Faction Brewing — Restaurant in Alameda

To those of you serious craft beer drinkers that live in or around the Bay Area, this is the place to see and be seen. The views itself set this place apart from other breweries I've been to. This takes me on a trip to the bay community of Alameda where I had the opportunity in trying "Faction Brewing". Located on Monarch St., this place is surrounded by other various factories, naval bases, and large hangar decks that make this place unique all in itself.

Having been opened since 2013, it took me quite awhile to finally see what this place was all about. On the inside, there are a ton of large beer fermentation tanks as well as beer barrels, a communal sitting area, old-school pinball machines, skee-ball, and a ton of self-serve beer pouring stations. I've actually drank many Faction Brewing beers over the years and love the flavors that they bring. There are also some really cool looking murals and artwork that flow throughout this once abandoned warehouse.

Now the real winner here is their outside area. Living in these Covid times told all of us to social distance. I will tell you that this place is as spacious as you will get. Lots of outdoor seating where the large beer barrels serve as your tables. You will find each table/barrel with a unique QR code where you can pull up their drink menu and a small food menu. What makes this easy is that the table automatically links to your phone which make it easy for the server to drop off your food and drinks. Additionally, they also offer cornhole for those that wish to play with a live DJ during select times.

The views here are some of the best you'll find anywhere in the entire Bay Area. From a distance, you can witness the San Francisco skyline showcasing the Salesforce Tower, Transamerica Pyramid, Embarcadero buildings, Twin Peaks and both the San Francisco/Oakland Bay Bridge & Golden Gate Bridge. On any given day, you can witness that bay fog, amazing sunsets, and lots of seagulls from a distant view. Everything here was very well executed as I was able to place my order and have it out to be in less than 15 minutes.

I went very simple by going with their "Faction IPA", "Faction Pale Ale", and a grilled cheese sandwich. The food here can really vary on any given day since there are local food trucks that come here regularly. Everything that ranges from Asian fusion to tacos to burgers to BBQ. All in all, "Faction Brewing" is a great above average place which is ideal if you wish to bring a large group of friends. The open air environment is cool, the local craft beers are iced cold, and the ambiance is a win-win. My rating, an above...

Let's start with the good... The beer, it is good beer. I'm by no means a beer snob, I like what I like and this place has beer that I could sit down and enjoy for a few hours... and therein lies the rub- I have no desire to spend any more time at this establishment, especially considering the options for breweries in the East Bay.

While there are 3 areas for seating, only one has any appeal, and that is the outdoor area. Great view of the Bay and City, once your gaze goes past the parking lot and 300 yards of blighted tarmac, so not ideal. The indoor area appears nice on first glance, but there are only 1-2 tables where one could sit and not be continuously interrupted (bumped, etc) by the line to get a beer at the bar. The 'brewery' area is an echo chamber (a result of only using 1/4 of the space) which makes it very difficult to talk, complete with folding tables and chairs to give you that "I'm not really trying" here feel. Not a place to have a party.

IMO, breweries need to have a food option, and to Faction's credit, they have partnered with a food truck to do just that. Unfortunately, like most food trucks, the cost is ridiculous and the quality sub-par. I ordered the fried chicken sandwich, and while the concept was there, the execution was not. A burnt bun to give a charred taste throughout, and the chicken cutlet used in my sandwich was incredibly thin, resulting in nothing but 'fried fried' in the sandwich. I got one good bite of chicken and bun... just didn't cut it given the $12 price tag and no sides included. Fried pickles were OK, but waaaaayyy too much salt on everything.

So they don't serve food, and I guess that tilted the decision away from table service. Unfortunately that means you are headed to the queue every time you need a refill, and that queue was no less than 10 minutes at any time we were there. We were there to celebrate a birthday, and we always had at least 3 people in line. It kind of wrecked the whole 'celebrating together' thing.

Finally, I am of the opinion that if you are serving beer, you should probably have a TV somewhere playing sports on mute. I can appreciate a lack of televised sports if that is the vibe the owners want- more power to them. Personally, if everything else was great (food, service, space) I would still not go back to Faction for this specific reason, however.

A good start, but so much left...

I'm always surprised at how I never hear about places like Faction Brewing! I feel like I need to go out more. But I love it because it's something new, something to talk about to friends and family. Of course I did look up the place to see what's what. Even looking at the website I wasn't sure what to expect with social distancing and how the lines would be.

When we got there there was a long line but it moved pretty quickly. There was seven of us and we did not know about the seating arrangements. FYI, they only allow six (6) people at a table. The tables are pretty spread apart for social distancing. When you get to their "front desk" they explain thoroughly how they want you to social distance and wear mask if you're not eating or drinking. Unfortunately, they only have the patio open for seating. But you get an awesome view of the city! I bet it looks more beautiful at night!

Now for the drinks, love love the selection of beer. If you get there and you don't know what to get, get the flight, you won't be disappointed! My favorite of the flight 007 Pale, bomb!!! The food was great too. I loved all the food we ordered: roasted Brussels sprouts with the special sauce, garlic fries, and spicy Thai slider. Yummm!!!

The staff: awesome, helpful, and friendly! Need I say more??? I can't wait...