LAX to Paso Robles road trip

How long are you going to be in L.A. before hitting the road? Lunch at Beachwood on Friday would be my first recommendation, with maybe a quick stop at Smog City/Monkish on your way out of town, although you really don't want to be driving out of L.A. on a Friday much later than that. If you want to make a quick detour to San Luis Obispo on your way up, there's Libertine, definitely worth a stop. If you stop off at Barrelworks, you might want to try Figueroa Mountain, also in Buellton. Some of their stuff, when fresh, is pretty decent. You probably know there's lots of great wine in Paso, my favorite is Turley, and they often do wood-fired pizza on summer weekends.

 

I like Hollister Brewing Company in Goleta and Libertine in Morro Bay.

For general 101 tourism:

• The Reagan Library is neat, it's a few miles off 101 in Simi Valley. The Oval Office replica and the old Air Force 1 make it worth a stop.
• Old West Cinnamon Rolls in Pismo are great, get them heated up.
• If you're interested, you'll be driving by a few of the old California Missions.

 

I have stopped at Ladyface, Casa Agria, Hollister, FW Barrelworks & Central Coast on the way up to Paso before. Of those, I'd say the must hit is Casa Agria.

 

Between 2:45 - 3:30am. =P

 

Ha that, or whatever time of day you're in the best mood.

 

Honestly, I've never had luck leaving later than 2pm. As others have inferred, it's never great, but late Friday afternoons can be sheer hell. On the plus side, your drive back on Sunday should be pretty nice.

 

Leave early (should be opposite commute out of town in the morning), and time your arrival at the first brewery you want to visit to when it opens. (Ladyface opens at 11:30am, for example.)

 

I'd say Casa Agria in Oxnard and Firestone Walker Barrelworks in Buellton are must stops. Both are easily accessible and only minutes from the 101. One fairly new place in Santa Barbara that I liked was Third Window Brewing http://thirdwindowbrewing.com/ It's also just a few blocks off of the 101

Have a great trip!

 

I'm looking to make a similar trip for the invitational. Def want to visit Casa Agria and they're open at 2pm on Fridays so that's a good first target if heading out of LA after lunch. Monkish would be better on Sunday coming back, they don't open till 4pm on Fridays.

 

I'd recommend Institution over Ladyface unless you prefer Belgium styles. Institution opens at 11 am and has great pizza's.

 

El Segundo Brewing Company if you arrive at LAX with some time to kill.

Its close to LAX, and a bit of a local favorite if you like hop forward beers.

 

I wish it were a longer trip, but just in and out for FW. Would love to meet you for a beer in LA if that would work!

 

That would be awesome. It's a little far in advance for me to know for sure what's happening that day, but let's see what happens!

 

Casa, Barrelworks, and Libertine are all must stops. Telegraph in Santa Barbara occasionally has good stuff and there are a lot of good places to eat.

 

The rajas at La Super-Rica in Santa Barbara are worth a side trip alone.

 

Can't go wrong at that place.

 

Was just looking at the Mikkeller Bar in LA today - might be worth checking out if timing works.

 

Another potential stop is Tioga Sequoia Brewing.