Fieldwork: Honest Beer at a Local Brewery

When the heat hits, and it hits hard, we begin to look for places we can escape to, preferably places with shade, air conditioning and cold beverages. Luckily, living in a place like the Bay Area, we have infinite options at our disposal. Perhaps we want to sip iced tea at an outdoor French bistro or indulge in a wine tour at a local cellar, or maybe seek refuge in a shaded outdoor brewery with an infinite selection of beers and high-tier bar snacks. We’re desperate you guys and we’re not looking for excess flair, only the necessities to keep us cool and at a temperature we can’t complain about. We figure the best place to meet all of our needs would be the latter, a quaint brewery with shade, an extensive list of beer, wine and food as well as a shop of beers to pre-order or purchase and take home. We have finally found the oasis of our dreams amongst this severe heat.

Fieldwork, is a local brewery that was founded in Berkeley, California. If you’re worried that Berkeley may be too much of a trek to try these delectable IPAs and pale ales, then there’s no worries because Fieldwork has seven locations including Napa, Corte Madera and Monterey. Fieldwork prides itself on its fine crafted beers and their, “honest beer-making.” We weren’t able to try every beer on their extensive list of over 200 beers, but we were able to order a couple and some snacks that are made-to-order from their kitchen. To make up for the beers we didn’t get to sip on, we bought a few packs to bring home from the generous taproom storage that offers take-home cans as well as same-day delivery for California residents only. We love that there are options like pick-up, delivery or take-home for those days where we don’t make it out to a brewery but instead barbecue at home and still want that handcrafted beer luxury.

As you are walking, no, as you are parking near the brewery you can clearly see lush greenery and dainty english garden style potted plants on the large warehouse brewery landscape. There are two options for outdoor seating, on the right, there are shaded, smaller picnic style tables and on the left, larger picnic tables with umbrellas. Most of the tables seat groups of four or more but there are wine barrel tables for two if your party is more intimate. The color palette of the building and the plants and even the beers are all complementary of each other. Shaded colors such as greens, grays and blues give this institution a cool, low key vibe. Approaching the building we feel at ease and we know that as soon as we sit and take our first taste of the frosty, restorative ale, we’re going to forget all about the heat that we were dreading only minutes ago.

Since the heat is drawing out more people like us, there can be a bit of a wait, especially for larger parties. Our recommendation is to call beforehand and make a reservation and if your party is larger than ten, you won’t be able to get a table without one. Also, emphasize what side of the building you would prefer to sit on, either the shaded side or the larger table, more sunny side. This place fills up fast and we can see why once we take our seats and order a couple of brews and a couple of snacks. We tried the ​All the Pulp Triple IPA ​and the ​Blur in Stereo IPA in addition to a couple of items from the food menu, one ham and cheese jalapenos sandwich and a mouth-watering chicken tamale. The beers were so refreshing, we would even go as far as to say they were invigorating and paired with the food we ordered, they were thirst quenching. The ​All the Pulp ​IPA smelled just like orange juice and had that same citrus taste, whereas the ​Blur in Stereo ​was more bitter and had a hint of grapefruit. If you’re wondering if we enjoyed them, well we took two packs of each home and already one of them is completely gone.

The food was rich in taste but light at the same time. Drinking outdoors and in the heat, we didn’t feel weighed down by the snacks but we felt like they went well with the beverages we ordered. The chicken tamale had a zesty red tomatillo sauce and the tamale was moist and crumbed to perfection and the ham and cheese sandwich was hot and flavorful and reminiscent of what our parents made for us as a snack when we were younger. Well, we’re not that young child anymore, and these snacks and drinks are made for the grown and sexy crowd. The atmosphere of Fieldwork only gets better as the sun goes down. As dusk approaches later in the evening, string lights and the sunset light the faces of our loved ones and the glasses of beer that we’re slowly sipping. We’ve forgotten about the heat, about the discomfort the day brought us and now we’re focused on who the designated driver is and what movie to curl up to later when we get home. Fieldwork has been added to the list of places we want to be when the temperatures rise and lucky for you we aren’t stingy with our recommendations of hidden gems. So, take our advice and check out this divinely cool brewery while the heat is high and the beer is honest.

xo

SS

Photography: Kailyn Chadwick