Faction Is Up and Brewing in Alameda

Initially announced last year, Faction Brewing, Alameda's first brewery, has finally turned on the kettles as of last week. As the EBX reports, it's the project of Rodger Davis, who was the head brewer at Drake's and Triple Rock, and Claudia Pamparana, a longtime 21st Amendment employee. Still in its infancy, Faction will ultimately offer a dizzying array of beers, including a signature Faction Pale Ale (brewed with the new, white-hot Mosaic hop), a quartet of seasonal IPAs (including a wet-hopped IPA), amber and red ales, a stout, and eventually, a line of Belgian-style beers.

Though Davis and Pamparana eventually plan to bottle their beers, Faction will be draft-only for at least the first six months, with The Hog's Apothecary and Beer Revolution in Oakland already signing on as accounts. The brewery's proximity to St. George Spirits and Rock Wall Wine Company is another bonus: the duo already have acquired some Rock Wall wine barrels for aging beer, and plan to utilize some of St. George's barrels as well. The final piece of the puzzle is a tasting room, which is tentatively scheduled to open in November. Due to licensing, it will only serve Faction's beers and won't offer food (aside from visiting food trucks or carts), but it should provide a nice counterpoint to the other tasting rooms in the area, keeping roughly the same hours.

· Alameda Gets a Brewery, Faction Brewing [EBX]
· Meet St. George Spirits' New Neighbor: Faction Brewery [~ ESF ~]
· 27 New and Forthcoming Bay Area Beer Spots [~ ESF ~]