Clandestine Brewing

Seriously cannot say enough good things about this place! Not only is their beer selection incredible, but the staff is so unbelievably accommodating and kind!
I threw a small surprise party for my boyfriend here and I was blown away by how nice and helpful everyone was! Can’t wait to see this place grow, and thanks again for a fun night! We’ll be back soon!

I found this brewery on Unilocal and i do agree with a lot of the reviews on here. Stopped here on a Friday afternoon expecting it to be packed. Well it was, we got a seat at the mini bar area and told the helpful lady we were first timers here and what does she suggest. We got the taster, 6 taster at 4oz each for 10 bucks! 10 bucks! you don’t see that very often.
Very unique and different styles compared to other breweries and i like it that way.
The reason for not having 5 stars even though i thoroughly enjoyed the place, is due to the fact that they do not fill outside growlers… you need to join their club and get their engraved growler. (which when i saw it was very cool looking, but i wouldn’t want to join a club just to get a growler filled).
Other than that, very cool place and will be back soon!

Stopped by while doing a brewery exploration day in San Jose. My friend and I split the 6 tasters for $ 10 since we had already drank a lot before this. They give you taster tokens that you bring up to the bar to trade in for you tasters one at a time. So clever! I’m really slow when it comes to drinking my beer so by the time I get through one of my tasters at other breweries, my beer has already warmed up a bit.
The place is small with minimal seating. But, I did see some people set up little spots by the trunk of their cars and drank from there. My friend and I sat on the sidewalk in the shade before finding a spot at a table.
Fun little place with some fridge magnet words you can move around to make silly phrases. Overall, good brews that I would like to try again. A bit out of my way to come down here but I would stop by again when I’m around.

Love this spot! Such a great little gem in my ‘hood. Never heard of it before, but saw it pop up on Unilocal when randomly looking for a spot with some beer.
It’s tucked away in the industrial area behind The Plant shopping center, so it’s definitely not an area I typically wander about. Luckily they had some signs and a pop-​up tent outside where people were hanging out, otherwise we probably wouldn’t have spotted the place.
They have a good variety of different beers, my bf enjoyed every one of them. I was particularly a fan of their Milk Stout. Yum! Their set up is out of a garage, but there’s a few tables inside if you want to sit. The vibe was pretty chill and the crowd was very diverse, which we loved. Will definitely be back since it’s not too far from home!

My boyfriend and I heard this was «the spot» to go to for delicious craft beer. We decided last Friday to come here on a date night. Such a hidden gem! The staff was friendly and made us feel at home. Great atmosphere and oh ya… Yummy beer! We will be back!

Staff wasn’t knowledgeable. Beer was okay, I’ve been doing the micro brew thing a lot lately, but this one wasn’t as impressive as a lot of the other in the area. But they were solid beers! I had a favorite, although I can’t remember what it was because the samplers all come separate with no description. Oh well, not worth going back too.

I’m obsessed with this place! It is my absolutely favorite beer spot now, with 2 downfalls… they don’t fill growlers yet, and they are only open on Friday and Saturday.
Their brews are so unique! There are 12 – 13 beers on tap + a non alcoholic soda at times. Because they brew by the barrel they can experiment with different brews and ingredients that most breweries cannot which makes this place so fun to come back to over and over again. There will be different beers to try every time.

Best brewery in San Jose. These guys have won a gazillion home brew competition medals. Very well crafted beers.
I will definitely be back.

San Jose has a very robust craft beer bar scene — but a very sparse craft brewery scene. Clandestine is a welcome addition.
The have 12 different taps and the beers they brew run the gamut. They have the requisite IPAs, Belgians, Lagers, etc but also plenty of harder to find styles like Rauchbiers and Adambiers, as well as variants such as Maple Rye Ales, IBAs, a Cocoa/​Vanilla/​Coffee Brown, & others. But be warned, everything is made in tiny batches so if you see a style on their website you want to try and rush over, it may already be gone by the time you get there. But something else just as good will be in its place.
With the lineup being so ADD there are surprisingly way more hits than misses. My favorites are the Hops and Toast (India Brown Ale) and Murph’s Shenanigans (the Brown with all that stuff from the above paragraph.) The prices are quite reasonable, around $ 6-​$ 7 for a pint of most beers and 10 oz. of the higher ABV or more deluxe beers.
This place is small, their brewing room does not have ginormous tanks but small containers of beer. We’ve only been here about three times (although we need to increase that!) but they remembered us each time. It’s kind of like going to your home brewer-neighbor’s garage. Open limited hours on Friday and Saturday but it has been packed almost every time we’ve been here. If they had the power, they could expand their hours.

Being from San Diego we have tried plenty of craft breweries. So far this has been my favorite place I’ve been to in San Jose. I like that they have such a wide variety of beers, and that you can sit outside. Yes, you are sitting in a parking lot, but I just like to be outside sometimes.
Also, you can not beat 6 samples for $ 10!

