Seven Stills Opens Pop-Up Taproom and Beer Garden as Mission Bay Brewery Takes Shape

Bayview-founded Seven Stills is already christening its forthcoming Mission Bay brewery and distillery with fresh beer: They’ve walled off the front of the new space at 100 Hooper, opening a pop-up taproom while they build out the back of the facility, installing beer tanks, stills (per the name) for making whiskey, and a sizable kitchen.

“It’s cool now, but it’s still just one-sixth of the space,” says Seven Stills co-founder Tim Obert. The finished space, expected to open later this year, will be 18,000-square feet including a full restaurant, cocktail bar, and retail shop. But Obert — and the public — just couldn’t wait.

“People have been knocking on our door every day since we started setting up, asking when they could come in, and so we wanted to start serving the community now,” he says.

As Seven Stills fundraises for its growth, opening a pop-up seemed like a good idea to generate enthusiasm and funds. The team is still raising capital to complete the Mission Bay expansion, selling shares of the company in an online campaign — and even on the front of their beer cans.

The temporary taproom at 100 Hooper offers space for 186 people, with outdoor picnic benches in a beer garden area for even more. Seven Stills’ current liquor license at the space — a Type 23 for small beer manufacturers — won’t allow them to pour their whiskey at the temporary taproom (the brewery also distills its beers into craft spirits). When its distillery opens in Mission Bay, it’s set to become the largest spirits maker in San Francisco proper.

For now, customers who want to try Seven Stills’ spirits can do so at the Stanford Court hotel in Nob Hill, whose bar Seven Stills operates. Seven Stills also runs a taproom, Seven Stills & Hard Frescos, in the Outer Sunset.

The new Seven Stills taproom at 100 Hooper Street is open Monday through Wednesday from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m., Thursday and Friday from 4 p.m. to 10 p.m., Saturday from 1 p.m. to 8 p.m., and Sunday from 1 p.m. to 6 p.m.