Farewell, Santa Barbara

Word has begun to spread already, so for many of Santa Barbara Beer’s readers this may be old news, but this will be likely the last post for this blog. It’s been a fun couple of years, but I’m moving out of the area and it wouldn’t make much sense to write about Santa Barbara beer and brewing when I live and work elsewhere.

There are plenty of projects ahead in the future, and those details when come out when they do, but for the moment let’s take a look to reflect on the past and current state of beer in Santa Barbara.

When this blog began in March of 2013, beer in the American Riviera was just beginning to take roots. Telegraph Brewing Company was in the process of expanding into its new and current location, Pure Order Brewing Company was still trying to get up and running and Island Brewing Company was the only option for beer in Carpinteria. Oh yeah, and no portion of Firestone Walker was owned by Duvel.

Two years later and not only was Pure Order up and brewing, but it is doing quite well. Telegraph continued its expansion and joined the contemporary beer scene with an IPA that stands along the best examples of the style in town. Not only does Island Brewing have some company in Carpinteria now, but it brewLAB and Rincon have proved to be impressive in their own right. As far as Island goes, the competition has seemingly only made the product coming out of the local area’s oldest production brewery that much better. Goleta’s Captain Fatty’s has become a family-friendly option in the area while Hollister Brewing Company continues to churn out Eric Rose’s typically impressive beer.

But not all developments have been unicorns and rainbows. Santa Barbara Brewing Company’s reviver, Kevin Pratt, said farewell to pursue other avenues. So too did Figueroa Mountain Brewing Company’s AJ Stoll, who is now back in the United States and plying his trade in Florida’s up-and-coming Funky Buddha. Oh yeah, and Firestone Walker “combined forces” with Duvel-Moortgat.

To be honest, I’m not sure exactly what that last sentence even means. A quick text conversation with David Walker, Jeffers Richardson and Jim Crooks confirmed that Duvel didn’t “buy out” Firestone Walker, but is definitely involved. To me, this sounds as though Duvel only bought a portion of the company — and not a controlling portion. All indications point to complete autonomy for Firestone Walker, but I’m sure as a major shareholder Duvel will want to ensure that the company remains profitable. Still, Ommegang and Boulevard have thrived under Duvel ownership, and I can’t imagine that Firestone Walker will be negatively impacted from its new partnership with the Devil.

If anything, I’m curious to see what Firestone Walker does with its new influx of cash. Along with the possibility of tapping into a larger distribution network, a deal of this type will likely provide the Paso Robles-based brewery with funds to take on new projects. The canning facility at the Paso campus is already a thing of beauty, but I wouldn’t be surprised to see more beer come out in cans. Or perhaps some of the funding will go toward speeding up progress at the upcoming Venice location. This is all pure speculation, but I wouldn’t be surprised to see Firestone Walker increase its national footprint the same way we have seen Sierra Nevada, Oskar Blues, Lagunitas, New Belgium and a handful of others open new plants in other regions of the country. Or perhaps Firestone may take a similar route as Figueroa Mountain and open up smaller tasting or tap rooms in various locations. Maybe Barrelworks will get its own wort production equipment as well. Who knows? The point is that this new partnership should only bring positives for Firestone Walker and beer fans across the country — perhaps across the world. Duvel has proven it has the ability to invest in craft brands without tainting the product or the spirit of the company with its efforts with Ommegang and Boulevard, and it seems likely that Firestone Walker and its customers will only benefit from this new partnership.

I’m sad to leave Santa Barbara with its perfect weather and its rapidly expanding beer scene. I wish that I would have the opportunity to report on the openings of M Special in Goleta and Third Window in Santa Barbara. My departure from the community won’t slow down the growth that we’ve already seen, and I imagine the small void I leave will be filled soon by someone else.

It’s been a fun journey. Thanks for coming along for the ride.

Raise a pint for departing brewers

Note: This column originally appeared in the Nov. 6 edition of the Santa Barbara News-Press. For more information, you can check out my farewell Q and A pieces with A.J. Stoll and Kevin Pratt on this site. I recently met with Fig Mountain’s new director of brewing operations, Mike Hastings, and will have more info on him at this space soon.

Santa Barbara’s beer culture stretches back to the late 1990s when brewers like Island Brewing Co.’s Paul Wright, Santa Barbara Brewing Co.’s Eric Rose (now owner of Hollister Brewing Co.) and The Brewhouse’s Pete Johnson were either already brewing great beer or getting close to opening their breweries. Nevermind the budding emergence of Firestone Walker Brewing Co. in Paso Robles.

