Island Brewing Company

Island Brewing CompanyIsland Brewing Company
Island Brewing CompanyIsland Brewing Company
Brewery, Bar

5049 6th St
Carpinteria, California, 93013
United States

(805) 745-8272 | map
islandbrewingcompany.com
BEER STATS
Average:
3.64
Beers:
20
Ratings:
274
PLACE STATS
Average:
3.92
Reviews:
20
Ratings:
33
pDev:
11.48%
View: Beers | Place Reviews
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Ratings by Siggy125:
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Reviewed by Siggy125 from California

4.28/5  rDev +9.2%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4.5
I stop by Island Brewing in Carpenteria every time I travel Hwy 101 and am never disappointed. This place is a little difficult to find for first timers, tucked behind a warehouse near the railroad tracks. But once you find it, you'll see that it's a pretty cool spot.

They have a comfortable no frills tap room and patio area with a good selection of beers available on a regular basis. Pretty much everything from a Blonde to a Stout and everything in between. My constant favorite has been their Jubilee Ale. They are now making some pretty good BA stuff, be sure to check it out.

They keep a pretty good selection of their bottle on hand, very reasonably priced too. Be sure to check out the "buy a friend a beer" board. Cool spot.
Jun 13, 2011
More User Ratings:
 
Rated: 4.33 by NodakEric from Minnesota

Jun 21, 2019
 
Rated: 3.26 by Gobzilla from California

Jan 26, 2019
 
Rated: 3.87 by Intlpostman from California

Feb 28, 2016
Photo of gcasher
Reviewed by gcasher from Pennsylvania

4.13/5  rDev +5.4%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 4 | service: 4.25 | selection: 4
Can't beat the location near the beach with the beautiful sound of the surf and sunsets and cool breeze. It is often crowded, but the service is friendly and responsive. Plenty of options on tap and cool bottles in the fridge.
Dec 23, 2015
Photo of TriggerFingers
Reviewed by TriggerFingers from California

3.73/5  rDev -4.8%
vibe: 4.25 | quality: 3.5 | service: 3.5 | selection: 4
Stopped in while on vacation. Place was packed. It's right next to the railroad tracks so it could be a bit noisy if the Surfliner came through.

Pros: beer is good, not great. 8 offerings on tap + 1 cask beer.
Bottles in the cooler are actually reasonable. Sometimes beer at a brewery is more expensive than in a store, but not here.
Great atmosphere with a view of the SB channel.

Cons: next to the tracks.
No food. Easy to miss.

It's pretty good...if you want a beer with friends, give it a shot. If you are a beer nerd, you may be a little critical.

Grade: B
Dec 07, 2015
 
Rated: 3.98 by ciscojuju from California

Dec 04, 2015
 
Rated: 3.59 by BowWowWowYippyYoIPA from California

Feb 18, 2015
 
Rated: 3.75 by Peter_Marinelli from California

Nov 03, 2014
 
Rated: 3.8 by PretzelCity from California

Sep 24, 2014
 
Rated: 3.98 by wethorseblanket from California

Sep 03, 2014
 
Rated: 4 by raulazzer from California

Aug 08, 2014
 
Rated: 4 by AleHunter805 from California

Jul 17, 2014
 
Rated: 4 by Buick222 from California

Apr 14, 2014
Photo of Dranklin
Reviewed by Dranklin from California

2.72/5  rDev -30.6%
vibe: 4.25 | quality: 2.5 | service: 3 | selection: 2
This place is all about the location. Being able to look out over a grassy field and seeing the sunset every evening is what it's about. The interior is nothing to talk about, the furniture is unique and very crafty (some of it that is.)

The service is that of little effort but not rude by any means. Waiting at the bar for a beer is never a long or impossible feat. Table service is random.

Though there is no food, the occasional food truck will show up and have some tasty treats.
Feb 28, 2014
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Reviewed by CHennyminator from California

3.38/5  rDev -13.8%
vibe: 3.75 | quality: 3.25 | service: 3.5 | selection: 3.25
Accidentally found this place, while strolling Carpinteria beach, without knowing it was there. Looked like just a little beach bar from the outside, but we wandered in and discovered it was a brewery. Score! Island Brewing beers aren't necessarily at the top of my list in general, but we tried a sampler..some brew better than others. But over all it's a fun little place, that gets really packed. They close pretty early too, but worth a stop, if you're on a Cali Brew Tour, if nothing else it's novel.
Feb 27, 2014
 
Rated: 4.5 by CAcker from California

Feb 14, 2014
 
Rated: 4.25 by Orthodoxkardia from California

Dec 11, 2013
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Reviewed by AHRMA69 from California

