I'm about to start traveling to Santa Barbara pretty frequently for work. Any recommendations on bottle shops, nearby breweries, bars, etc. that I should check out regularly?
My favorite taps are Hollister Brewing (in Goleta) and Whole Foods. Hollister carries almost exclusively its own beer (occasionally they have some very solid guest taps), and Whole Foods has an 8-10 tap, often very eclectic bar inside the store. Downtown, Fig Mountain and Telegraph are solid and increasingly creative; the Brewhouse is sometimes excellent but I find the quality of their beers inconsistent and Santa Barbara Brewing Company should just be avoided. American and Union Alehouses downtown and Mercury Lounge in Goleta have solid taplists. For bottle shops, San Roque Liquors and Mesa Liquors in the city, and Continental Liqour and Keg and Bottle in Goleta occasionally have some wild cards that Whole Foods doesn't. Haven't been to Captain Fatty's in Goleta or some of the new places downtown; hopefully someone else can chime in on those. Barrelworks at the Firestone Brewery in Buellton is a must if you get the chance (not sure which direction you're coming from, or how much of a detour you can make).
I'd add Pure Order (just around the corner from Telegraph) as worth a try; the first time I went I was blown away, though the second time was "meh", so I'm not sure they're super consistent. Haven't been to Captain Fatty's yet, and it's currently closed until Dec. 6.
I've been to Captain Fatty's twice now, once a few weeks ago and once tonight. First time was pretty underwhelming (in terms of the beer; the location's fine and the people are super-nice), but tonight was several huge steps forward. Honestly, I'd put the hoppy stuff I tried tonight up against FMBC. And I haven't even had a chance yet to try their most popular offering, "Vortex", which sells out pretty quickly.
Do yourself an enormous favor and check out BrewLab in Carpinteria. They are relatively new and you need to check their Facebook page to see when they will be open.
Thanks for the info, everyone. Went to Telegraph when I was in town in early December and was a little underwhelmed but might have to give it another shot. I'll be back in a few weeks so will have to try a few other places on here. We'll usually fly directly into SB or into LAX and make the drive. Should be there 20+ times the next 2 years so plenty of time to try everything.
I was impressed with the taplist at American Ale the only time I've been. Pricey and hipster-centric, but the taplist when I went was very good.
We hit up Hollister while staying with friends over the Thanksgiving weekend, very solid beers IMHO. Cheers,
Our hosts took us to Eureka Burger in SB, great food, Cowboy Burger rocks and a great tap selection. Cheers,
Yup. I was just up there for my brothers wedding, and I stopped by for lunch and had a pour of bcbs. I was pleasantly surprised.
