Event

An Epic Hopocalypse Day at Drake’s

Two bottles of Hopocalypse IPA standing on the Drake's Barrel House Bar

An air of excitement hung in the air as the sun rose in San Leandro on Saturday. Cases and kegs of our Hopocalypse Double IPA and Hopocalypse Black Label Triple IPA sat in the cold box waiting for thirsty craft beer fans to arrive and get the first taste of the hoppy-goodness and grab a few bottles for home.

At 8:20 am the first folks arrived to start the line which by the time the doors opened at 10 am had stretched back into our parking lot and started to curve toward the brewery.

At 9:55, the whole crew gathered inside the Barrel House for a celebratory toast of Hopocalypse to start the day, and at 10am sharp the doors opened unleashing a wave of hop-heads anxious to get their first sips and take home 22 oz bombers, growlers, and Brew Rhino kegs of the Hopocalypse Double IPA and the limited release 22 oz bombers of the Hopocalypse Black Label TIPA.

From 10am until 8pm the crowd at the bar never really died down with hop-heads from all over the Bay Area and beyond gathering across the width of our 30 ft. bar to get their Hopocalypse fix. Delicious smells of smoked ribs and tri-tip from Bourbon Bros. BBQ wafted over the patio all day long as folks casually relaxed sipping on both levels of the Hopocalypse or sampling one of the other 22 taps of our beers available in the Barrel House. Brewery tours ran throughout the day giving folks a chance to get a look inside the brewery itself and taste a bit of our next batch of the Hopocalypse DIPA straight from the tank.

The Hopocalypse kegs to-go were the first to go out the door, but do not fret. We will be getting more with each new batch of the Hopocalypse DIPA to come out. So, if you missed your chance Saturday, there will be a few more Brew Rhinos coming. Unfortunately, however, that’s not the case with the Black Label bombers that sold out of our entire supply of roughly 700-800 bottles on Saturday by around 5:30 or 6pm. If you missed your chance to grab a bottle for home, the Black Label will stay on tap here at the Barrel House for a brief while longer, so come on down sometime this week or next to indulge in the latest huge hoppy monster we’ve created.

Live Music got going around 2pm, starting off easy with a low-key acoustic duo and finishing the night with local band Rough Waters who rocked out the Barrel House until the bitter end inspiring some to break out their dancin’ shoes and celebrate the day. Fists of Flour pizza came by round 6 with their killer wood-fired pizza to satiate the dinner crowd and teach us all once again that craft beer and great pizza really were meant to be together.

As the final glass was poured at the end of the day the whole crew heaved a deeply satisfied sigh at the success of the day. We had a tremendous day that exceeded all of our expectations all due to our awesome fans that showed up in force to support and have a great time in the process.

To everyone that made it out, Cheers to you. It’s the craft beer fans out there that make it all possible, and ours are among the best. Can’t wait to see you all next week for SF Beer Week, and really can’t wait for next year’s release.