2.75/5  rDev -29.8%
vibe: 1 | quality: 3 | service: 3 | selection: 3
Tastes like peas! Stay away if you don't like this taste! I hate it! Purchased from avocado festival and tried to get used to the flavor but it just got worse and worse :(
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Oct 06, 2013
Photo of GeorgeH
Reviewed by GeorgeH from California

4.28/5  rDev +9.2%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 4.25 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4
One of my favorite places to get a beer. The view of the ocean is great. The weather is almost always perfect. The service is great. A fun place that, once you find it, you will surely return to. I lived in Carpinteria for a while, and I loved getting to know this place and the locals that fill it. Local art work for sale on the walls. Local music here and there. Dog friendly. I'm in Santa Barbara now, but I still get in here about once a month. 2 thumbs up!
Jul 14, 2013
Photo of teraflx
Reviewed by teraflx from Arizona

4.17/5  rDev +6.4%
vibe: 4.25 | quality: 4 | service: 4 | selection: 4.5
Fun little tasting room here, right along the train tracks. Close enough to the ocean to have that cool breeze. They make some very decent beers, my favorite being the blackbird porter. You sit outside by the train track and people watch. Can get pretty busy on a Friday night. We stay a block away from here in the summer so its great to be able to walk to and from the brewery.
May 17, 2013
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Reviewed by TheMarkE from California

4.26/5  rDev +8.7%
vibe: 4.75 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4.5 | selection: 3.5
My favorite brewery to hang out at. Laid back atmosphere with great staff, great beers, and interesting locals. They don't serve food, but The Spot has excellent burgers a few steps away, or visit one of the many fine restaurants in Carpinteria.

IB is in a warehouse with a small serving area and a spacious patio that overlooks a park and the Pacific Ocean. Watching the sunset while sipping on a beer here is a memorable experience.
Jan 08, 2013
Photo of Raiden805
Reviewed by Raiden805 from California

4.26/5  rDev +8.7%
vibe: 5 | quality: 4 | service: 4 | selection: 4.5
I'm a local here in Carpinteria, and I got a chance to meet the owner of the establishment, he is a great guy. I'm a bit of a novice with drinking and sampling, but I purchased the sampler and I reached for the jubilee first since it's one of my favorites there, and he taught me to go from light to dark. And I am glad he helped me out there, because I really enjoyed the beers a lot more than I would have trying them scattered lol.

Great owner, really helpful, and great to joke around with. I really enjoyed his presence. The location is right near the train tracks, and it's great, everyone waves to the people going away from town as we drink great beers!

They don't have food, but they sometimes have ladies who are fundraising for an organization and they sell Nachos for a small donation.

The bartenders are nice, give great advice on what to choose if its your first time. Nice seating, they are always full on Fridays and Saturdays! It's a great way to meet new people on those days. I can't wait for our Avocado Festival so I can try the Avocado Honey Ale!

If you guys can ever get a chance to stop here, please do! Great people, great environment, and great beer!
Jun 07, 2012
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Reviewed by Retsinis from Arizona

3.9/5  rDev -0.5%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 3.5 | service: 4 | selection: 4
Visited Island Brewing company back on Labor day, after years of a friends prodding to check these guys out. Since my wife and I were on our way up to camp in Buellton, this was the one and only stop on the way up.

The atmosphere is pretty cool. Not a large place, but the ceilings are high, some surf boards, paintings, bottles for sale, brewery swag, wood floors, and a killer patio next to the train tracks. You might say that doesn't sound great, but you can see the ocean & smell the ocean, and get that ocean breeze. There is also a decent sized field across the tracks too. Nice for a lazy afternoon.

The beers are about a B to B+ average to me, especially the Jubilee ale “Jubiale”, & the blackbird porter & flights are reasonable as well.

One girl was bartending when we were there. Service was good when we where there, no pressure, attentive, and chill. Also fairly knowledgeable about the beers too. However, slight ding for quality here though. Not so much the beers, but the growler fill I got. Placed under the tap, and turned on, & walked away. No tube to fill from the bottom, big pet peeve of mine. She did cap on foam, but she wasted a lot of beer to make it a full growler too by the way it was filled & overflowing for a while, again, big pet peeve of mine. Not sure if this everyone, or just how she did it. We drank it just 3 hours later, and it had already lost half of it's carbonation. We got some bottles too, and those were great.

Selection was decent, we got two flights, 5 beers each, and all of them were different, so about 10 beers in all. Don't believe they have any food, but there are a few places nearby, since it's a small "old town" kind of area. Prices were reasonable as well.

