Highway 1 Brewing Co

 

 

 

 

 

 

The place is right across from the beach on Hwy 1. Nice location, quiet spot. The staff was very friendly. There was food but I didn't try any. The atmosphere was chill but kinda dead inside, not many people.

The tap list was sparse, I think only 4 or 5 choices. I had the black IPA which was tasty and the other styles I wasn't really feeling so I left after only one beer. Not sure I'd go back, unless they tapped something I really wanted to try.

Visited for a friend's birthday dinner. Very busy place, which is good to see. The bar was very quiet, and I would have preferred to sit there, but as we were doing dinner, we sat in the small dining room. Service was odd- friendly, but the girls were making out with their boyfriends at the service desk in front. I personally don't have a problem with PDA, but when you're supposed to be working it's a little different. Plus, when we asked for water, one of our waitresses said somethin snarky: "you'd better finish this glass, we're in a drought." Really? Weird. Food is small bites, it's okay stuff, but nothing out of the ordinary. Their beers are decent, esp their Pale Ale and Porter. The sampler flight was a good way to try everything. Overall, good but not great.

At the midway point between Half Moon Bay and Santa Cruz along the coast highway sits this odd diner-looking place next to a gas station. It has been many things before, none of which made me want to stop in. From the inside, at the bar or raised tables, you can look at the blue Pacific while people travel along Highway 1, which on a sunny weekends can mean interesting vehicles from Ferraris and Teslas to vintage surf mobiles and lines of Harleys. Early on a Saturday we received friendly attention and fast service. The beer selection this day included 4 house offerings, I started with the 1PA (how they spell it) and stuck with it as it was very fresh, well built (7.1%), heady, grain mild forward, pleasantly bitter backward, dry hopped to give a citrus rind nose. They also had something called French Mexican War, where saison yeast meets jalapeño -- intriguing but some other day. Several local guest brews on tap as well. Food was a twist on pub fare -- batter fried cauliflower coated in buffalo wing sauce was flavorful and not greasy. Place did start crowding up as the afternoon went along -- by the time the live blues started at 6 I can imagine you would be hard pressed to get the staff's attention. Will certainly recommend for a mid-day stop.

Located between Davenport and Pescadoro on the 1. Walking in the brewery and bar is to the left and the dinning room to the right. When we were there they had their Saison, IPA, and Brown on tap. Since I was a little beered out I ordered a half pint of the Brown. Talk about sticker shock-$4.66 for a 1/2 pint WTF. The brown was OK, needed more time to clear up, but otherwise drinkable.

Service was good but I don't see a particular reason to stop here unless you are nearby, no special trip needed.