Diving Dog Brewhouse closes in Oakland: 'The numbers just would not work anymore'

Diving Dog Brewhouse in Oakland. Diving Dog Brewhouse in Oakland. Photo: John Storey / Special To The Chronicle Photo: John Storey / Special To The Chronicle Image 1 of / 1 Caption Close Diving Dog Brewhouse closes in Oakland: 'The numbers just would not work anymore' 1 / 1 Back to Gallery

If you, like me, are one to pop into Diving Dog Brewhouse for a pint or two before shows at The Fox Theatre, I have some bad news: After nearly five years in business, the brewery-bar has closed.

"The bottom line is expenses vastly outpaced income," wrote owner Rob Bailard in a Facebook post. "The numbers just would not work anymore.

"During these last five years, we have had so many amazing people come through, on both the customer and staff side," Bailard continued. "That is what makes this so hard, and painful. To lose that connection to so many amazing people on both sides of the bar. It has always been those people that made Diving Dog so special."

Now, the loss of one local brewery doesn't necessarily point to a broader trend in the Bay. After all, Fieldwork just landed itself at No. 604 on Inc.'s list of the 5,000 fastest-growing private companies. In 2018, the Berkeley-based brewery's revenue was an incredible $14.8 million.

And elsewhere in the Bay, big things are happening in beer. This week, Magnolia announced a partnership with the Golden State Warriors, wherein the company would be brewing Dubs Golden Ale, an "easy-drinking ale" to be sold for a limited time in 12-oz. and 19.2-oz. cans.

Here's a crew that may be leaning towards such easy-drinking brews for a while: A group of six friends who — with the help of a designated driver — managed to visit 28 San Francisco breweries in one day last week. What does a group do to celebrate such a feat? As they told SFist, "We went to dinner and ordered beer (surprise) to celebrate afterward."

Alyssa Pereira is an SFGate digital editor. Email: apereira@sfchronicle.com | Twitter: @alyspereira

