillery rep, and her responsiveness to our experience. One thing visitors should know, which I don't think is apparent from their website (and which led to confusion and frustration on my part upon leaving)... When they say they close at 6:00 pm on Sunday, they actually mean that they close and lock their parking lot gate shortly after 6:00pm, so all visitors need to drive away by 6:00pm (or whatever the posted closing time is). If you have the last reservation time slot of the day, just be aware of that when you go in, and you should have a great time! If this is something that can be somehow communicated to visitors who have each day's final reservation time slot, then I'd easily edit this review to give them 5-stars. I look forward to going back, especially once the cocktail menu is switched up, so we can try out some of their other creative inventions! read more

We randomly walked in as we were exploring alameda with our 10 month old, the staff was very welcoming and made us feel at home so we decided to do a tasting. We have never really done a tasting before with spirits so we didn't have high expectations. It blew us away, it was so delicious and every question we had and our group had was answered by our spirits educator. We already can't wait to go back and bring friends! I wish we took photos but we were having too much fun. We did buy 4 bottles though! read more

If you have ever wanted a store that had about every beverage in the world, alcoholic or not, this is your place. They even have things that stir, round ice cube makers, etc. You will be amazed. I guarantee you. I don't drink alcohol, but I left the store with a bottle of alcohol free Gin! Can you beat that? read more

Great place to learn about and taste really great spirits. Team members are very sharp and helpful. Well worth the time and trip to Alameda! read more

Great tasting experience. Friendly and knowledgeable staff. Enjoyed the diversity included in the tasting. Highly recommend!

What a fun tour! Staff are friendly and extrememly knowledgeable. There is groundbreaking work being produced at St George Spririts. The history is great but the future looks even better. Come because of the Gin and leave with an appreciation for all things distilled. American Single Malt Whiskey, Valley Gin, Absinthe, just a few amazing products at this California gem of a distiller. read more

Genuinely the best distillery/winery/brewery tour we've been on. The location with SF views are second to none. The space with repurpose airplane parts gives it that alameda vibe. The tasting and tour started so thoughtfully with a custom cocktail, followed by "origin story" telling (a guide that's a gifted storyteller makes such a difference), then a tour that broke down all the details of their different processes, then the tasting itself. The tasting variety is massive -- from vodka to gin to whiskey to absinthe. So something for everyone. 10/10 would recommend a stop. read more

This weekend afternoon I attended the distillery tour and tasting. This lasted a bit over an hour and cost $20. The tour itself involved lots of learning; the guide explained the fermentation and distillation processes for various products, talked about the distillery's history, and showed some equipment in use. The tasting consisted of 6 spirits. I sampled pear brandy, citrus vodka, gin, spiced pear liqueur, coffee liqueur, and absinthe. I immediately purchased the spiced pear and coffee liqueurs afterwards. The combination of learning, sightseeing, and trying new spirits that would otherwise not have sampled, to me, seems like a worthwhile experience. read more

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Always enjoy visiting St. George! Their tours and tasting are the perfect intro for visiting distilleries and sampling spirits. They provide great information about the distillation process in an entertaining way in a tour that isnt too long. Then you move on to the tasting portion where they, again, provide a lot of useful information for how to taste spirits while not overwhelming you or detracting from the experience. There is a steady menu of about 14 spirits to try that are regularly on the tasting menu. They are broken into two groups and you select three from each menu during your tasting. Act 1 usually offers their pear brandy, raspberry brandy, botanivore gin, terroir gin, rye gin, all purpose vodka, citrus vodka, and green chile vodka. Act 2 usually offers their spiced pear liqueur, raspberry liqueur, reposado rye gin, NOLA coffee liqueur, Bruto amaro-style spirit, absinthe, and their American whiskey (if you're lucky!). They are always dabbling in new spirits and recipes. Hubby and I are looking forward to their next single malt release and blue agave spirit. They partner with other distilleries, wineries, and breweries to help with their concoctions, too, which is always fun if you get around to a variety of places and recognize their collaborators (High West, Sierra Nevada, to name a couple....). If you have never tried the distillery experience, I recommend letting St. George be your first stop. Do the tour and tasting for $20; you won't regret it. read more

St. George Spirits - Distilleries Near Me - Alameda, California

Fun tour! Really interesting and impressive what they are doing there. We will be back!

