INTO THE BREW


Point Breaks and Pints W


Sam Tierney began his love affair with great beer while studying and traveling abroad in Europe during his junior year at the Univer- sity of California, Santa Barbara. He began homebrewing shortly after, and has since won multiple awards. Sam is a recent graduate of the Siebel Institute, a professional brewing school in Chicago.


hen most people picture a weekend getaway up in the Santa Barbara area, it is likely filled with wine tasting, dining at the upscale restaurants that line State Street, or perhaps getting a few surfing sessions in at one of the area’s famous point breaks. Few would consider visiting the area for beer, which is a shame. Santa Barbara may not be the next San Diego, but there is a growing number of beer destinations in the region that can make a Central Coast beer roadtrip a worthwhile adventure. Your first stop after passing the Ventura/Santa Barbara County Line at the famed Rincon Point surf break is the town of Carpinteria, home of Island Brewing Company (5049 6th St., Carpinteria, islandbrewingcompany.com). Named for the Chan- nel Islands that dominate the view from the coast, Island has been brewing beer a stone’s throw from Carpinteria State Beach since 2000. My experiences with Island’s beers have been hit or miss; drinking their beer on tap at the brewery is your best bet. The tasting room patio is also a nice place to relax on a warm afternoon after a morning session at Rincon with 200 of your buddies.


The next stop brings us into Santa Barbara proper, and the only production brewery in town. Telegraph Brewing Co. (416 N Salsipuedes St., Santa Barbara, telegraphbrewing.com) is lo- cated in a small warehouse space on the lower east side of town. Even though they are a small operation, Telegraph brews beers that are anything but small in character. Their flagship California Ale is a take on the rustic ales that were brewed along the coast in the 19th century. Somewhat similar to a Belgian farmhouse ale or pale ale, it blends spicy and fruity hops with bready and caramel malt, all complemented by a fruity, spicy, and lightly tart fermentation profile. My favorite of their beers might be the Reserve Wheat, a sour wheat beer loosely in the Berliner Weiss style, yet full of its own unique character. Most of their beers go especially well with food, which has been the brewery’s aim from the outset. Telegraph’s tasting room is open on Thursdays from 4 to 6 pm, Fridays from 4 to 8 pm, and on Saturdays from 2 to 6 pm for tasting flights, pints, and growler and keg sales. Re- cently, Telegraph’s beer has been trickling down to San Diego. A short drive back under the 101 and you will arrive at The


Brewhouse (229 West Montecito St., Santa Barbara, brewhous- esb.com), which is located next to the Amtrak station in down- town Santa Barbara. The Brewhouse is your somewhat typical neighborhood brewpub – the kind of place you feel comfortable hanging out with friends after a long workweek, or to watch the game. It is also a refreshing break from the occasional stuffiness of State St. establishments, and thus was the preferred venue for locally brewed beer among my college friends. They do a nice spread of beers, including a trio of abbey ales (Abbey, Dubbel, and Tripel) that seem to always be on tap, and a typically hoppy West Coast IPA called West Beach. While not every one of their experiments is a home run (try the chili beer shots if you dare), The Brewhouse always has a new and interesting beer or two when I visit.


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Now to the brewery with the best location in town: Santa Barbara Brewing Co. (501 State St., Santa Barbara, sbbrewco. com), which has been confidently perched on the corner of State and West Haley since 1995. They hit their brewing heyday in the early 2000s under brewer Eric Rose with several Great American Beer Festival (GABF) medals, including the coveted gold medal in American IPA. Since Eric left several years ago, the company has gone through several brewers and a somewhat inconsistent lineup of beers. I definitely had the occasional tasty seasonal during my UCSB days, and while I haven’t been back recently enough to see if anything has changed, I hear their new brewer has been brewing some good stuff. While the bar always had a more touristy/downtown feel to it, I wouldn’t miss a chance to pop my head in while cruising historic State Street. Luckily for native beer fans and visitors alike, Eric didn’t disappear after bringing brewing renown to the area – in 2007 he opened Hollister Brewing Co. (6980 Market Place Dr., Goleta, hollisterbrewco.com) in Goleta, a short drive west of downtown Santa Barbara and an easy cruiser ride for the Isla Vista-residing Gauchos of UC Santa Barbara. In that short time, Hollister has already won several GABF medals, including two for their Hip Hop Double IPA and one for the Tiny Bubbles German-style


Finding Beer in Santa Barbara’s Wine Country By Sam Tierney


Firestone Walker’s Pale 31 pairs quite well with a crisp spring evening


gose, which is a refreshingly tart wheat beer complete with a touch of salt and coriander. Hollister is unabashedly a beer geek’s brewpub. With 14-15 house beers on tap at all times spread across almost every style under the sun, you are guaranteed to find some- thing to get you excited. While Hollister excels at hoppy pale ales and IPAs, fans of more balanced and malty beers will also be well taken care of. The food is a mix of upscale pub and more interest- ing world-cuisine based on as many locally-sourced ingredients as possible. If you are staying in Santa Barbara and only have time for one stop, this is my vote.


Once you make your way north of Goleta, the coast opens up again as you wind your way up to Gaviota Pass. Here, the highway takes a turn into the mountains and up into the beautiful Santa Ynez Valley. The final two beer stops of the SB area are lo- cated in the small town of Buellton, about a 45-minute drive from Goleta. Buellton is best known for the multitude of vineyards and wineries that dot the rolling hills and valleys of the area, and as the main location of the movie Sideways. Despite the area’s wine heritage, beer has had a shining beacon of hope thanks to the Firestone Walker Taproom (620 McMur- ray Rd., Buellton, firestonebeer.com). Located just off the 101, the taproom serves all the fantastic Firestone Walker regular release beers including Pale 31, which has nearly perfected the Ameri- can Pale Ale style, winning three medals at GABF and another three at World Beer Cup in recent years. In addition to the regular releases, eight more taps rotate other Firestone and Nectar Ales beers. If you’re hungry, the restaurant’s menu often utilizes FW beer alongside locally-sourced ingredients; the pizza dough is cre- ated with spent grain from the main brewery, which is located just an hour and a half north in Paso Robles. Before you leave Buellton however, be sure to check out the tasting room at the newly-opened Figueroa Mountain Brewery (45 Industrial Way, Buellton, figmtnbrew.com), where you can sample their range of six beers, including the first “Danish Red Lager” that I’ve seen outside of Jutland, Denmark. I have yet to visit since their opening, but they definitely sound like a welcome addition to this wine-dominated region. If you are a fan of their beers, grab a growler from the brewery and bring it back to San Diego to share!


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