Triple Rock Brewing
Pinnacle Pale Ale, Red Rock Ale and Black Rock Porter opened this brewery on 14 March 1986, and Jeff Kimpe still brews on the original seven-barrel system. Eight to twelve house beers pour at any hour.
Why go
John and Reid Martin decided in 1985 that Berkeley needed more beer and opened the doors the following March.1 The house makes a bigger claim than that. It says it is the 5th brewpub in America and the oldest still run by its original founders.
1 Take that as the brewery's own account. The one place it is echoed is Jupiter's history page, and John Martin built Jupiter too, so both lines come from the same hand.2
What is not in dispute is the plant. The seven-barrel system that made those first three beers is the one Kimpe works today, and the lineup now runs from pilsners to IPAs with eight to twelve house pours at a time.1 Ben Boynton runs the kitchen, and the house describes the food as burgers and comfort cooking built to sit beside a pint.1
Order this / avoid
- Order: the Pinnacle Pale Ale, one of the three the brewery opened with. Then look at the Chow & Brau lunch special, which runs weekly and comes with a punch-card deal.1
- Avoid: coming for the food alone. The kitchen writes to the taps here.
Good to know
- Booking: a table can be reserved, which is worth doing for a group.1
- Getting there: Shattuck at Berkeley Way, five minutes north of Downtown Berkeley BART.
Verdict
could-visit — The biggest claim on this page has the weakest support, and that shapes the rung. Being the fifth brewpub in America and the oldest under its founders would be a serious credential; the only place it is echoed is Jupiter, which John Martin also built, so it is one interest speaking twice. Set against that, the checkable parts are solid and specific: an opening date, three named beers, a brewer, a plant size. I have no bylined tasting of any of it, so a good record of continuity is doing all the work.