Overall, nice spot for the area, near the beach, and pretty chill. Will make stops here when I'm traveling up and down the coast on treks.
Nov 30, 2011
Photo of dragonWhale
Reviewed by dragonWhale from New York

4.06/5  rDev +3.6%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 4 | service: 4.5 | selection: 3.5
A review very late. Very late. This was our one destination upon leaving the Woodshop tasting of February 2010. Well, excepting a certain BBQ joint upon the water. A sexy one at that. We drove the coast slowly, avoiding the dangerous streets of LALA Land. Scary scary. We had no idea what we were doing when we arrived in Carpinteria. We just knew there was a brewery and it was getting dark. We had nowhere to stay and Paso Robles was so so far away. The van beckoned. The beer beckoned.

We waltzed in, computer in hand, becoming robots.

They had 8-10 beers on tap, we tried a grand example of many of them, most memorable being the Little Island, a big American "mild", almost 4% and extremely hoppy and exremely delicious (Unfortunately not reviewed), the 2nd runnings (I believe) of the Big Island, their very sexy imperial IPA.

We talked to the wonderful gentleman who was bartending (Time has robbed me, I know not his doubtlessly glorious name). He declared us worthy of a venture towards the back of the establishment as we explained our noble scientific purpose. They have such amazing space. Listen, if you're a brewery with amazing things going on..lease some shit from these guys if they are willing participants. They have such a large space still available. Very good beer, and some adventure going into some future projects, but the space available is enviable.

I wish these good folks the best of luck on their adventure heading forward and enjoyed my time there very greatly. We slept just down the road, between the brewery and the park. According to some signs that were posted, that was illegal, but no one wants to anger a dragonWhale
Jan 12, 2011
Photo of dearl
Reviewed by dearl from Pennsylvania

4.86/5  rDev +24%
vibe: 5 | quality: 5 | service: 5 | selection: 4.5
Was in the area on vacation going from San Francisco to Los Angeles,first week of august 2010 with many stops to locate local beer, what a gem, had a Blackbird Porter, sent two home and also a Jubilee ale that i did not try.Bartender offered a sample,very nice tasting room, locals were friendy,had an outside tasting area next to railroad track,I would go back anytime,It may be a little hard to find down and small street but was very worth the search,Would have liked to buy some gear and glass wear but had no room to take home, web page does not have way to order,which is the only down fall of the place i can find, check it out if you can its worth the trip.
Aug 10, 2010
Photo of DigitalEye
Reviewed by DigitalEye from California

3.93/5  rDev +0.3%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 4 | service: 3.5 | selection: 4
Island is a classic "locals only" kind of place. If you don't know where it is , you may never find it yet its only a few steps form the main drag. The photo doesnt do it justice as they've significantly spiffed up the outdoor area since then. Island is the perfect place to hang out and enjoy some beer and some friends. Bring the kids, bring the dogs, whatever; its classic old-school beach-town and just about everybody's friendly. Theres no food served but they've usually got 6-8 pouring. Island does interesting and slightly funky interpretations of classic/standard ales. I like the Avocado Honey ale on the lighter side and the Jubilee on the darker. Beers here are not over-hopped (IMO) so I can drink just about anything they're pouring.
Jul 22, 2010
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Reviewed by Floydster from California

3.49/5  rDev -11%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 3.5 | service: 3.5 | selection: 3
Last stop on my central coast trip a few weeks ago, this is near the beach by some train tracks, few blocks from the great Palms restaraunt, left here with six bombers including Jubilee, IPA, Blonde, Tropical Lager, and Weiss, a growler of Paradise Pale Ale, and had a pint of Carp Ale all for only forty-five bucks, cannot complain about the price at all, but as you can see from my reviews most of the beers were not all that great, the atmosphere is cool at this place with an outdoor patio and being a couple hundred yards from the beach which is right in front view does not hurt either, there is a bunch of dogs hanging outside too, would be a nice place to stop on a walk if you were a local, they also have free pretzels but was not aware of any other food, service was decent as two people were working and it was quite busy, this brewery makes an interesting avocado beer I had months back at JJ Brewsky's which is probably the thing I would look out for them, everything seems average at best from a beer standpoint, although it is a cool place to stop in an area where beer is not really a focus, I will stop by to fill my growler in the future
Sep 15, 2009
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Reviewed by johnnieoz from Hawaii

4.2/5  rDev +7.1%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 4 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4
We arrived around 2pm on a Thursday, and luckily for us IBC was just opening. They open @11 am on the weekend (good for that brewy brunch).