Tokens, tokens and more tokens! This spot is really cool and they have a variety of beers. The people here are super friendly, I believe they are all part owners of this brewery. There’s limited seating here but its a very open spot and they even have a tent outside on nice days. I saw many people bringing their dogs in as well, which is cool! I might have to bring my dog in and enjoy a few glasses of beer :)

I can’t rave about this place enough! The atmosphere is extremely relaxed and the beer is amazing! Everyone is friendly too!
The last time I went I got the Tipsy Hipster IPA. I’m an IPA fan and after one sip I knew I had a favorite. I also had the Ploughman Porter and loved that one too. Seriously… you can’t go wrong here! If you’re going for your first time, it’s a good idea to bring some food and chairs. You can enjoy the fresh air, good beer and great people outside!

$ 10 for 6 tasters is the best and most fun way to get to know this place. Owners are really great and the best thing? Open until 9 PM! Came there with Lando (Frenchie) since there was outdoor seating. Love. Favorite was the Kolsch I Could.
* Open till 9PM!
* $ 10 for beer flight — 4oz pour at a time, come back to refill after you are done with your sample.
* Outdoor seating
* Nice staff/​owners
* YUMMY beers, always appreciate when they post the IBU of beers :)

Dear Christine, Adrian, and the whole crew,
You guys are the best! No shame, I’ve tried about 15 of their beers and there hasn’t been a single one that I dislike. There are more than a few that I absolutely love.
We got a tour of the place, too. Super small, meticulously kept and oozes the passion that only beer nerds can bring to a small warehouse space. They are everything a small beer business should be. I can’t stop singing their praises.
Keep up the great work, and I can’t wait to make another visit!

Wonderfully pleasant owners, super tasty and creative beers, small space, but that’s what makes it good.
Can’t wait to go back!

A local brewery with unique beer offerings!
You can view what they are offering from their website.
Cost was about $ 5-​$ 7 for 500 ml for most beers and $ 3-​$ 5 for tasters.
You can buy a «flight» of 6 tasters for $ 10? The tasters were about 4 oz. Unlike most breweries, the flight isn’t all 6 tasters at once, instead, you get a pint glass and pick a beer, drink, go back to bar, and repeat. Saves on glasses and washing. Sounds good to me!
Their chocolate kolsh was really interesting to me and probably my favorite of all the tasters I tried. They offer light, dark, sour, and Belgium beers!

Cool spot. Lots of good experimental craft beers. The menu constantly changes as they try new stuff. Best deal is the sampler.
Owners are super friendly and they’ll just chat all day with you about beer.

The sour is S.O. G.O.O.D.
Check these guys out, stat!

Great beers and great people! Clandestine is founded by a group of homebrewers that all still have their full-​time jobs, but don’t let that deter you! They make some actually good beer. They currently have 12 beers on tap ranging from germans to ipas to dark and malty beers from 4.0% — 9.8% ABV.
$ 5-​$ 7 for 500 ml for most beers, except for the higher ABV beers.
$ 3-​$ 5 for 300 ml.
6 tasting tokens for $ 9. Looked like 4 oz. pours for the tasters.
They only have a few tables. Hopefully they can open up more seating in the parking lot and bring in some food trucks. They currently don’t have any food, but they’re cool with you having food delivered to the brewery.
Once word gets out, I have a feeling they’ll be outgrowing their space fairly quickly.

San Jose is a growing market for craft beer lovers such as myself, and every time a new brewery opens its doors, the local scene gives out a big cheer! Welcome, Clandestine Brewing!
Clandestine opened its doors this week, with a preview night on Thursday and a grand opening on Friday. The owners, five local techies, have been working on opening the place for over two years. The bureaucratic hoops they’ve had to jump through have been time-​consuming, but it gave them the time to really think about their business model and how they want the place to run. It was worth the wait — because this place is fantastic!
Driving through a random auto-​repair area in San Jose, a few minutes’ drive from the Alma Ave exit on 87, you will turn into a random parking lot adjacent to a fairly nondescript building. A helpful sign with a pint of beer and an arrow points your way to Clandestine Brewing.
Walk through the doors and you will be greeted by a simple but clean tap room experience. There are over ten beers on tap to choose from, and if you’re curious about all the offerings, you can buy tokens for 4 oz samples. All the beers can be ordered in a 4oz, 330 mL, or 550 mL size, all served in a beautiful custom beer glass with the brewery’s name and logo on it.
My favorite beers were the Kolsch, the Scotch Ale, and the Milk Stout. Others in my party also enjoyed the VW and Russian Imperial Stout. There are so many choices and something will definitely suit your tastes. My party didn’t even get to the hoppier varieties, so we’ll have to come back to taste those offerings. A full list can be found on their website if you are curious about what they have.
Colin, one of the brewers/​founders, was happy to chat with us about the future of the brewery. He said that the next step will be selling growlers so local fans can take the beer to-​go. Yay! I know I’ll be back to get a growler of that Milk Stout.
Compared to the other local taproom, Hermitage, I have to say that Clandestine has a better selection of kinds of beers. Hermitage tends to serve very hoppy or very dark beers — most everything they serve is an imperial something. Clandestine has more options for all kinds of beer drinkers so you can come with a group of friends and everyone can be happy.
This new brewery has lots of room to grow, and with support from the local craft beer scene, I’m sure they’ll do great over the years to come. So come on out and drink some great beers and support your local brewery!