Novel Brewing Company

6510 San Pablo Avenue, Oakland, California 94608, United States

The Novel Brewing Company is a brewery and tasting room located at the intersection of Oakland, Berkeley and Emeryville. It is a neighborhood  brewery and tasting room with 15 freshly brewed beers on tap.

The Story

Married couple Teresa Tamburello and Brian Koloszyc created this cozy brewery and local hangout in the Golden Gate neighborhood with their shared passions.

The story of the Novel Brewing Company begins on the second date of Teresa Tamburello and Brian Koloszyc, which ended with the purchase of the homebrew kit. The two, now married and living in the Golden Gate neighborhood of Oakland, opened New together in 2016. Not all home operations, no matter how successful or oversized they become, end up with the end of this fairy tale: a brewery within walking distance of home.

In college, Koloszyc developed his palate while drinking craft beer in Vermont and later frequented on-site taprooms to celebrate with his colleagues in Seattle. But beer was not love at first sight for Tamburello. Her first encounters in St. Louis, MO, (home of Anheuser-Busch) did not evoke affection or artistry, and it was not until the couple had spent vacations in Germany, where she had sipped Ayinger beer, that she could finally proclaim that there was a beer she could love.

Tamburello, a trade engineer, continues to learn how to build a business from the ground up, while also pulling pints with the staff. Koloszyc focuses on brewing science: experimenting with recipes, re-engineering operations, and delivering a range of well-balanced brews to satisfy regulars who are always looking for something new.

As the name of the brewery suggests, books are also central to this story. The Tamburello family once ran a print shop, and the St. Louis type-set table now sits as a centerpiece in the taproom. Floating bookcases hover over the tables and offer readers a choice of literary works, including the tome of David Foster Wallace, Infinite Jest, the couple's favorite. Customers are encouraged to browse and read on-site, and Novel even provides home-made bookmarks so that readers can keep tabs on their progress.

Novel Brewing is located on San Pablo Avenue, near the boundary of Oakland/Emeryville, with taps rotating against the left wall as you enter while a pop-up restaurant may be set up on the right. The previous tenant, a tofu factory, had leaned over the drainage floors, which had been used for wobbly tables and spilt beer. To address this, Petaluma-based furniture design company Sons of Salvage has crafted sliding tables that can be pushed together for game nights right next to the kettles and casks. Kids have enough space to stroll around, and the noise is well-modulated by the love of books and beer.

What’s On Tap

This year's San Francisco Beer Week, Novel Brewing joined forces with local East Bay breweries, releasing three collaborations. Novel created The Pilcrow, a blonde ale with chamomile and lime with Triple Rock; Snark Mark, a Hazy IPA with hibiscus, oolong tea and grapefruit peel with Cleophus Quealy; and Inverted Question Mark and American Wheat with Hoi Polloi, which featured sauvignon blanc grapes.