This was a brand new experience for us in doing a whiskey/gin tasting. The employees there were superb and fed us a lot of knowledge and history around the distillery. Came away with a new tasting of Absinthe and am happy to say that I have added that to my collection! Next time will definitely take the distillery tour! Thanks again! read more

I did the distillery tour and it was amazing! The tour guide was extremely informative and knowledgeable about the whole process. At the end of the tour you get to sample 6 liquors/liqueurs (some of which are super pricey) all of which are excellent. Highly recommend! read more

This brand's commitment to going a step beyond is above par. Their spirits are original and fun and delicious, and their people are the best. Do yourself a favor and get to know St. George because it never disappoints. 10/10. read more

St. George Spirits - St. George staff hosting a whiskey tasting - Distilleries Near Me - Alameda, California

We went there on a Sunday for a tasting. The ambiance is wonderful, right there on the bay. The bartender was knowledgeable and very entertaining when giving us the history and culture of St. George's spirits. And the spirits are wonderful! I had never been there even though I love spirits and have lived in the Bay Area for 20+ years, but I will go there more frequently now! read more

San Francisco is a lot of things, but a hotbed of craft distilling it is not. So we made our way over to the East Bay to visit St. George Spirits. The distillery is on the north end of Alameda Island, in a hangar on the site of the former Alameda Naval Air Station, where you get a great view of the Bay Bridge and San Francisco skyline from the parking lot. The Story: Founder Jorg Rupf grew up in the Black Forest in Germany and learned to distill at a young age. He later became the youngest judge in Germany and was sent to Berkeley to further his legal studies. While in the Bay Area, he began making "eau de vie" -- a clear spirit distilled from fruit -- in a 65 gallon Holstein pot still in Emeryville (coincidentally where I lived in 1988-1990). The company takes its name from the Patron Saint of Germany, and may also be a not so subtle reference to the founder Jorg. Which may not be a stretch as Rupf is considered a founder of the modern artisanal/craft distilling movement in the United States. Although I associate St. George Spirits with their gin because that is what I have had, it is actually their Pear Brandy which is their foundational spirit. The Liquor: For $15, you can taste 6 of St. George's 15 available spirits. Since I was there with my wife, our tasting guide suggested we split our tastings giving us 12 total. Which meant it was easier to say what we DIDN'T want to taste than what we did want to taste. We passed on two vodkas and one of the flavored liqueurs. For a craft distiller, St. George has a diversified portfolio of spirits. Anyone who loves liquor can find something to embrace here. Brown spirits aficionados who can't find the rare St. George single malt (or "Baller" Japanese-style whiskey) can try the Breaking & Entering American Whiskey which combines the single malt with both bourbon and rye whiskey. It makes for an approachable drink. The gins are notable for their distinct flavors. The terroir in the "Terroir" gin is Mt. Tamalpais, north of San Francisco, whose ridge line is visible on a clear day from the tasting room or on the bottle's label any day. The predominance of Douglas fir in the aromatics is highly suggestive of Mt. Tam. I took home two bottles from the distillery. First, the Bruto Americano, a "California Amaro," because I love Campari. To my admittedly limited palate, it was as delicious as the benchmark. I also took home a half bottle of the "brandy with herbs," a.k.a., Absinthe Verte. I found the monkey on the label playing a skull like a drum with two bones to be appropriate since I sort of felt like that the last time I drank absinthe. According to our spirit guide, St. George made the first legal American absinthe after the U.S. ban was lifted in 2007. I didn't have much interest in the liqueurs, though people who like liqueurs would enjoy these. If I wasn't traveling, I would definitely have taken home a bottle of the pear eau de vie -- the brandy that made the brand. The Visit: No tours are offered during the week, so we settled for the guided tasting. Our guide was at times knowledgeable and excited to share and at times distracted and sleepy. Even at his best, however, I always have an incomplete feeling when I visit a distillery and don't get at least some tour. Being able to see the working distillery through the large windows from the tasting area sort of added insult to injury. To be sure, there were people working in the distillery during our visit, but it was not so active that a brief run through the facility couldn't have been done. There were a couple of other people working in the tasting area who didn't seem to be too busy to do this. Still, the tasting was amazing and a visit to St. George Spirits is highly recommended. Next time I hope we get that tour. read more

St. George Spirits - Fun tasting, 6 spirits for $15. Bring a friend and taste 12 of 15 total - Distilleries Near Me - Alameda, California

Toured the distillery, and it was a pretty cool experience! Tour guide was super knowledgeable, and I learned a lot about vodka, gin, brandy, liqueur, absinthe, etc. I was super excited to try their spirits. I tried the green chile vodka + botanivore gin + dry rye reposado for my first round and then the basil brandy + Nola coffee liqueur + absinthe for the second round. Overall, I enjoyed most, if not all, of their liqueurs. The spiced pear makes me feel like I'm drinking a candle ahhaa, but in a good way. I thought the basil brandy was an interesting try that I liked. I wasn't too fond of the gin, but maybe because I might not be a gin person. The Nola coffee liqueur was really good. It was my first time trying absinthe, and I actually liked it! Tastes like licorice! read more

