Speakeasy Ales & Lagers: The Eyes Have It

Speakeasy Ales & Lagers, a microbrewery located in an industrial area of Bayview/Hunters Point, has two large eyes that peer out from a black background, which are painted on the side of the building to guide visitors to the entrance on their loading dock. These shifty and shadowy eyes are a mysterious part of the Speakeasy logo, which is also used on their labels and merchandise.

By Joel Williams
Published: December, 2006

Speakeasy was started in 1997 by Steve Bruce and Forest Gray. Since my brewing background encompasses more microbreweries than brewpubs, I was looking forward to checking out their operation.

Survival is difficult when starting a microbrewery because the profit margins are low when selling the beer wholesale, as apposed to over the bar, like brewpubs do. A brewpub can easily make five times what micro can by selling beer, one pint at a time, directly to the customer. For this reason, it is admirable that Speakeasy is still around after 10 years, let alone available in approximately 200 bars and restaurants and 1,000 stores in the Bay Area, and is shipped to 11 other U.S. states and the District of Columbia.

Speakeasy has a reputation for its big beers, meaning they are very full-flavored and have a relatively high alcohol by volume (ABV) content. Since their inception, their flagship beer has been Prohibition Ale (6.1% ABV), an award-winning, boldly hopped amber. In 1998 they introduced Big Daddy IPA (6.5% ABV), a fine example of a west coast IPA with huge hop flavor and a dry, clean finish.

Untouchable Pale Ale (5.4% ABV) is the lightest offering, and is pleasantly mild and crisp. It is an easy drinking session beer that has some characteristics of a German Pilsner, which is unique for ale. The Bootlegger Black Lager (5.2% ABV) is a German Style Schwarzbier, and although dark in color, it is extremely clean and soft on the palate. It has a beautiful smoky chocolate nose and is distinctively low in bitterness.

And then there’s Double Daddy weighing in at a whopping 9.5% ABV. Due to the high alcohol level, it is only sold in 4-packs, which still provides a bigger punch than a 6-pack of almost any other beer. I am amazed at how deceptive this well balanced high-octane ale is. It has an incredibly dry and clean finish for such a big beer. The Imperial IPA is so dangerously tasty that one should drink it with care.

If the Double Daddy isn’t enough for you, Speakeasy pushes even further with their barley wine, Old Godfather (10.5%). Barley wine, though brewed with alcohol levels as strong as wine, is made with grain instead of fruit; therefore, they are still defined as beer. Old Godfather is heavy with a full body and copious amounts of hops added to balance the residual sweetness from the large amounts of malted barley used. Although you can certainly taste the higher alcohol level, it’s actually much more drinkable than most barley wines, which can sometimes be too cloying on the palate.

Although Speakeasy is not normally open to the public, it is open on Friday’s from 4-8PM for their open house, which is more like a house party. There is always live music, and sometimes the brewery provides free hot dogs and snacks, or other times, a local restaurant sets up and sells food. The open house is an opportunity for people to check out the microbrew operation, taste the beers and enjoy live entertainment. It’s kind of like a night club that sprouts out of a production facility for four hours a week. Pints are $2.50, and they offer a special with a souvenir pint glass and three beers for $10.