Google still investing in Downtown San Jose, outdoor dining and beer garden coming to Downtown West

Many have speculated that Google's plans to build a flagship office in Downtown San Jose near Diridon have been cancelled due to the state of the office market and tech worker's reluctance to return to physical offices. However, Google has continued to make small moves to show their intentions have not changed. This includes funding community programming (Creekside Socials) to bring people to "Downtown West" and beginning to prep various parcels they have assembled for eventual construction. This latest announcement marks one of the clearest signs that plans are still a go.

Google is now looking to fund new experiences and placemaking in the neighborhood. In early 2025 they plan to add food & beverage, health & wellness, and retail concepts along Barack Obama Boulevard and South Montgomery street. The goal is to create a lively street scene BEFORE the Google offices are built. I'll take it.

Google is partnered with Jamestown, development and real estate experts responsible for Ghirardelli Square in SF, Fourth Street in Berkeley, and both Chelsea Market and Pier 57 in NYC. The duo is eyeing 57 Barack Obama Boulevards for a beer garden and dining spots. It does have a cool industrial vibe to it that looks ripe for something trendy.

One of the first major construction projects will likely be an affordable housing project on the site of the old Orchard Supply Hardware store. Dirt has already been moved to clear the site.

The goal for early investment is to get others excited about developing here and truly creating a brand new district and ecosystem. It could easily evolve to have a better quality of life than Mountain View, as it's close to the biggest transit project on the West Coast and the 300+ eateries, bars, and entertainment venues in Downtown San Jose. That's not to mention the fact that housing close to this area is nearly a fraction of what you pay for Mountain View and Palo Alto.

Exiting times are ahead for Downtown West.

Source: The Mercury News

New mixed-use project with a beer garden opening soon near Levi's Stadium

Finally, 49ers fans will have a place in easy walking distance to hang out before and after games. A new mixed use project on Tasman will feature a Food & Beverage Garden that repurposes an old Carl's Jr. into an indoor bar with local beers, wines, and cocktails. The indoor/outdoor concept will feature food trucks and outdoor games like bocce ball and corn hole.

The residential building behind the beer garden will have 311 luxury apartments in an eight-story building, 100 of which come fully furnished. It also features a two-story fitness center, yoga studio, bike share, a resort-style pool, fire pits, and gaming lounges. 15,000 SQFT of retail will also be available in the ground floor of this building which are separate from the 14,000 SQFT beer and food garden with games.

The beer and food garden is set to open in a few months, just in time for the 49ers season.

Source: LinkedIn, Ensemble

 

Stike Brewing Co. "Cheers to 2 Years" anniversary party on October 8th

One of San Jose's first craft breweries is celebrating two years at their S. 10th street location! To honor the occasion, Strike Brewing is throwing a huge party with killer beer, food trucks, live music, and a silent auction.

Tickets to the event cost $20 in advance or $25 at the door. That includes a special glass that's yours to keep and 3 pints of your choosing (everything is a pint that day).

To help absorb some of the delicious beer, the Gow Chow food truck will be on site from 1-5pm, followed by Kushi Yaki at 5-9pm. It all goes down on October 8th at 2099 S. 10th St. #30, San Jose, CA 95112.

Tickets are on sale now right over here. For more info, check out Strike's Facebook page.

San Jose Brew Bike

With so many great beer options in Downtown San Jose, it's surprising we didn't get one of these sooner. San Jose Brew Bike is essentially a giant bike that takes you and up to 14 friends on a tour of San Jose's top beer hotspots. Don't worry, the person steering does not partake in the tastings.

The standard two hour tour will stop at three different establishments and stay for 30 minutes at each stop. The extended tours allow for a fourth or even a fifth stop. Tours begin and end at 286 West San Fernando Street (next to Adobe).

The cost is $25/person from Sunday-Thursday and $30/person on Friday-Saturday. This includes a designated tour guide, bottles of water, and discounts at each stop. You do have to be 21 and over.

For more info and to book a tour, head over to the San Jose Brew Bike website.

