The Oldest Continuously Operating Brewpub Announces Last Call
This one feels a bit like a pillar of the craft beer Parthenon is collapsing, but time moves on, and people deserve to retire. Triple Rock Brewery & Alehouse in Berkeley, California — widely recognized as the oldest continuously operating brewpub in the United States — plans to close by the end of 2026, after more than 40 years in business. Triple Rock’s fingerprints show up far beyond Berkeley, including right here in Seattle’s own beer history. Big Time.
What’s a Brewpub?
Brothers John and Reid Martin opened the brewpub on March 14, 1986, originally as Roaring Rock Brewery. They soon changed the name to Triple Rock because of lawyers. Rolling Rock Brewing’s lawyers, in particular.
At the time, fewer than 30 craft breweries existed in the nation. Triple Rock was one of the first five brewpubs to open in the U.S. after Prohibition, back when most of the country had never tasted anything but industrial lager and “microbrews” were a rare novelty. John Martin says that he had to explain to the City of Berkeley what a “brewpub” even was — officials initially insisted the operation belonged in an industrial zone, not downtown.
Four decades later, the numbers tell an epic story: 5,884 batches brewed, more than 41,000 barrels, over 10 million pints poured. Generations of regulars have cycled through — 21st birthdays, first dates, breakups, Cal Bears’ wins and losses, and celebrations marking graduations and other academic achievements. It’s been a continuous cycle of matriculation and graduation that has kept the Triple Rock feeling forever young. Until it didn’t.
The closure comes down to a simple truth, not to the overall state of the craft beer industry: John and Reid Martin are ready to retire. “After 40 years, we are ready to spend less time navigating the day-to-day and more time exploring some of the other things we have put off along the way,” John said. The brothers own the building and expect to sell or lease it once the doors close for good.
A Craft Beer Cornerstone
Triple Rock’s reach goes well past Berkeley. Brewers who cut their teeth there went on to help build the craft beer industry as we know it: The alumni list includes Shaun O’Sullivan (21st Amendment Brewery), Rodger Davis (Faction Brewing), Christian Kazakoff (Canyon Club), and Teri Fahrendorf (Steelhead Brewing Brewmaster and founder of the Pink Boots Society).
According to Teri Fahrendorf, “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.”
Less than six degrees:
Those of us who call Seattle home, and also call ourselves beer lovers, should recognize that Big Time Brewing and Triple Rock Brewery share some history. A lot of history, actually. Reid Martin founded Big Time Brewing in Seattle’s University District in 1988, just two years after he and his brother opened Triple Rock. Ownership has since changed at the Big Time, so Triple Rock’s closing has no impact. Although a lot has changed over the years, those of us who’ve been to both brewpubs can still recognize the family resemblance.
A Reunion, Not a Farewell
Triple Rock plans to stay open through the end of Cal’s fall semester, and the Martins are framing the wind-down as more reunion than farewell. Thursday Monkey Head Nights will continue, and the brewery plans throwback events with 1980s pricing, along with the return of beers pulled from its archives.
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