But in 2010, the local beer scene was bolstered by the arrival of two men — Figueroa Mountain Brewing Co.’s A.J. Stoll and Santa Barbara Brewing’s Kevin Pratt.

In Stoll, Fig Mountain had found a young brewer with the chemical and brewing know-how to help the new brewery expand while creating award-winning beers in the process. In Pratt, Brewco brought in an experienced brewer.

Stoll brought acclaim to Fig Mountain, and Pratt restored Brewco’s reputation as more than just a tourist trap.

And now, Santa Barbara is saying farewell to both.

Both brewmasters recently announced that they are departing their breweries this month for new ventures and new opportunities.

Stoll is off to Ireland, his ancestral homeland, where he and his partners are planning on opening Killarney Brewing Co. in a market he thinks is ready to explode in the same way the U.S. market has over the past decade or two.

“I always encouraged my staff to elevate themselves and take on new responsibilities and positions, and so that’s basically the same thing I’m doing,” Stoll told the News-Press. “My goal is to be an international brewery consultant … So in the short term, I’m going to this start-up in Ireland, and in the long term, what I’m going to be is I’ll be all over the shelf.”

Stoll will serve as a consultant for Fig, which is elevating head brewer Mike Hastings to director of brewing operations. Stoll will also help the Buellton-based brewery expand into Germany — a longtime dream of CEO Jaime Dietenhofer.

Pratt isn’t going so far — just up the road to Creekside Brewing Co. in San Luis Obispo. Pratt and his partners, under the umbrella of the newly formed Heirloom Brewing Co., are taking over the brewery as the first step toward establishing Heirloom as a production brewery.

Creekside won’t change much immediately but it will eventually serve as a tasting room and experimental facility for the larger production plant.

“We didn’t buy it to turn it into something else,” said Pratt. “We bought it because it was already a functioning brewery and already in the right construct we’re looking for — and a great location.”

The changes forced me to take stock of what we truly have here in Santa Barbara, and I went to visit an old favorite in The Brewhouse. Johnson continues to make high-quality, interesting beers out of his seven-barrel brewhouse. Recently, I sat down with him to taste some of the new beers on tap.

A favorite is the Milkman’s Handshake — a rich milk stout with loads of chocolate and roasted coffee notes to complement the sweetness from the lactose that gives the style its name.

Always a great place for strong beer, The Brewhouse also offers a Russian imperial stout playfully dubbed Crimea River. I also enjoyed the return of Football Saison, a staple for local drinkers every fall. The saison was dry and loaded with beautiful peppery aromas on the back end that you might expect from a saison, but at more than 7 percent alcohol by volume, it packs more of a punch than the typical farmhouse-style ale.

The Brewhouse is also about to release its 11th Harvest Ale. The annual beer utilizes fresh hops grown behind The Brewhouse and is a revelation of hop flavor and aroma.

It’s true that Pratt and Stoll brought great things to the Santa Barbara beer scene, and it will certainly be sad to see them and their talents go. But despair not, for the local community remains alive and well in those who have been around and are staying around.

Sean Lewis is a beer drinker, beer maker and the author of “We Make Beer: Inside the Spirit and Artistry of America’s Craft Brewers” (St. Martin’s Press). His column appears the first Thursday of the month. Follow him on Twitter @Sean_M_Lewis.

 

Q & A with SB Brewing Company’s outgoing Brewmaster, Kevin Pratt

Last week I spoke with outgoing Figueroa Mountain brewmaster A.J. Stoll. He’s off to Ireland, but Santa Barbara Brewing Company’s Kevin Pratt is not going quite as far. He and his partners at the newly formed Heirloom Brewing Company, which will operate as a production brewery in the near future, is hoping to close escrow on San Luis Obispo’s Creekside Brewing Company this month.

I sat down with Kevin to discuss his upcoming future and his fleeting time at Brewco.

Kevin opened by discussing his feelings toward leaving Brewco to start his own brewing company.

PRATT: I feel very much the same way that a woman in the late stages of pregnancy must feel where I’ve gone through all the stages where this is what I’m doing and it’s great, I’m happy and everyone is happy for me. Then I educate myself on everything to come and I keep obsessing about it because I want everything to be great, just like a woman wants everything great for her baby. Then it gets to the last few months and it’s like here’s your due date. Then you get past that date and you say, ‘Ok, I’m done. I’m done now. Let’s have this, I’m really done.’ I feel very much like I’m slightly overdue.

