Hello everyone - I'll be headed to CA in June and will have one day/night in the Santa Cruz area. I searched the forums for recommendations but the threads I saw were older. So just wanted to confirm what I saw... Sounds like Sante Adairius is a must and Discretion is near there and worth checking out too. Also Lupulo downtown. Are there any others that people would recommend over any of those? Also, any good beer bars or places with good tap lists on the coast with beach/ocean views that are a must to check out? And finally, for any of you that are golfers...I was going to try and play Pasatiempo but they have a tournament on the day I'm out there. I saw two other courses nearby - Seascape and Delaveaga. I will probably play one, either of them better than the other? Thanks in advance!
I wouldn't say these would be recommended over the ones you listed, but... -Beer Thirty -Aptos Street BBQ -Burger (haven't been for a while, there are 2 locations) I also enjoyed Shanty Shack Brewing, had it for first time last week. But certainly it all starts with SARA (none of the above, or what you mentioned, have ocean views)
A newer place has opened up, Humble Sea Brewing in SC. I haven't been but it looks promising. I might go there instead of Discretion, although its further away from Sante. And I second the Aptos Street BBQ recommendation.
I second the Beer Thirty recommendation. Excellent spot to chill outside, much better ambiance than SARA. Became our go-to. Haven't been in ~2 years since moving away but assuming the quality is the same, it's $.
I haven't played Delaveaga, i've been there and seen it, but I have played Seascape. They are OK. Nothing compared to Pasatiempo though... wooh.
Corralitos Brewing. About 15 minute drive south from SARA. Totally worth it. There's nothing good right on the beach. Everything is inland a little bit. As previously mentioned, go to Aptos St. BBQ for lunch (or dinner, but they can run out of food) Their tap selection is awesome.
Both courses are fun. Seascape is typically in much better shape. If you have the ability to drive 40-50 min bayonet and black horse are the best courses in Monterey Bay (outside of Pasatiempo of course). I would put beer thirty just behind SARA as must go and above all else.
There's also this venue downtown called Pour that does a pay-by-the-ounce pour-your-own type of deal with a bracelet you flash infront of each tap to activate it. Lots of choices, and I enjoyed the concept well enough. Nice to not have to flag someone down every time you want a new beer.
Thanks for the suggestion to visit Discretion. I stopped by there yesterday and they had a solid lineup though sadly nothing barrel aged on tap. I'm surprised nobody suggested New Bohemia though. I randomly visited them on a previous trip to the area and was very impressed by their lager and their coffee stout. They are my spot to visit when Sante runs out of Vanilla Joe. I think New Bohemia's core lineup is slightly better than what I had at Discretion.
No they are still real small and do limited runs. I did see that they gave some juice bag cans to ibu milpitas though.
Haven’t been since I went to college there in the 90’s but we used to get good deals on Henry Weinhards at Safeway
