Monday, May 19, 2008

Seabright Brewing Company

This is a pretty rad brewery near downtown Santa Cruz. With the amazing weather, we had the option of sitting inside or out on their rather large patio. They served really good food, which ended up being a nice last meal on our tour. Our server, Anjyll, had obvious been working their for a while as she had the Angel's Food beer named after her. All of our food ended up being really delicious, so I think I'll be frequenting this place any time I come to Santa Cruz.



  • Pelican Pale Ale - This Pale Ale has a nice roasted grain flavor which is complimented by a bitter hopy aftertaste. This is definitely a solid pale ale in the spirit of Sierra Nevada. The aftertaste gives the impression that there is rice incorpoarted somewhere in the brewing process. Score: 5/10
  • Amber - This is a completely awesome amber ale. It has a flavor very similar to Fat Tire but with a far more complex aftertaste. Score: 5/10
  • Bock - This bock has a banana like flavor which is typical of wheaty German beers. I am not personally a fan, but this is a pretty solid beer, so if German beers are your style then I would recommend it. Score: 5/10
  • Sacrilicious - This is the beer that I got a pint of. This is a very hoppy, ambery beer. It is a combination of an Amber and an IPA, which are my two favorite styles of beer. This type of beer is what dreams are made of. Score: 7/10
  • Angel's Food - This unique beer has a sweet and caramelly flavor with a kick from the 11% alcohol content, much like Anjyll's personality. I could easy drink lots of this, but would quickly get myself into trouble. The honey in it definitely gives is a really smooth flavor and texture. Score: 8/10
  • G-Man IPA - This is an British style IPA which isn't very hoppy like American IPAs. This is a pretty mild beer with a bitter aftertaste. I'm not super impressed with this beer, but never having a British IPA before, I am not exactly sure what to expect. Score: 4/10
  • Oatmeal Stout - The flavor progression of this beer is very interesting. It transitions from a chocolate flavor, to one that is berry-y, to charcoally, and then to a smooth aftertaste. I think this is an incredible trait of this stout. I would definitely drink this often if I had access to it. Score: 8/10

Beer Tour Day 3


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Being the last day of our trip, we definitely took it easy. We left Monterey around noon, and headed north towards Santa Cruz. We tried visiting Coastline Brewery and Santa Cruz Ale Works but they were both closed. In fact, Coastline has changed names to and didn't open until much later in the day (like ~5pm). Anyways, we ended up visiting Seabright and having a blast. We then moved down to the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk and playing on the beach. Soaked from the water, we got back in the car and headed home. We got back home a few hours later. It was definitely a great time, and I am looking forward to doing it again next year!

Friday, May 16, 2008

Firestone Walker Brewing Company

This was definitely the most serious brewery we went to on this tour. It is just off a somewhat isolated exit on highway 101. Firestone branched out a few years ago into the beer industry after being in the wine industry for several years. In fact, every time my family and I would go to Southern California, we would stop in at Firestone Winery as well as Solvang, a danish arts community just north of Santa Barbara. Their tasting room was only that, they didn't have any food other than pretzels and mustard. We were able to sample 8 beers all together. Most of them were very sophisticated beers which is pretty uncommon for a single brewery to have multiple of. By sophisticated, I mean beers that involve multiple brewings, aging in oak barrels, or barley wine. Firestone definitely had several of these. When the tasting room got relatively full, the bartender offered a tour to clear some of the people out. We jumped at the opportunity, and he gave a really good tour. Being originially a winery, they now age/brew some of their beers in oak barrels. It definitely gives their Double Barrel Ale and Barley Wine a deeper flavor. Basically, if you are within 50 miles of this place you need to stop in.



  • Pale 31 Pale Ale - This pale ale has a really fresh hoppy smell that makes you expect it to have a very hoppy flavor perhaps even bordering on an IPA. In fact, this pale ale is very smooth and had a very crisp taste. Score: 4/10
  • Union Jack IPA - This IPA has a nice hoppy taste that leads into the smoothest aftertaste I have ever experienced with an IPA. I would definitely recommend this IPA for anyone wanting to start off in IPA land without having to deal with the strong aftertaste which is typical of most IPAs. Score: 6/10
  • Double Barrel Ale - This is actually a British Pale Ale which seems to closely resemble American amber ales. This beer is very malty but unfortunately lacks flavor otherwise. I would say pass on this beer at Firestone considering there are a lot of other far better options. Score: 3/10
  • Walker Reserve Porter - Has the typical charcoally flavor of a porter, but unfortunately does not transform into other more desirable flavors. I would definitely pass on this in favor of the Russian Imperial Stout. Score: 3/10
  • Unfitered Belgian - This is definitely a sweeter beer that would be good if you are eating savory foods. I would say this is a pretty good "typical" Belgian ale (If you haven't had a Belgian before, then you'll just have to take my word for it). Score: 5/10
  • Unfiltered Double Barrel Ale - This beer is a barrel aged version of the Double Barrel Ale. It initially has a a slight oaky flavor that transforms into a malty beer. The aftertaste is very similar to that of a white wine. I really think this is an immense improvement over the Double Barrel Ale. Score: 6/10
  • Barley Wine - One of Firestone's specialty brews, this barley wine has a distinct sweet wine smell. Taking a swig of this beer, you can definitely taste the high level of alcohol but is covered by the sweetness which accompanies it. I wish I had a larger glass of this, and I am not a fan of barley wines. Score: 7/10
  • Russian Imperial Stout - This is definitely one of their best beers. This imperial stout has a rich deep flavor that is accompanied by oaky undertones. While being considerably smooth, it has strong hints of chocolate. This would be an excellent dessert after any great meal. Score: 9/10


