It’s been quite a year for new beer spots opening up in the East Bay and beyond, and it’s time for me to start catching up! First, let’s visit The Hop Grenade.
Downtown Concord suddenly has the makings of an awesome bar crawl. We’ve talked about The Pig & The Pickle, E.J. Phair has a new brewer worth checking out, and the long-awaited Hop Grenade opened this summer.
That logo will look familiar to fans of The Brewing Network and its beer podcasts. In addition to being a rather kick-butt bar, The Hop Grenade is also the site of The Brewing Network’s new studio. The place is the brainchild of Brewing Network guys Justin Crossley and Scott Moskowitz, plus Scott’s mom Kim and dad Marty. Giants fans in particular might also recognize general manager Kevin Callahan from his stint at the Public House.
The first thing you’ll notice is that this is a pretty nice-lookin’ bar, complete with ample outdoor seating and table service.
Stolen from The Hop Grenade’s Facebook page
The TVs over the bar display the beer menu — and social media mentions and Untappd checkins, if you’re looking for 15 seconds of fame. The Hop Grenade is one of the first spots in the East Bay to use DigitalPour, a real-time beer menu that shows not only what’s on tap but relatively how much beer is left in each of the 21 kegs. You can check it out on your phone before you even walk into the bar. Don’t get so distracted by the nifty technology you overlook the bottles (available to go or for on-site drinking).
The Hop Grenade’s license is such that there is no wine, but minors are allowed. Families seem to congregate mostly in the outdoor area.
The Hop Grenade has some bar bites such as flatbreads and pretzels, but for a full meal you can head next door to EJ’s, wander down the street to check out The Pig & The Pickle’s new chef, or bring in food from outside (I recommend Taqueria Los Gallos around the corner).
Speaking of food, The Hop Grenade is running occasional Beer & Cheese School nights hosted by their server Paul Klevan, who knows his beer and cheese partially due to a long history with Whole Foods. Details are on the events page.
The Hop Grenade and all the other downtown Concord beer spots mentioned in this post are walking distance from BART. If you must drive, may I suggest the nearby movie theater for a few hours of sobering up? Because there are going to be a LOT of beers you want to try.
The Hop Grenade is at 2151 Salvio Street in Concord. It’s open Sunday-Wednesday 11:30am-11pm and Thursday-Saturday 11:30am-midnight. Follow them on Twitter or Facebook.