Q: So you feel like you’re ready for Heirloom to be born.

A: I’m really ready for this. And I know there will be sleepless nights, and I’m Ok with that.

Q: When it starts, will it start off as Heirloom right away or is there an intermediate step.

A: First off, this project is Creekside Brewing. It’s not Heirloom. Heirloom is the parent company.

Q: Heirloom is the company buying Creekside?

A: Correct.

We’re not going to change Creekside to begin with. We didn’t buy it to turn it into something else. We bought it because it was already a functioning brewery and already in the right construct we’re looking for — and a great location. It just happened to be the right magical combination to make this purpose.

So we didn’t buy it right away saying hey we want to change everything. We could have bought any other bar and done that. It doesn’t work for us to change the name until we have a production brewery to stand behind it and provide more core beers. Hopefully this place will make a lot of experimental beers and fun stuff. It will be a great place to go to have the beers, have great food and a few things that are not on the beer menu.

Q: Under the leadership of you and Heirloom, and your partners, what can we expect in the near future at Creekside?

A: It’s always going to be classic beers in the modern world. This is how we’re, we’re always going to be making beers that are the core of beer culture — the best of beer culture. We’re always going to offer food that is the best of going out to a pub and casual dining. You can always expect the highest quality of both. And every now and then, some fun. We want to have some fun while we’re brewing, we want to have fun while we’re cooking and we want to be creative. Beer has been a wonderful set of evolution and creation over time. America is just the latest to enter the particular fray.

Q: What do you feel about your time here in Santa Barbara?

A: I love it. This has been one of the best challenges of my career. It’s been rewarding because I’ve been able to meet that challenge. It’s been rewarding on a business level because I’ve helped my company become something really important. It’s been rewarding because even as I exit, the transition here is about keeping it an important place, keeping the quality up, making sure we hire the right person, making sure that person follows it, and making sure that I’m available if there’s an issue. This is not a just a sudden departure.

Q: Along those lines you’re going to be hiring and training a new brewer to take over before you leave.

A: Hopefully I’m going to be hiring a brewer with a lot of training and skill. Hopefully I’m hiring a brewer that wants to make their own mark. I don’t want a brewer that just wants to take over. At least a third of my job has been being creative, getting new and interesting things going and getting new and interesting thought process among the public about it. The next brewer has to be able to embrace that.

The most important part of this is that the new brewer understands where we’re at and where we need to go. They need to stay on the path of making great classic beers, balanced beers in this market that meet the goals of the restaurant and still allow him or her enough room to play. There’s plenty of room for that. There are only three or four recipes that need to carry on, everything else they can put their own stamp on.

Q: This being your fourth year here, are there any regrets as far as things you didn’t get to accomplish or any things that you would like to change?

A: I really wish I had time to do more collaboration beers. I’m very much going to miss this brewery. I feel like I’ve built a hot rod I learned to drive really well and I’m going to miss not being able to drive that brewery. I’m going to miss some of the mentoring opportunities I’ve had with brewers. I’m going to miss the new breweries that are in town and the growth of that, but I’m also looking forward to basically regaining all of that in San Luis Obispo.

 

— That’s it. And if you’re sad about the departure of Kevin and AJ, fear not — there are plenty of new breweries on the horizon. I’ll be discussing Captain Fatty’s in Goleta and Rincon and BrewLab in Carpinteria in this space soon. Stay tuned.

Tastings – Amigose Del Mar and High Thai’d

You may recall a certain collaboration brew Kevin Pratt at Santa Barbara Brewing Company and I did in October of 2013. It was the first in an installment of several Blogger Beers that Pratt wanted to work on. Two of those beers have come to fruition.

The first, which will be released on Monday as part of Santa Barbara Beer Week, is a collaboration with Edible Santa Barbara’s Laura Sanchez, and it’s incredible. Amigose Del Mar, a play on words that hints at “Friend of the Ocean” is a saltwater Gose that tips the scale at just above 4% ABV. It’s super light and crisp, but also silky smooth. There’s a slight tartness to it and a gentle citrus flavor, but it’s far from puckering.

At a preview tasting of the beer on Tuesday, Sanchez noted the minerality of the finish, which only makes you want to drink another, and another and another.