Thursday, May 15, 2008

Central Coast Brewing Company

Central Coast was definitely the most "Micro" of the microbreweries that we went to. This small, yet growing, brewery was tucked away in an office park a few blocks from Downtown Brewery in SLO. As you can see from the picture below, they have quite a large selection of beers. I would say that this brewery has the most interesting of all the beers we have tried. The Chai Cream Ale and Espresso Porter were both so good that we got a growler of each to take home. This brewery does not have a full liquor license yet, so they are only allowed to sell samples. They have a deal for $5 you get 5 samples, otherwise samples are $2. I would definitely be interested in coming back to this place to hang out. The marketing director is also a really interesting guy to talk to. His views on sustainability and the landscape of the microbrewery market are really interesting. Long story short, he feels that the whole point of a microbrewery is to serve the local community and take advantage of short supply lines to keep the beer naturally fresh as long as possible while in the hands of the consumer.


  • Honey Wheat - You can taste/feel the honey in this refreshing light beer. The honey mutes the malty aftertaste, making this a beer that one could drink a lot of after a long day at work. Score: 5/10
  • Chai Creme Ale - This beer tastes like a Chai Latte! No joke! After talking with the marketing director for a bit, we found out that it took them several batches to figure out when and how much of the chai to get the taste just right. I would have given this beer a 10 if it had more of a vanilla-y flavor, but that's just being really nit-picky. This was definitely one of the top beers of this tour! Score: 8/10
  • Kiakis (sp?) Beach Ale - This is a straight up, good tasting, light beer. Score: 4/10
  • Golden Glow Pale Ale - This is a really good pale ale. I could definitely drink a large amount of this if it didn't come in just sample glass sizes. :-P Score: 5/10
  • Stenner Creek Stout - This was an alright stout. It has a mild charcoally flavor that's not too overwhelming. I would probably drink this after dinner if there wasn't another stout to choose from. Score: 4/10
  • Espresso Porter - This is definitely one of their best beers, along with the Chai Creme Ale. It tastes like chocolate milk when you drink it, and turns into an amazing espresso flavor in the after taste. There is definitely a reason that we picked this porter as one of the two growlers we brought home with us. Score: 8/10

Thursday, May 1, 2008

Downtown Brewing Company - SLO

This is a really cool place to watch a game on the weekends or maybe shoot some pool after work. It is located on the second floor of a building in downtown San Luis Obispo. The history of this place is somewhat interesting. According to the owner of Central Coast Brewing Company, Downtown Brewing Company had its assets liquidated, and Firestone-Walker Brewing Company bought the Downtown Brewing chain. Firestone's and Downtown's beers are completely different however. I would definitely recommend hitting this place up the next time you're in SLO.



  • Blueberry - As advertised, this beer starts off with a blueberry taste that fades to its wheaty base. This is overall a really good beer for people who don't like strong beers or are just starting out in the world of beer. Score: 5/10
  • Honey Blonde - This is also a very mild beer. You can taste a hint of honey, but the real impact of the honey is the way it smooths out the taste and thickens the beer slightly. I would also recommend this beer if you're not a person who likes strong beers but want something refreshing. Score: 5/10
  • Wheat - This is a beer for people who don't like the banana flavor of German wheat beers. This beer has a nice refreshing taste to it. I would say that this tastes almost identical to Pyramid's Hefe. Score: 4/10
  • IPA - This IPA has a straight forward hoppy flavor without the harsh aftertaste that is normally associated with IPAs. If a person wants to start broadening their horizons into IPAs from milder beers, I would definitely recommend this one to them. Score: 5/10
  • Reggae - This beers score might have suffered from the fact it came after the IPA, who's stronger flavor may be overshadowing it. This beer lacked flavor but did not taste watered down. Over all I wasn't that impressed with this beer, but I would not say it was bad by any means. Score: 4/10
  • Porter - This was a good standard porter that had hints of chocolate and charcoal. Score: 5/10

Day 2


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To start off the second day, we headed out of Santa Barbara north on highway 101. Our first stop was actually in Solvang, a town centered around Danish traditions. If you ever pass through, you should stop for Abelskiver (Danish pancake balls with Raspberry jam). Our first brewery stop happened in San Luis Obispo at Downtown Brewing Company(B). We then walked a few blocks over to Central Coast Brewing Company. Heading north, we stopped at Firestone-Walker Brewing Company before pulling into Monterey that evening. Apparently, it's hard to find things to do in Monterey after 9pm. We looked high and low for places to eat and get a pint, and there were so few that the places we found were packed.