"The City of Berkeley didn't understand it and told us that our microbrewery needed to be in an industrial part of town, not in the Downtown business district." John Martin said that in the press release Triple Rock issued on September 17, 2026, the one announcing that the brewpub at 1920 Shattuck Avenue will close at the end of the year.
The brothers opened downtown anyway. Forty years later, closing Triple Rock moves Berkeley back toward the arrangement the city first asked for. When the downtown brewhouse shuts in December, the Berkeley breweries known to brew on site will all be in West Berkeley. Whether downtown ever gets another brewhouse depends on who takes over 1920 Shattuck, and that is still undecided.
Downtown got a brewpub because Sacramento allowed it first
Brewpubs, meaning a brewery and restaurant under one roof, have been legal in California only since 1983. Berkeleyside reported that the state bill was sponsored by then-Assemblymember Tom Bates, who later became mayor of Berkeley, and that California was the first state to pass such a law.
John and Reid Martin opened on March 14, 1986, when they were 25 and 28. The business started as Roaring Rock Brewery and, according to the press release, was among the first five brewpubs to open in the United States after Prohibition. Triple Rock now describes itself as the oldest continuously operating brewpub in the country.
Reid put the city's confusion in context. "You have to remember that in those days there was very little small-batch beer made in America, it was almost all industrial stuff produced by huge breweries." To a city official in the mid-1980s, a brewery meant a factory, and factories went where the zoning put them.
The press release counts what came out of that downtown brewhouse over the years:
| Measure | Triple Rock, 1986 to 2026 |
|---|---|
| Batches brewed | 5,884 |
| Total barrels | More than 41,000 |
| Pints | Over 10 million |
| Current brewmaster | Jeff Kimpe, more than 12 years |
| Signature beers | IPAX, Red Rock Ale, Pinnacle Pale Ale, Black Rock Porter |
What kept it downtown was a price point
At first, Triple Rock drew people from far away. John Martin told Berkeleyside's Nosh that people made pilgrimages from around the Bay Area and the rest of California because the concept was still new. That novelty is long gone. More than 900 brewpubs are now registered in California with the Brewers Association, and Martin said Triple Rock has become "more of a local joint."
What a local joint means here can be measured. The smashburger runs about $10. The "Chow and Brau" lunch special costs $13.99 and comes with a 20-ounce beer, a main dish, and a side. Martin named those prices as part of why he is closing: "Maintaining those prices is tougher and tougher, and we just don't want to price out our neighborhood and longtime clientele."
He was clear that rising costs were not the main reason. The brothers are in their mid-to-late sixties and moving toward retirement, and Triple Rock has come back from recessions before. "At this point, we said, 'We could probably outlast this downturn, but do we really have to?'" he told Nosh.
So Triple Rock held a downtown address against the original zoning advice for forty years, and it did so by charging prices that a factory-district taproom never needed to match. With the people who set those prices retiring, the downtown brewhouse is closing too.
Downtown has been losing its beer makers this year
Triple Rock is the second downtown beer business to close in 2026. In March, Nosh reported that Olfactory Brewing's Berkeley taproom at 2055 Center Street, Suite D, appeared to have closed about two years after it opened. That followed the company's December closure of its San Francisco taproom, which it attributed to "unsustainable operating costs."
Jupiter, at 2181 Shattuck Avenue, stays open. John Martin owns it, and his calendar still lists events there this year. He also co-owns Drake's Brewing Co., which was founded by Roger Lind, one of Triple Rock's original brewers. Martin told Nosh that Triple Rock's employees will have places to land at both businesses.
No one has decided what happens to 1920 Shattuck. The Martins own the building, and the press release says it will likely be offered for sale or lease. Martin told Nosh he hopes a brewery, pub, or restaurant will take it and keep serving the local community.
West Berkeley already has the brewhouses
The city never told the Martins which industrial part of town it had in mind. Today, though, Berkeley's production brewing is in West Berkeley. Here is where the beer is, and whether each place makes it on site:
| Venue | Address | What happens there |
|---|---|---|
| Gilman Brewing Company | 912 Gilman St. | Production brewery and taproom |
| Cellarmaker Brewing | 940 Parker St. | Former Rare Barrel facility; Cellarmaker said it would move production there after its 2022 acquisition |
| Fieldwork Brewing | 1160 Sixth St. | Taproom open daily, with a menu dated October 25, 2026 |
| Headlands Brewing, Westbrae Beer Garden | 1280 Gilman St. | Beer garden; a February 2025 city staff report says no beer is produced on site |
| Jupiter | 2181 Shattuck Ave. | Downtown pub, staying open |
| Triple Rock | 1920 Shattuck Ave. | Downtown brewpub, closing at the end of 2026 |
Gilman Brewing hosted a vintage rock night on September 20, 2026, with beer and pizza. Cellarmaker's Berkeley page advertised a 13th-anniversary event for October 24 and lists taproom hours of 3 to 8 p.m. Wednesday and Thursday, 3 to 9 p.m. Friday, noon to 9 p.m. Saturday, and noon to 7 p.m. Sunday. Brewbound reported in 2022 that the San Francisco brewery bought The Rare Barrel brand and its Berkeley facility and planned to keep the brand going.
The Westbrae site shows how the west side has changed hands without losing its beer. The longtime Westbrae Biergarten closed in December 2023, and Headlands opened its beer garden at the same address on June 21, 2024. Its beer is brewed at Headlands' facilities in Pittsburg and Lafayette.
Triple Rock's influence also reaches well past Berkeley. Brewers who trained at "The Rock" went on to lead 21st Amendment Brewery, Faction Brewing, Canyon Club, and Steelhead Brewing. Teri Fahrendorf, Steelhead's brewmaster and the founder of the Pink Boots Society, is quoted in the release: "I believe that in American craft brewing, there are only about six degrees of separation between almost any craft brewer and the legacy of Triple Rock."
The final weeks on Shattuck
As of late October, Triple Rock had not announced a last day. Martin told Nosh it would probably fall sometime between December 18, when Cal's fall semester ends, and the end of the year. From a Thursday in early November, that leaves about six weeks of guaranteed service. The press release says the brewpub will stay open through the end of the semester.
Here is what the brothers have said is planned for that time:
- Thursday Monkey Head Nights will keep running.
- Throwback pricing from the 1980s, including pints at $1.75, the 1986 price.
- Beers from the archive: favorite seasonal and specialty beers from past years, plus some one-off releases.
- Alumni brew days: Martin told Nosh he hopes to bring back Shaun O'Sullivan, Rodger Davis, and Christian Kazakoff to brew again. No dates have been announced.
- The Triple Rock Memory Wall, which takes stories, memories, and photographs from current and former customers, employees, and friends.
"Rather than treating the coming months as a prolonged goodbye, John and Reid hope customers will see this time as an opportunity for reunion," the release says. In the same release, Reid said, "Oh man, there are too many Triple Rock memories for just one final visit." Dates for specific events will come from Triple Rock, so triplerock.com is the place to check before heading downtown for a $1.75 pint.
The Martins say 1920 Shattuck will likely be offered for sale or lease after the last pint. At the Anthony Riggins Team, we follow addresses like 1920 Shattuck because those changes shape how downtown Berkeley feels day to day. If you'd like to talk about how corridor changes like this one affect the streets you know best, we're happy to have that conversation. Work With Us.
