The Boathouse, a mid-island Alameda bar known for pouring craft beer and wine out of a quirky former horse stable, has abruptly closed. The news came via an Instagram story posted Thursday, after two other Alameda Point beer institutions had also shut down.
The bar's Instagram post thanked its staff, customers, friends and the community for their support over the years, according to KRON4. No reason was given for the closure. The Boathouse sat on Clement Avenue, serving craft beer and wine for both on-site drinking and to-go sales alongside light food and bar bites — all without an actual kitchen on the premises.
Before it was a bar, the building had quite the history. Per the bar's own website, Boathouse Alameda describes its path as going “from a horse stable, to a bait shop, to a bar.” Chris Cashin owned The Boathouse, a detail the station noted in a separate story about Cashin's involvement in reopening an Oakland dive bar called the Lodge.
Part of a Rough Stretch for Alameda's Beer Scene
The Boathouse announced its closure 12 days after The Rake closed on Oct. 18 and 28 days after Admiral Maltings roasted its final batch on Oct. 2. Admiral Maltings closed after nearly a decade in operation. The Rake had built a following for its constantly rotating taps featuring beers from dozens of different breweries.
Admiral Maltings had opened in 2017 at the former Alameda Naval Air Station, becoming California's first craft malting facility, according to the San Francisco Chronicle. Co-founder Ron Silberstein attributed the shutdown to a broader industry downturn, telling the paper, “The industry has just crashed,” while Admiral Maltings had sold more malt than all but one or two craft maltsters in the country.
A Bay Area-Wide Beer Industry Reckoning
The pattern has played out across the region in recent months. Ballast Point Brewing Company closed its San Francisco brewpub in Mission Bay on June 29, with the Chronicle calling it the latest Bay Area brewery to close amid headwinds facing the broader U.S. beer industry, including a 90-year low in national alcohol consumption as younger drinkers shun booze altogether. That same report cited other recent closures, including Black Hammer Brewing in SoMa, Pleasanton's 30-year-old Main Street Brewery and the once industry-leading 21st Amendment Brewery in San Leandro — though Ballast Point's locations in San Diego's Little Italy, Anaheim and Long Beach were expected to keep operating.
For now, The Boathouse joins that growing list of Bay Area beer and brewing businesses that have shut their doors.