Beers in Hell 2016

A unique event combining five craft breweries and 11 underground bands is coming to Johnny V's next weekend (Saturday, 9/24). Heavy San Jose, Ripple Music, and Doomed & Stoned are behind the festival which features heavy-blues, rock, and classic heavy metal music.

There will be 12 taps and brewery reps on site to talk beer and music. The breweries are Ballast Point, Lagunitas, Firestone Walker, Oskar Blues, and our very own Santa Clara Valley Brewing. SCVB will even concoct a special "Hell Brew IPA" just for the event.

Tickets are $20 and you can get additional perks and merch at the Indiegogo campaign over here. The event will run from 5pm to 1:30am at Johnny V's, 31 East Santa Clara Street.

About Heavy San Jose

Heavy San Jose is more than just a concert promotions company, we are creating a community of musicians, music lovers, and others in the industry who simply want to do what they love and help others do the same by offering as many ways as possible to support local music, see great live bands, and live a life filled with music. Our aim is to foster, help grow and bring further recognition to the Bay Area music scene, as well as to support the touring bands passing through.

To learn more visit:

www.heavysj.com

www.facebook.com/heavysjc

Silicon Valley Beer Week kicks off tomorrow

If you love beer, you are likely going to enjoy the next 9 days. Dozens of beer-centric events will take place throughout Silicon Valley from July 22nd to the end of the months. These range from tastings, beer food-pairings, brewery tours, beer walks, and sessions with brewers. Given how quickly our beer scene is growing, I wouldn't be surprised if this ranks as the most impressive beer week to date for our region. For the complete list of events, head over to the Silicon Valley Beer Week events page!

Good Karma gets a new artsy paint job

One of the best Vegan restaurants and craft beer spots in Downtown San Jose has a slick new facade. Surprisingly, the was the first place Downtown to feature an assortment of rare craft beers. Now there are five such places within a 3 minute walk and about a dozen in Downtown San Jose. If you have yet to try out Good Karma--regardless of whether you are vegan or a carnivore--you must check this place out!

Source: Quadshock from The San Jose Development Forum, SubZERO via Twitter

Valley Brews on May 29th!

The New Leaders Council (NLC) Silicon Valley is a nonprofit that trains the next generation of political entrepreneurs and leaders. They are hosting a fundraiser and networking event featuring local craft brews (Good Karma Artisan Ales, Hermitage, Santa Clara Valley Brewing, and Camino Brewing Company). In addition to the great drinks, there will be a panel to discuss entrepreneurship and what it takes to start a successful craft brewery.

Tickets are $35 pre-sale and $40 at the door. For more information and to register, head over here.

Beer-and-Food Pairing Dinner at Scott's Seafood in Downtown San Jose

I'm spreading the word on an upcoming five-course dinner featuring tasty brews from Lagunitas Brewing Company because it's going to be a good one.

The beer dinner will take place on Thursday, Oct. 23, at Scott's Seafood and promises to be a great treat for those both experienced with beer dinners already and those new to the delights of such events.

The dinner will take also place on the sixth-floor rooftop, providing a unique setting with great views of downtown.

Here's the menu:

Check-In: Smoked salmon crostini and calamari with lemongrass beurre blanc. Paired with Lagunitas Daytime Session IPA.

Getting Started: Marscapone stuffed dates. Paired with Lagunitas Hop Stoopid Double IPA.

Round Two: Spinach salad with Mandarin oranges, toasted almonds, goat cheese tossed with a poppy seed dressing. Paired with Lagunitas Censored Copper Ale.

Main Course: Mahi Mahi with pineapple relish served with coconut rice and bok choy. Paired with Lagunitas Little Sumpin’ Sumpin’ Pale Wheat Ale.

Sweet Finale: Pumpkin cheesecake. Paired with Lagunitas Imperial Red Ale.

The dinner is $45, and tickets are available for purchase online.

I've written a bit more about the dinner on Examiner.com.

The CineBrew Mart 2014 on Sat, July 26th!