 

On the other end of the spectrum is High Thai’d Curry Saison brewed in collaboration with the Santa Barbara Sentinel beer columnist, Zach Rosen. Where Amigoes Del Mar is subtle and its complexity is fairly nuanced, High Thai’d is richly complex and very bold in its flavor.

The beer will be released on Wednesday and boasts a big pepper, fresh ginger and fennel notes with a hint of cinnamon. There’s also a delicate sweetness that stems from the late coconut milk addition that helps even out the spice. It’s super interesting and would go really well with one of Santa Barbara Brewing Company’s pizzas.

First Taste: SB Brewing Company Sunset Lager

Photos by Kevin Pratt

Santa Barbara Brewing Company unveiled a new beer Wednesday afternoon in Sunset Lager. Stylistically, it’s a Vienna Lager. For those unfamiliar with the style, think of Sam Adams Boston Lager. Brewco brewmaster Kevin Pratt describes the style as “the German version of the English Pale Ale, although the hops are less pronounced. Still, there is a good biscuit, or toasty malt quality.”

Indeed, that biscuit comes through in the flavor of Sunset Lager. There’s also a nice, faint, taste of toffee sweetness. Above all, it’s crisp and bright. It’s clarity in flavor and appearance is unsurprising considering the near three months it spent fermenting and lagering. It’s quite good.

Waiting in Line for Beer – I Drank Pliny the Younger

When Santa Barbara Brewing Company brewmaster Kevin Pratt asked if I’d like to go to Orange County for some Pliny the Younger, I was torn. On the one hand, I’ve always wanted to taste the beer – essentially one of the rarest beers on the planet – and I’d always wanted to at least see what kind of crowd might show up. I agreed, knowing that it would be, if nothing else, some good blogging fodder.

I arrived at The Crow Bar and Kitchen in Corona Del Mar at about 10:30 a.m. This was perfect, because that’s usually right around the time I like to start drinking on a Tuesday. There were about seven people in line to buy tickets, which went on sale at 11:30 a.m. One of those seven people were Kevin, so I joined him near the back of the short line and we waited for the doors to open.

The line steadily grew, and was comprised of roughly 80% young men with a female here or there. The line itself was a fun experience, as the group was relatively well-behaved and there was a palpable buzz of excitement from so many folks excited to try the highly sought-after Pliny the Younger (if you’re not familiar with the beer, don’t worry I’ll describe it in due time). It’s always nice to be with a font of beer knowledge, like Kevin, in situations like this because there’s so many beer myths that get perpetuated in situations like this that it’s nice to have someone with real facts to dispel some of these mistruths.

At 11:30, the doors opened and they ushered in the line to two cash registers. For $21 and some change you could buy two tickets (the maximum), which were good for two pours of Pliny the Younger.

Perhaps this was designed to give people plenty of time to get their tickets before the beer started pouring and fans started guzzling down pint after pint, but my guess is that it was also a means of getting customers in the door early. Since seating was readily available at 11:30 and The Crow Bar was as good (likely better) than anywhere else in the neighborhood for food and beer, Kevin and I grabbed our seats and cozied up to the menu.

I had already heard of this “Black Label” burger, and already knew I was going to get it. Prime ribeye blended into the patty? bone marrow butter? Yes. Please. I didn’t take a picture of the burger because, frankly, it looked like a burger. But it tasted like heaven.

It was delightfully rich, but not in a truffle-mac-and-cheese-with-extra-truffles-and-lobster-tail kind of way. The meat was just lightly charred and crispy the way the outer rim of a good rib roast is crispy, and the patty was tender and juicy. I can say with all sincerity that the burger may have been better than the pours of Pliny, and that’s not a knock on Pliny. I paired it with Weihenstephan Hefeweizen – because a world-class burger deserves a world-class beer.

The burger didn’t last forever, and it was only about 12:30. With an hour and a half before the main event, Kevin and I decided to split a bottle of Mikkeller Koppi, a “coffee IPA.” Brewed with coffee and fermented with what seemed to be a Belgian strain of yeast, this IPA did not taste, look or smell like any traditional IPA – although the coffee notes were very faint.

There was a bit of citrus and perhaps raspberries or sour cherries in the aroma and flavor as well, which made for a rather enjoyable experience. However, I was glad we decided to split the bottle. By the end of it, especially as the latter pours were laced with chalky yeast sediment, it was a bit tiring to get through.

