Top 4 Kid-Friendly Breweries on the Island of Alameda

The little island of Alameda in the San Francisco Bay Area is a great place to explore with littles. It is known for its majestic Victorian-era homes (even claiming to have the most pre-1906 earthquake homes in the Bay Area), its bike-friendly streets, 25 mph city-wide speed limit, and kid-friendly beaches.

Alameda is also known for its craft alcohol scene. Alameda Island’s West End neighborhood called “Alameda Point” was home to a US Naval Air Station through the 1980s. Since then, quite a few industrial buildings and airplane hangars were left vacant for years until they found their new purpose. Now, a bunch of alcohol creators have revived the industrial spaces in a place that is now called “Spirit Alley.”

We love the breweries, wineries, and distilleries that have popped up in this space and along Park Street, the island’s downtown district. Like most things Alameda, they are mostly kid-friendly too!

Here are four of our favorite kid-friendly breweries on the island of Alameda:

Alameda is located on the stolen lands of the Lisjan Ohlone people.

Before you go

Decide which side of the island you would like to visit. Although the island of Alameda is only about six miles long, I recommend you either spend the day on the West End (see breweries below #1-3) or the East End (see brewery #3 and our blog post about Alameda’s Park Street district here).
Check the weather. Alameda has typical Bay Area weather, with foggy mornings and evenings and often sunny days. I recommend you bring a few layers for your kids.
Make it an all-day adventure in Alameda! Check out our tips on Alameda’s best kid-friendly bike rides, visiting Alameda Point, or exploring Alameda’s playground scene.

What we packed

Standard diaper bag essentials
Quiet kid activities (crayons, paper, small toys)
Sunscreen and hats
Baby carrier or stroller

Our top 4 Alameda Breweries

1. Faction Brewing

Along the far west end of Spirit Alley, you’ll find a sign for Faction Brewing. Turn into the parking lot and walk towards the back to find a large open space with picnic tables; food trucks; multiple places to buy Faction beer by the glass, tasting, or can; and lots of sun-kissed and happy people.

According to their website, Faction’s “passion is for hoppy beer,” and I can tell you from personal experience that their beer is a little too hoppy for my taste. Don’t let that stop you though, because my husband and seriously everyone else LOVES Faction with a passion. Every time we go, and we’ve been a lot, there are a lot of families enjoying the day with a beer and food truck food, letting their kids color and play in this family-friendly space.

Go inside the hangar to find giant murals, the brewery itself, indoor seating, and a bathroom (which is unfortunately all the way across the hangar). The walk to and across the hangar isn’t that far, it just feels that way when you’re dragging a toddler.

2. The Rake at Admiral Maltings

Located just east of Faction Brewing is Admiral Maltings, which partners with California farmers to source quality, local grain that they floor malt—meaning their grain goes through the malting process on the floor of the building, and they rake it to help with the process, hence the name of their pub/taproom, “The Rake.” This malt is then sold directly to breweries that use the malted grain to make beer.

Peek in the window behind the bar and you’ll see someone with a giant rake moving grain around. Admiral Maltings doesn’t actually make beer, but at their adjacent pub/taproom, The Rake, they serve a variety of beers that have been made with their handcrafted malt.

The Rake has plenty of shady outdoor seating, safely protected from the parking lot to keep your kids corralled while you’re sipping on a pint and some of the best pretzels around. We’ve seen many parents there with their kiddos at lunch on the weekends.

The beer menu changes frequently, featuring different brews made from their malted grain. If you get a chance though, try their sours—they are a personal favorite.

3. Almanac Beer Co.

Next door to Admiral Maltings, Almanac Beer Co. offers a wide menu of beer that’s beem carefully crafted inside the hangar.

There are long picnic tables both indoors and outdoors and there is ample shade and space to move around. We’ve come with other families and taken over a table in the corner, bringing lots of toys and games to entertain the little ones while we enjoy some beer.

Almanac’s staff even treat your dogs with extra love, giving water bowls and treats at the bar. Almanac is known for their sours, so give them a try.

Check out their website for updated events and to see which food truck is parked and available before your visit.

4. Alameda Island Brewery

Located on Park Street, Alameda Island Brewery opened in 2015 out of a partnership between Asian-American developer Bill Phua and former Coast Guard Matthew Fox.

This microbrewery has delicious craft beer with Alameda-themed names and occasionally a few non-alcoholic options like root beer and kombucha on tap.

Their motto is “something for everyone” in the hopes that they can make beer more accessible. I’d say they’ve definitely made it more accessible to parents! The kid-friendly space has big tables inside, an arcade game, clean bathrooms, and lots of seats outside.

The outdoor space is shared with the neighboring restaurant, Monkey King at the Brewery, which is an island-favorite that sells delicious wings, fries, kimchi rice, and shares space with Alameda Scoop, a local ice cream shop. Customers at all three establishments can eat on the patio or even inside the brewery. So, get yourself a pint, and your kids a cone of ice cream, and call it a day!

If you are planning on spending a day on Alameda’s Park Street, click here for more kid-friendly suggestions.

My partner and I love breweries. We love traveling with our kids and finding places that are kid-friendly and allow us to taste a few beers along the way. Breweries seem to be a place where the desires of kids and adults can line up—adults get to drink (responsibly of course) and kids get to play and spend time with their happy caregivers.

On weekends when we are in town you’ll find us having dinner or celebrating a grown-up’s birthday at one of these three locations, enjoying a pint while our beautiful brown babies are coloring and eating pretzels on the bench with us.

What are your favorite kid-friendly Alameda drinking spots? Did I miss any? Share in the comments below!

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Angel

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Puerto Rican & Indigenous mama of two. Bay Area native. Salsa dancer. Backpacker. Doula. Angel (she/her/hers) is a co-founding member of the Beautiful Brown Adventures team. She has traveled to over 30 countries and loves to explore the world with her two daughters & partner - one ice cream shop at a time.