SJMADE, Camera Cinemas, and San Jose's own Hermitage Brewing have come together for an amazing event next week. How does all-you-can-watch movies and unlimited beer tastings for $25 sound?

The beer selections should be fantastic. You can sample from from Hermitage (San Jose), Strike (San Jose), Santa Clara Valley Brewing (San Jose), Tied House (Mountain View), Faultline (Sunnyvale), and Uncommon Brewers (Santa Cruz). The tastings run from 1pm to 4pm.

After the tastings you can head over to the theater to watch Transformers, Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, Hercules, Lucy, Sex Tape, or The Purge. The movies included in your pass run from 11am to 11pm.

Last but definitely not least, SJMADE will be representing local shopping along Paseo de San Antoio and the first floor of Camera 12 from 11am-7pm. Admission is not required to shop and they always have a great selection of everything. This is well worth checking out everyone!

You can buy tickets and get more information at the CineBrew Mart 2014 Website.

Clandestine Brewing Opens in San Jose

Another local brewery has opened up shop! Clandestine Brewing is located near the The Plant shopping center south of Downtown San Jose. It is also not very far away from Hermitage or Strike (beer district anyone?).

It looks like they have a great selection of craft beers that I am anxious to try out. You can get a preview below, but I would recommend checking out their website for all of the deets. Their address is 1805 Little Orchard St. Suite 124.

Source: I Heart San Jose

Content Magazine 6.2 Pick Up Party!

Content Magazine is launching their latest issue tomorrow with another one of their famed pick-up parties. This one will take place at Downtown San Jose's newest craft beer hot spot, ISO Beers (75 E Santa Clara St. right next to Ike's Sandwiches). The event runs from 6-8pm.

If you are not a subscriber yet, learn more about Content Magazine over here.

Hermitage Brewing Company to Tap Very Limited Barrel-Aged Beers

On Thurs., May 15 at 4pm, Hermitage Brewing Company is set to tap four very limited amounts of barrel-aged beers in their San Jose brewery and tap room at 1627 South 7th Street. The aged beers will be a brown, vanilla porter, Maltopia Scotch Ale and Maltopia Scotch Ale made with apricots. The tap room will be the only place offering these beers, and I can't wait to try them.

Hermitage Brewing, established in 2009, provides contract brewing services for other brewing companies, but they've been making impressive beers of late, such as their Single Hop IPA series and their seasonal Ryetopia Barrel-Aged Rye Barley Wine.

The unique beers that Hermitage is making, along with the tapping parties, certainly go a long way to enhancing San Jose's beer scene.

If you haven't visited the Hermitage tap room yet, it's a bit tricky to get to as I indicated earlier today in my SanJose.com article (which also has more info. on the barrel-aged beers). Basically head south on 7th towards Phelan Ave. and look for signage at the last driveway on the right before hitting Phelan Ave. Proceed towards the back of the large industrial buildings.

If you do make it, please let me know what you think of the beers via comments.

Prost! Gun bae! Cheers!

Hermitage Brewing Company tasting room, Credits: Hermitage

Help Launch Strike Brewing Company's Taproom

Strike Brewing Company's own production brewery is scheduled to open shortly, hopefully this June, at 2099 S. 10th St., but to make sure that their taproom -- where people can actually have a place to visit, taste, and hang out -- opens around the same time, they're calling on the community for assistance.

Strike has launched a Kickstarter campaign to raise $20,000 to help fund the taproom. The campaign is more than half funded, but there needs to be more backers as the campaign closes this Saturday, April 26.

Visit the Kickstarter page to read more about Strike and the taproom story. As both a San Jose enthusiast and South Bay beer fan, I'm excited that Strike chose to build their brewery in San Jose. It'll be great if we could help them get to the $20,000 mark and play a part in building their taproom.

I've written a bit more about the Strike campaign on Examiner.com.

Prost! Gun bae! Cheers!

~Andy

Strike Brewing's Jenny Lewis (c) and Drew Ehrlich (r) joined by Santa Clara Valley Brewing's Steve Donohue (l), Credits: Andy Lee