It’s a Sunday afternoon in Alameda, and several of the Bay Area’s most gifted young brewers are gathered at the Rake, the taproom attached to Admiral Maltings, to say farewell to one of their own.
Phil Emerson — founder of San Francisco’s recently shuttered Olfactory Brewing & Blending and former brewmaster at Almanac Beer Co. — is leaving California for Vermont, where he will soon begin a new brewing job nearly 3,000 miles from a beer community that will miss him.
The Rake sits beside Almanac at Alameda Point, the former naval base that has evolved into one of the West Coast’s densest hubs for beer, wine and spirits producers. Emerson spent seven years here as Almanac’s brewmaster, helping guide the company through a period of rapid growth while shaping some of its most celebrated recipes.
The mood in the taproom feels familiar. Brewers, beer buyers, taproom managers and longtime supporters of the scene reconnect to laugh, hug, and reminisce over pints of local beer, glasses of homemade sangria and shots of Underberg…