My sister recently moved out to Cali and I am wanting her to send me some local Santa Barbara craftys. What should she be looking for?
Telegraph and Figeuroa Mountain are the two big ones in Santa Barbara. Look through their catalog and see whats available. Youve also got access to a lot of Southern California and Northern California beers in that region at local bottle shops, so check the local shops, including Whole Foods which should have Pliney if you ask the right people at the right time on the right day under the right circumstances. Also dont forget about the local wine...
Where do we start? In bottles you're looking at beers from Figueroa Mountain and Telegraph. Fig Mtn is more about traditional styles but does them well while telegraph excels in "sour ales" and their Reserve Wheat is awesome. The real joy of SB beer is in the pubs and tasting rooms though, so get out and visit, you'll be glad about it.
They don't Carry Pliny anymore. Rumor has it a woman complained to RR that they were always out of stock at the SB whole foods, and since it wasn't supposed to be distributed there at all, SB whole foods was black listed ... Allegedly.
Sorry I didn't put this in there. I live in Indiana and she lives out in SB, but I would be attacking those tap rooms if I was there haha
For specific local beers that you can find in bottles, Fig Mt's Lizard's Mouth, Fig Mt's Big Cone, Telegraph Reserve Wheat, and FW Double Jack, Wookie Jack, and Parabola/§ucaba should be easy to come by there and are all delicious. SB is kind of a distro graveyard, but she might get some Cali stuff you don't see in IN (Almanac, Heretic, AleSmith, Belching Beaver, Ironfire, Modern Times, etc.) If you don't get Logsdon there, have her send you a Sezoen Bretta too. Whole Foods SB always has it, and it is bloody fantastic.
Lost Abbey's special releases (small expensive, but delicious bottles) always sit on the shelf at the Santa Barbara BevMo too.