IBC is located in a block of warehouses in downtown Carpenteria, fairly close to the beach. The tasting room is reached by walking along the railroad tracks that cross Linden Ave between 6th and 7th St. You reach a little patio where you have a great view across a park towards the ocean. I love the fact that it's right by the tracks - adds to the vibe and I don't think there are too many trains running through on any given day.

Inside the tasting room, there are tables, brew co decor, local paraphenelia and a bar. A door behind the bar leads to the brewery itself.

Met two people working there and both were really cool. Told them I was driving and would only be buying their wares to go When I asked if I could peek into the brewery, they said sure. I met a couple of brewers in there. They were cleaning up since they had just finished kegging and bottling their latest brew, Tropical Lager.

Tropical was being lauched the next day, so forgot about the driving and asked for a preview. They obliged me and the guy behind the bar also let me sample the stout, which was near imperial. Both brews tasted fresh and I rued my DD status. It's not everyday, you get to try a fresh lager, it's the only one IBC makes. Ties up the equipment too much, with storage and all.

All of their beers were available on draft. In May 2008, Island Blonde (Kölsch), Paradise Pale Ale, and Island Pale Ale (IPA) can be taken home in $3 brown bombers, all stored in display coolers. The tasting room has take-out menus and you can order from a variety of local places. You can also buy different kinds of glassware with the IBC logo.

All in all, a great place in a chill town we will be coming back to. I gotta try their cask-conditioned ales...
May 18, 2008
Photo of charlzm
Reviewed by charlzm from California

3.35/5  rDev -14.5%
vibe: 4 | quality: 2 | service: 4.5 | selection: 3.5
Visited on Monday afternoon, 02/18/08.

A little hard to find in an industrial/warehouse area, the Island Brewing Company is a small-ish operation (15 barrels) with a modest tap room. They had six of their taps available when we stopped in. There's no music or TV in this place (a welcome change), but there's no lack of ambiance. Locals with their dogs, couples enjoying each others' company, dudes who look like hackeysack champions: all hang out and mingle in the friendly low stress environment.

Paul, the owner/brewmaster, came to our table and chatted us up at length about beer and the industry in general. They don't serve food, but they have a notebook of menus from local places that will deliver to the tap room. Very thoughtful!

I have to weigh the overall coolness of this place, against their reason to exist: their beer. Despite all the positives, I just wasn't into ANY of their beers!
May 08, 2008
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Reviewed by barleywinefiend from Washington

3.84/5  rDev -2%
vibe: 4 | quality: 3.5 | service: 4 | selection: 4
First off..I will say the beer here is probably the better of the brewpubs on the Central Coast. beer is good, not great but good. Nothing touches it in Santa Barbara for sure. Right next to a RR track with some flags out front. Place had a small outside patio with wooden tables and a decent size bar inside with some high tables. Island brew good for sale and some bombers for sale as well. The atmosphere was good and very local. The address on the beerfly review is NOT correct. It is down by the water next to an electronice place or corporation. There is a campground and the beach in the distance. Very laid back, casual with some nice island music on overhead. I liked it here. Staff was friendly. Pretzels to eat and gear to go.
Mar 28, 2008
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Reviewed by HighOctane from California

4.28/5  rDev +9.2%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4.5
Address on Beerfly is incorrect; they have since moved to a new location in Carp. A small sign at the railroad tracks at Linden Ave. points you to the brewery which has beer mug flags flying out front. The tasting room and patio has a great view of the beach and ocean. The crowd seemed to be laid back beach types. The room is simple with a small concrete bar. Window behind bar looks into the brewery. Cooler to the left fully stocked with bombers to go. Service is prompt and friendly. Worth the short drive off the 101 while passing through.
Jun 16, 2007
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Reviewed by JayTheFinn from California

4.08/5  rDev +4.1%
vibe: 3.5 | quality: 4 | service: 5 | selection: 3.5
This is a tasting room down a side street along the train tracks facing out to the ocean. But considering it's location in this pleasant small town, it's always been busy here. There's a bar and a few tables in a relatively small area. The bartender quickly dispenses your drinks and keeps plenty of pretzels on hand. There's 7 to choose from. The nut brown and stout are my favorites. They offer a five 4oz glass sampler for $4, which is an excellent way to check out nearly their entire selection. Paul the brewer is often hanging out and quite willing to chat about his creations. Speaking with him it's obvious just how much he cares about quality. Very friendly atmosphere all around at Island.
Mar 31, 2006
Island Brewing Company in Carpinteria, CA
Brewery rating: 3.64 out of 5 with 274 ratings