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Address
1414 Park Ave.
Alameda, CA 94501 -
Michael Lane Homes
(510) 688-8468
[email protected]
Michael Lane | CA DRE# 01892532
On Sunday, September 27, Scott Piehler and his wife took out-of-town guests to dinner at The Rake, which they did often. A few items were missing from the menu. When they told a server they just had to bring their guests, he answered, "Glad they could see us before we disappeared." Piehler wrote in the Alameda Post that the comment seemed odd until two days later, when Admiral Maltings posted its closing notice.
Admiral malted its last grain on October 2. The Rake poured its last beer on October 18. The building at 651A W Tower Ave. is dark, but the malt made there is still inside beers on Park Street and inside a whiskey resting in barrels a few blocks from the malt house. For anyone who drinks on the island, the closure will keep showing up through this winter and into next year.
Ron Silberstein, Dave McLean and Curtis Davenport founded Admiral in 2017. They bought barley from small California farms, including rare and heirloom varieties, and floor-malted it by hand. The grain was spread across a floor and turned as it sprouted, then kilned. SFGate reported that the founders chose an urban site on purpose and gave the taproom large windows facing the production floor so visitors could watch the process. Every beer and spirit on The Rake's list was made with Admiral malt.
The malt sold well and still didn't cover the costs. "We sold a lot of malt at a very high price point, but it still wasn't sufficient to crack the nut," Silberstein told SFGate. He was clear that the landlord wasn't to blame. "It's not that the landlord was gouging us. He worked with us so much. He was interested in our success. But even the market rate was insane here." Before closing, the partners looked for new loans and investors, explored partnerships with bigger malt houses, and added flour products.
The Sunday 3 p.m. production tour, which Piehler called one of the best tours in Alameda, ended with the malt house. No new tenant or reuse has been announced for the space.
Brewers who rely on a specialty malt usually keep some in storage, but that stock doesn't last forever. SFGate reported that when Old Caz Brewing in Sonoma County heard about the closure, its co-founder tried to buy 20 pallets of Admiral malt and got three. Whatever malt Admiral's customers already have is all there will ever be.
On the island, Admiral's malt was in these places:
That puts Admiral's malt in five Alameda businesses, from the west end of the island to Park Street, and each will run through its supply on its own timeline.
Alameda Brewing's taproom is at 1716 Park Street. According to general manager Vincent Phua, its Let It Lager "relies 100% on Admiral Maltings." He told the Alameda Post that the brewery would "need to reassess the recipe and determine how to carry the beer forward without a hyperlocal malt option."
Phua expects the change to affect more than the recipe. Malt shipped from farther away will mean "a much closer eye on packaging dates to maintain that freshness." He also expects prices to rise: "We're already anticipating increased ingredient prices across the board from our other suppliers." The brewery hasn't said which malt it will use instead, so the next batch of Let It Lager will be the first public sign of how it handled the switch.
Things are busy at the taproom in the meantime. The events calendar lists Trivia Tuesday on November 10, 17 and 24, and 49ers watch parties on November 8, 15, 22 and 29. Next Stop Comedy and a speed dating night are both on November 13, and a Next Stop Comedy student showcase follows on November 19.
Kin Robles, visiting with a group of friends who grew up in Alameda, told SFGate The Rake felt like a place where adults could enjoy great beer. "We lost the hideaway," Robles said. SFGate noted that Almanac had moved away from a beer-first focus and renamed itself Almanac Adventureland & Brewery to appeal to families.
The city sees that shift as part of a broader trend. Abby Thorne-Lyman, Alameda's Director of Base Reuse & Economic Development, told the Alameda Post that "the beer industry in general is definitely undergoing a transition as people are drinking less." She said Faction, Humble Sea and Almanac have responded "with a wide range of events and activities, and more nonalcoholic options for visitors."
Each business's own listings show what that looks like this month.
Almanac Adventureland, 651 W. Tower Ave. Almanac describes it as an all-ages spot with six gathering spaces, a weekly-updated drink list that includes nonalcoholic options, Scolari's and Marley G's as daily food partners, and weekend pop-ups. Hours are noon to 10 p.m. Monday through Thursday, noon to 11 p.m. Friday, 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Saturday, and 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Sunday. Almanac posts its upcoming events on Instagram rather than on its website.
Faction Brewing, 2501 Monarch St. Faction has more than 20 beers on draft plus nonalcoholic drinks, with seating indoors and on the patio. It doesn't offer tours. Hours are 2 to 9 p.m. Wednesday and Thursday, noon to 9 p.m. Friday and Saturday, and noon to 8 p.m. Sunday. It's closed Monday and Tuesday.
Humble Sea, 2350 Saratoga St., #164. Humble Sea's Alameda page lists trivia Wednesdays at 6 p.m., $6 half-liters of lager on Thursdays, and Hearth Beyond the Pie as the main food truck. Its FAQ page gives different hours and names a different truck, so check before you go.
St. George Spirits, 2601 Monarch St. The tasting room is open 2 to 6 p.m. Wednesday through Friday and noon to 6 p.m. on weekends. Walk-ins are welcome when there's room, but reservations are recommended for tastings and tours.
November 15 is the busiest day on the list. A record swap, a happy hour and a distillery tour all fall within a few hours of each other on the Point. St. George is closed on Thanksgiving Day, but its own web pages list different dates for its pre-holiday bottle shop hours. Call ahead if you're planning to pick up a bottle that week.
The longest-lasting piece of Admiral will be a whiskey. "We were fortunate to work with some of the very first malted barley Admiral produced when they opened in 2017," St. George head distiller Dave Smith told the Alameda Post. "Malted at Admiral, brewed at Faction, and distilled and barreled here at St. George Spirits, this was truly an Alameda collaboration." St. George plans to release it sometime in early 2027. Three Alameda Point businesses had a hand in that bottle, and it will be released months after The Rake closed.
For more on what's changing around the island, see our look at Webster Street's 150th summer and our Alameda neighborhood guide.
At Mike Lane Group, we keep up with the places that make Alameda home, from Monarch Street taprooms to Park Street trivia nights. If you're curious what your Alameda home is worth, or you want to start an East Bay search with a team that knows these blocks, we'd be glad to talk.
Address
1414 Park Ave.
Alameda, CA 94501
Michael Lane Homes
(510) 688-8468
[email protected]
Michael Lane | CA DRE# 01892532