santa barbara suggestions

Firestone Barrel Works. That is all. But, if you are stuck in downtown SB, the Whole Foods has a solid selection of beers.

 

Hollister Brewing in Goleta.

Barrelworks is in Buellton 40 minutes north of SB.

 

Go gauchos! (1996). Andres and Aptos really hit the nail on the head. Even though I am in LA I don't spend alot of time there - Barrelworks and Hollister (litteraly blocks from IV, lots of hoppy deliciousness) are your best bets. Second tier is the Figuora Mtn outpost in SB (not a fan personally, but they have got quite a few GABF medals) and Telegraph (never managed to go as they have odd hours). Also have not been but Brewlab is a new spot in carpenteria that I have heard is worth checking out.

 

Yeah, get to BrewLab in Carpinteria. They are open Fri - Sun. Check their Facebook page for updates.

 

Hollister and Barrelworks. Figueroa Mtn if you have time and Telegraph if you've had their stuff before and like the style.

 

I keep forget about this place. I'll have to stop by on the 15th.

 

Eureka Burger on State Street has a good tap list sometimes too. But agreed on the other suggestions. I was actually pretty impressed with Hollister. Glad it wasn't there when I was in school or I would have been broke. Well, more broke.

 

Seconding everything that has been said, and adding the Mercury Lounge in Goleta for excellent taps, and Pure Order in downtown SB for a laid back afternoon brewery experience.

 

Eureka Burger is unbelievably, criminally overpriced. They would need to have something really rare (which they occasionally do) to get me in their door.

Burger is overhyped,

 

@nsheehan @dabaloons Gauchos! Ole! C/O 2012

 

Class of 2004 Gaucho right here! i visit once a year. I stay DT, telegraph, fig mountain. But seriously take others advise and do Barrelworks!

 

2012 here!
Breweries: Other people have covered some good places. Skip Santa Barbara brewing and I think some German one DT, they're meh. There are some more places around SB and south in the Carpinteria area.
Bars: Mercury Lounge usually has some good beers on.
Stores: There's Bevmos and Whole Foods first. Costco gets some great stuff sometimes. Then some market (I think San Roque) and KnB are additional options, though pricier.

Barrelworks is a nice ~30 minute drive and worth visiting if you can spare 3 hours (you can check it out in as little as 2 hours round trip, but 3+ is better). The releases there tend to last a couple weeks and they have vintages for sale (way overpriced though).

 

I'll be visiting in May, class of 2006 and haven't been back since. Really looking forward to what's changed..and stayed the same! Gonna score me a Cantina breakfast burrito for ol' times' sake

 

For a little south of SB: Barrelhouse 101 in Ventura is quite nice. Spent an evening at Poseidon in Ventura as well, cool little spot, decent beer.

Firestone Walker Taproom for lunch, then sit for an hour or two in Barrelworks sipping on some excellent sours, saisons and barrel-aged goodies.

 

Shoreline Cafe is a great little place where you can get your feet in the sand and have a Dead Guy with your breakfast...

 

No mention of Island Brewing in Carp?

 

Hollister opened my second year I think, and they quickly became my favorite beer spot as soon as I was 21. Bike-able from IV and always a full chalkboard of great beers. I owe them a lot in getting me on the path of knowing what good beer was. Their Gose, Tiny Bubbles, is still one of the best in the US and something that isn't to be missed. Their IPAs and pale ales are also standouts.

Telegraph has a wonderfully unique style and some fun beers. They gave me my first taste of professional brewing and I owe them a lot for that. definitely worth a stop.

The Firestone Walker Barrelworks and Taproom is worth the drive IMO but since I work for the company now (in Paso) I'm obviously biased. When in Buellton though, you can also hit the Figueroa Mtn. brewery. They also have a taproom downtown if you don't make it up there though, and they are definitely worth a stop.

I usually like to have a beer downtown at both Santa Barbara Brewing Co. and The Brewhouse if I have time.

 

No one has mentioned Captain Fattys yet! I'm a current gaucho and this new brewery opened up literally off the Los Carneros exit near the CHP office. They have a kid's corner and an amazing pop up taco truck that usually is there on Saturday's. They open at 4 p.m. and in my opinion are worth checking out.

Brewlab has some incredible and unique beers flowing.

Rincon in Carp also recently opened its doors and they have decent beer and great food

Keg n Bottle in I.V. has been stepping up their beer game. Last I was in they had fresh knee deep including the kern collar. They even got a case of bourbon county vanilla.