BERKELEY, Calif. — Brewing out of a 9,000 square feet former automotive radiator shop converted into a state-of-the-art production brewery and taproom in West Berkeley, Gilman Brewing Company expands to a second location with a new taproom and gastropub now open in Daly City (2001 Junipero Serra Blvd). Gilman Brewing’s Daly City taproom is conveniently located one block south of the Daly City BART station and next to the Century 20 movie theater. In early 2020, Gilman Brewing is set to open its third taproom on Main Street in downtown Pleasanton, California.
Opening on Berkeley’s thoroughfare Gilman Street in 2015, Gilman Brewing has amassed a rabid following of craft beer fans through its hard work and grit churning out an exceptional lineup of rotating beers. Gilman Brewing thrives as one of the top East Bay craft breweries with its premium IPAs, double IPAs, hazy IPAs, tart sours, fruit-forward beers, and a distinguished roster of singular California-inspired Belgian and saison styles. Its farmhouse ales and saisons are Gilman’s most decorated beers, winning awards across the country.
In 2019 alone, Gilman has garnered more than 16 medals including five Gold medals at the California Craft Brewers Cup, California State Fair Commercial Craft Beer Competition, NorCal Brew Competition Sonoma County Fair, and USA Beer Ratings. At the New York International Beer Competition 2019, Gilman took home the highly coveted award for “California American IPA Brewery of the Year” (in 2018, the brewery won “California Saison Brewery of the Year”).
Gilman Brewing has bootstrapped its operations from the opening of its West Berkeley taproom all the way to its beers now being available at the finest Bay Area establishments, including A16, Millennium, Hilton SF, Sessions at the Presidio, The Good Hop, Grand Lake Kitchen, Whole Foods Market, Zachary’s Chicago Pizza, and hundreds of others. Built with working-class ethos and a dedication to brewing sophisticated beers, Gilman Brewing is a fiery underdog putting the East Bay beer scene on the map along with an array of its craft contemporaries.
Owner/Brewmaster/Builder Sean Wells and his laid-back crew of brewers, bartenders, musicians, and builders are devoted to taking the pretension out of craft brewing with a beer lineup representing its blue-collar spirit and fascination of workin’ on cars, motorcycles, metal, and wailin’ on Johnny Cash songs with the house band while on break at the brewery. With beer names such as Satan Is My Motor, Quarter Panel, Antifreeze, Fuzzy Dice, Dashboard Jesus, Bad Tattoo, and Autoshop IPA, Gilman Brewing puts their heart into each and every beer they brew for California’s discerning beer community.
Featuring light fixtures, taps and trim handcrafted by Sean and the crew back at the brewery in Berkeley, the 2,900 square feet Daly City location features a farm-to-table food menu developed by Executive Chef Kurt Steeber, formerly a chef at Zuni Café. Every item is prepped in-house, with locally sourced and organic ingredients featured whenever possible. Just like their focus on handcrafting only the finest brews, the Daly City crew produces artisanal sausage and butchers fresh calamari — they even grind their own hamburger by hand.
Similar to the extra time they take carefully fermenting their award-winning saisons, the Neapolitan-inspired pizza dough at Gilman Brewing — Daly City undergoes an extra-long 72 hour delayed fermentation (for pizzas such as Wild Mushroom, Fennel Sausage, Bianca, Margherita, Ice Cube) and takes center stage on the menu alongside a cast of Northern-Italian and modern American small plates, sandwiches, and burgers (Short Rib Burger, Salmon Rillettes, Fried Chicken Sandwich, Fishwich, Grilled Cheese). Rounding out the menu is an array of salads and snacks (Kale, Baby Beets, Cobb, Caesar, Buffalo Wings, Chicken Liver Mousse, Bruschetta Prosciutto, Melted Skillet Caciocavallo Cheese). 20 rotating Gilman beers on draught as well as a sophisticated wine list, guest taps for cider, beer, and kombucha are available daily. Beer to go is available with growler fills and cans of special taproom-only releases.
A resident of Daly City, Sean Wells comments, “We’re super excited to be the first and only craft brewery to open a taproom/restaurant in Daly City. The community here needs a gathering place for great locally brewed craft beer. Living here in Daly City, it personally means a lot to me for the city to finally have fresh beer available at the level that Northern California beer aficionados have come to expect. Gilman Brewing is now here in Daly City to fulfill that need. We’ll also open an adjacent 400 square feet enclosed heated outdoor patio before the end of the year that we’re thrilled to be able to offer locals.”
For more information regarding Gilman Brewing Company, please visit: gilmanbrew.com
About Gilman Brewing Company
Established in 2015, co-founders, veterinary orthopedic surgeons, and seasoned brewers Sean Wells and Tim Sellmeyer, as well as their best friend and professional musician John Schuman, opened Gilman Brewing’s production brewery and taproom on the bustling Gilman Street in West Berkeley. Situated next door to the historic non-profit music venue 924 Gilman, Gilman Brewing Company brews beers with distinction for California craft beer fans while having loads of fun along the way. With almost 40 years of brewing experience between them, Sean and Tim found a common love for the nuanced, complex flavors of Belgian Farmhouse ales. Together, the three friends transformed an old automotive repair shop with their own hands into the Berkeley brewery so many people enjoy today. They are a hands-on crew; no fancy suits or outside investors here. They build it themselves and fix it when it breaks…turns out they also love breaking things — especially common misconceptions about one of their favorite beer styles: saisons! Gilman Brewing Company rotates 35 seasonal and annual beers throughout the year available both on draught and select special releases in 16 oz. cans. The 3,000 barrels of annual production is served fresh at its West Berkeley taproom and new Daly City taproom/restaurant located at 2001 Junipero Serra Blvd. In early 2020, Gilman Brewing will open a third taproom at 706 Main Street in Pleasanton, CA as well as expand its Gilman Street location from 9,000 to 13,800 square feet. Hundreds of restaurants, bars, and stores serve Gilman Brewing beers throughout the state of California. Gilman Brewing has been awarded upwards of 30 medals (including 10 Gold medals) at renowned California, New York, and national craft beer competitions. Gilman Brewing is the recipient of two highly acclaimed awards, “California American IPA Brewery of the Year” (2019 New York International Beer Competition) and “California Saison Brewery of the Year” (2018 New York International Beer Competition). Gilman Brewing has taken home medals at California Craft Brewers Cup, California State Fair Commercial Craft Beer Competition, NorCal Brew Competition Sonoma County Fair, and USA Beer Ratings. When not brewing their idiosyncratic beers, Sean and his team can be found performing live music in their adjacent barrel-aging room or workin’ on one of their never-ending projects expanding the brewery, installing larger fermenters, welding tap handles or trim for the taproom, or wrenching on their handbuilt ’69 Triumph chopper and the iconic company mascot ’66 Chevy pickup.