As before, we found ourselves with more time and still no Pliney – so we opted for another taste of Russian River. The Crow Bar did have Pliny the Elder on tap, and the popular Double IPA might have found its way to our table had that not run out shortly before we were ready for it.

That’s fine though, because it allowed us the opportunity to enjoy one of the best beers in Russian River’s lineup – Temptation. This is an ale fermented with a blend of brettanomyces and ale yeast and then aged in Chardonnay barrels. It’s remarkably refreshing, just tart enough and had a pleasant palate-cleansing effect as we prepared for Pliny the Younger. It’s one of my favorite beers from Russian River, and in my opinion it’s what sets brewer/co-owner Vinnie Cilurzo apart from the rest of the field. His mastery of aging beers in oak is rivaled by very few.

Finally, the beer arrived. A server came around with several beautifully beer-clean chalices of the amber gold. She took our tickets and gave us our first round of Pliny the Younger. For the uninitiated, Pliny the Younger (or PtY in beer-geek parlance) is what’s known as a Triple IPA. It’s over 10% ABV and is hopped to high heaven. You can read more about it straight from Russian River here. The real key is that only 50 barrels, or 100 kegs, are brewed each year (I might actually be mistaken about that and it could be only 25 barrels, or 50 kegs. If you know better, please correct me in the comments).

Ahhhh, that aroma. Lots of grapefruit, a little pine and of course a hint of that 10.25% ABV. The same goes for the flavor – lots of grapefruit, a little pine and a bracing malt backbone to hold it all up. The alcohol burn is there and it helps bring out some of the bitterness, but it also brings out some of the sweetness – both of the malt and in the citrus notes from the hops.

It’s remarkably well-made, and the ability to brew a balanced beer of that ilk and with such a high alcohol content takes a tremendous amount of skill. But, speaking entirely from personal opinion here, I could go my whole life without ever drinking it again. I don’t want to sound snobbish or like I’m better than this beer, it’s a damn fine beer – but it’s a Triple IPA. That’s a whole lot of flavor and alcohol to be the kind of beer that one can sit back and enjoy again and again.

However, I will say that it was a thoroughly enjoyable experience. It was great to be around so many beer geeks, and it was great to sit down and try some new beer as well as some old favorites. I’m not sure I would have done that if it weren’t for Pliny the Younger, and for that I’m truly grateful.

Pure Order Has First Brewday

Congratulations are in order to James and Dave Burge of Pure Order Brewing Company, as they completed their first brewday today. So much has been said about them already that I will leave my excitement regarding their opening (it looks like the taproom will be open in mid-March) to your imagination. In the meantime, enjoy a few photos of the crew at work along with Kevin Pratt, who has been acting as a consultant for Santa Barbara’s newcomers over the past several months.

Once the dirty work is done, this is the look of a functioning brewery. Apologies to Dave Burge (left) whom I caught off guard with this photo.

A kettle full of wort that will eventually be Pure Order Brewing Company’s Crooked Neck Hefeweizen

A look inside the mash tun at Pure Order Brewing Company after the extract has been removed.

The control panel to the Pure Order brewhouse

Pure Order’s James Burge (left) and SB Brewing Company’s Kevin Pratt at the steps of the brewhouse

Painted Cave Porter Release at Santa Barbara Brewing Company

If you missed the photo essay of a brew night at Santa Barbara Brewing Company, you may want to visit that here. It’s a good way to look back at a beer being born.

That beer is Painted Cave Robust American Dark Ale, or RAD, and it is being released at Brewco on Tuesday, Oct. 29. Painted Cave, a collaboration brew between myself and Santa Barbara Brewing Company, is something like a cross between a Robust Porter and an American IPA. It was based off one of my homebrew recipes that has always been a favorite of my friends and family, and is part of a series of beers that brewmaster Kevin Pratt hopes to brew with local writers and bloggers.

I will have more information on the brew night itself in the Nov. 7 Santa Barbara News Press for my monthly column. That same column will appear hear on the 21st or sometime soon after. In the meantime, I leave you with a text sent to me from Kevin this morning describing the beer.

The unofficial release party starts at 7 p.m. and is open to the public. There is no cost to get in.

Update – there’s a little more info about the event here on the facebook page as well.