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Wish we could have tried this place - tasting room is still closed to the public even though Yelp shows it's open. Drove all the way here and a woman greeted us to say closed to the public. Annoying but not the end of world - I've had the gin before and it's good. Just a bummer today. Maybe a sign on the gate??? read more

Love their baller whiskey (my husband's favorite) & coffee liqueur - great with ice cream & espresso martinis ! Only been to the location once to pick up their liqueur. Offbeat location, but a chill vibe. They do tastings there too. read more

Our friend group booked a tour and tasting. It started with a cocktail (mule) and then we got a tour of the distilling floor. The stories and the process were very interesting and the guide was very knowledgeable. We then had 4 tastings of spirits. The pours of the spirits were very small in my opinion so the only reason it doesn't get 5 stars is I thought the cost of the tour was high for what we got. read more

I highly recommend doing the tour! A large amount of info on their history/products await! The tasting features a large segment of their products. I recommend trying the spiced pear liqueur, amazing! With the tour you get 6 tastes. Choose something you think you wouldn't like and be surprised. I went with their liqueurs and brandies. I loved each every one of them. This distillery is the perfect place to broaden your horizons. read more

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Always nice to find a new gem in the east bay area. Surprisingly Alameda island has all these cool distilleries hidden here and you can embrace the views of the city right through their windows. Initially we weren't going to stop here since they didn't have any reservations but let me tell you it's not even necessary. It's encouraged to have a reservation to experience the tasting menu but when we arrived the bar area wasn't even half full. We waltzed in as a party of 4 and were welcomed to try 6 samples of our choosing. I'm not much of a alcohol anything person but it's a nice experience to explore what's in my backyard and enjoy the views of the bay without having to be in the chaotic city what we call San Francisco. Depending on the weather the view can be shits, but if you were lucky like us, it was the perfect clear day to appreciate what San Francisco truly looks like in the idea weather from across the bay. Their samples are enough for you to get a taste of what St. George has to offer. Since I'm more of a sweets person, I stuck with their liquors- St. George Spiced pear liquor, St. George raspberry liquor, and St George NOLA coffee liquor. They all tasted great. Sweet enough to mask the alcohol and the actual flavors were tasty! There's a shop next to the bar you can buy your favorites. The tours were $20 and at certain times so we passed and starred off into the pretty bay area view. read more

We were up from SoCal visiting family and decided to visit STG sprits. $20/person an hour tour of the distillery & a tasting for 6 of their products. Mix of gin & Bourbon & liquors. So fun! Must try. Oh, they are in Whole Foods read more

St. George Spirits - Distilleries Near Me - Alameda, California

2/24/19 Did you know we had full-fledged distillery right in our backyard, so to say...? We took a tour here which included a sampling of a bunch of stuff at the end, most of which probably ain't something you'd love unless you're a die hard hard liquor-downing drunkard (I mean seriously, who wants to drink something that's 1/2 alcohol, and 1/2 pine leaves and cones?... more on that later!) ...but it's definitely cool as hell to hold the legendary wormwood while listening to its fascinating history including its part in banning the drink absinthe due to its supposed hallucinogenic properties (I breathed the biggest breath I could of the stuff and sorry... the world still is as brilliantly dark as it ever was--guess I wasn't imagining my life's deep despair and heavenly hopes). They even got their own whisky aging in barrels right under the same roof, and apparently the same rainbow-colored copper stills they've had since the beginning about 4 decades ago. Being one of the first "craft" distilleries around (maybe the very first?).... I dunno, our guide mentioned many "only's" and "first's" that well, pretty sure this place is something special but I can't really remember all the why's and what's--guess you're just gonna have to take the tour to find out! So it all began with an eau de vie and now... they make a "terroir gin" that's basically the forests around the Bay Area melted down and mixed with another half alcohol, with maybe some dirt for that musty color and feeling, creepy crawlies for a hint of slime, and bugs for that dense tickle on the back of your throat that only their shells can create... Just come take the tour and see for yourself! 4/5 #absinthedistillery #star #whiskydistillery #gindistellery #bayarea #alameda read more

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This distillery, located in Alameda on a now defunct military base, creates some amazing products, my favorites being the NOLA Coffee and Spiced Pear liqueurs. I had purchased their Single Malt Whiskey #23 but ended up tasting others on offer. I ended up purchasing Green Chile Vodka for bloody Mary's plus a botanical gin and the #21 Barrel Single Malt Whiskey. Thanks to Justin who hosted my tasting experiences. A fun day!! read more