Brewnight at Santa Barbara Brewing Company

 

What follows is something of a photo essay on a brewnight at Santa Barbara Brewing Company. We were brewing one of my beers, a collaboration piece that Kevin hopes to repeat with other bloggers and writers. This took place Tuesday night/Wednesday morning, and will be given a lot of attention in my forthcoming column for the Santa Barbara News Press (scheduled to appear Nov. 7. The first step, of course, was busting out the old brewing boots, which were in truth dairy boots purchased years ago when I was an assistant at Blue Hills Brewing Company in Canton, Mass.

I arrived at Santa Barbara Brewing Company a little after 11 p.m. when the restaurant had already closed, and found about 1,100-plus pounds of grain already milled and ready to be added to the mash. I would be taking most of these and dumping them into the mash tun myself, although brewmaster Kevin Pratt definitely gave my tired shoulder a break by adding a few hundred pounds himself.

Here is a look at the mash, and Kevin checking it out to make sure it’s the right thickness. We both took turns stirring the mash with a paddle to ensure there were no dough balls.

After the mash was complete, assistant brewer Gavin Cook did the majority of the work in clearing it out.

Kevin watches the kettle boil. During this stage, we added hops. A lot of hops.

We also added a half-pound of dark Belgian Candi Sugar. This will add essentially nothing to the brew itself, what will be a Black IPA/Hoppy Robust Porter/Imperial Porter/American Black Ale (it could get away with being called any of those things, but we’ll most likely be going with “Painted Cave Porter.”). However, this does help me get rid of an ingredient I had no intention of ever using again after it was used to make one of the worst homebrews I’ve ever made. I also trashed the fermentation bucket that made said homebrew months ago. I guess I’m a little superstitious.

Finally, the yeast. WLP007 English Ale Yeast. I was proud to know that our collaboration brew would be using the first generation of Brewco’s house yeast for this batch. Inside the fermentation vessel, this yeast will multiply in an exponential rate, and yeast will be harvested from this batch for future batches. In a way, it’s kind of like this beer will have many children and grand children. Awwww, how sweet.

I’ll add more details about the brew and the beer itself when it’s closer to its release date – which will be sometime in late October or early November.

Rumors? Rumors! …oh and new beer

I’ve had the fortunate displeasure of being busy with work lately, which has distracted me from the free enterprise of blogging. Without further ado, I’d like to spread some news that I’ve heard. I’d like to stress that these are only rumors and are subject to change.

First up, I tasted a couple of new beers at Santa Barbara Brewing Company. The first was a new American Brown Ale, I believe it was dubbed Haley’s Brown (I should have taken notes). It was far hoppier than I expected, and for the first sip the bitterness took me aback. It brought out some of the roasted notes and gave a suggestion of coffee. But, emboldened by that first sip, I went on and tried a little more and as I became accustomed to the flavors I really liked it.

Next up was brewmaster Kevin Pratt’s second iteration of the popular Pacific Pale Ale. I was sad to see the previous recipe go, as it was typically my favorite beer there, but my palate is fickle and quickly warmed up to the new version. The beer wasn’t quite ready to be served yet, but the aroma was inviting enough to make me want to dive in it and maybe just live there for a while. It reminded me of Firestone-Walker Pale 31, which I’ve often said is the one beer I would live on if I had to live on only one beer.

The same day as the SB Brewco tasting, Kevin Pratt and I had lunch with James and David Burge. Things continue to move slowly for the Burges, but at least they are slowly moving. Still no word on an exact opening, but it appears to be about a month or so away. In the meantime, they gave us a pretty picture to look at via their twitter feed:

Long draw system looking good… Here is a look at the brain. pic.twitter.com/GaUV8cHd0f

— PureOrderBrewingCo. (@PureOrderBrewCo) September 18, 2013

(I’m not sure what the issue is with embedding tweets on this blog. I will have to figure that out and fix it).

Telegraph gave locals a sneak peak at their new tasting room during a recent Edible Santa Barbara event. I missed out on the event, but heard it went well. I also heard their new tasting room will be up and running in about a month. This will require more investigation and further reporting, and I will get back on this.

Lastly, these guys. I don’t know much about these guys except that they are one of two or three new breweries opening in the area. I hear they’re small (batch sizes measured in gallons, not barrels) and I hear they’re new. That’s about it. Rumors have them located in Goleta, but I’m not positive on that. Again, there will be updates on Captain Fatty’s soon to come.

That’s it for rumors. If you know of more, feel free to share it with me here:

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