In all likelihood, checking the list of top tourist destinations for the devotees of beer won’t give you any information about Santa Cruz. Yet, this town is a homeland to multiple beer manufacturers who offer their exclusive local products in the Santa Cruz bars and taprooms. This is a real paradise for beer gourmets who are longing for new tastes of the traditional alcoholic drink. For your convenience, we have prepared descriptions of some of the most notable brewers and taprooms of Santa Cruz.
Pour Taproom
If you enjoy experimenting, Pour Taproom located under the address 110 Cooper St Suite 100B is definitely a place you must visit!
Pour Taproom is a unique bar with their own strategy of serving drinks. Once you enter the taproom, you will get a special bracelet. The main room of the bar has open access to the taps where you should scan your bracelet before pouring a glass of absolutely any kind of beer available in Pour Taproom. In addition to it, the bar offers multiple kinds of soda, wine and cider. So far, over sixty types of drinks are available in Pour Taproom.
Is it still not enough for you? Then, feel free to make your own blends. For instance, what about raspberry lambic and chocolate stout?
Don’t forget to order some of the delicious beer-oriented food served in Pour Taproom! Note that the bar also has its special menu for children as well as desserts.
The Cremer House
In case you prefer organic food and drinks, you should visit The Cremer House located under the address 6256 HWY 9, Felton.
The Cremer House is run by Emily Thomas and Bob Locatelli, who have made a selection of organic ciders, beers and wines for the visitors. You will enjoy crafted beer even more if you order a perfect homemade dish made exclusively from natural products. In The Cremer House, you can order a delicious meal from a special lunch menu that is available between 11:30 am and 2:30 pm seven days a week or taste an amazing burger or sandwich. In addition to it, the menu includes salads and soups as well as desserts. A dinner menu is also available here.
By the way, the building housing the bar is considered to be the oldest one in Santa Cruz, so you should pay it a visit for the sake of the history and architectural design.
Corralitos Brewing Company
Corralitos Brewing Company is located under the address 2536 Freedom BLVD, Watsonville. This is one of the first breweries situated in Santa Cruz County. Since 2015, the brewing company is opened to visitors who can now taste all of their flavourful types of beer in the taproom located inside the company. Some of the greatest beers produced in Corralitos Brewing Company are Sour Blonde and the Festus Belgian IPA. Of course, you will be able to enjoy your beer as well as a delicious meal available in the food track which you can always find nearby the taproom.
West End Tap & Kitchen
West End Tap & Kitchen is presumably a place where you can pair a fantastic beer with the best burgers in Santa Cruz. This taproom is located under the address 334 Ingalls ST D.
The drink menu of West End Tap & Kitchen contains West End beers, IPA beers, sour beers, light beers, cider, Hard Saltzer, wine and sabe cocktails. Here, you can also order a gluten-free beer. Among the dishes served at West End Tap & Kitchen are starters, desserts, special meal for children, flatbreads, greens and main dishes.
Other great places to enjoy your beer and meal in Santa Cruz
Providing you are a fan of crisper styles of beer popular in Central Europe, you should visit New Bohemian Brewing Company. Some of the best types of beer you can get here are The Velvet Revolution Vienna Lager and The Highway to Hefe Bavarian Wheat.
Santa Cruz Mountain Brewing is a family company that has already been on the market for ten years. The owners Chad Brill and Emily Thomas pay particular attention to the quality of their products all of which are completely organic. The offer of Santa Cruz Mountain Brewing includes Kombucha, seasonal beers as well as traditional ale beers, draught root beer and hard ciders.
Those beer devotees who are searching for the taste of real beer produced with a minimum usage of modern a technology, should visit Sante Adairius Rustic Ales. This place is located under the address 103 Kennedy DR, Capitola. IPAs, porters and saisons produced by this brewing company are known worldwide since all of the beer here is produced exclusively in barrels with the use of specially selected and cultivated yeast cultures.
Some of other places worth your attention are Discretion Brewing, Lupulo, Beer Thirty Bottle Shop & Pour House, Santa Cruz Aleworks, East Cliff Brewing, Shanty Shack Brewing, Elkhorn Slough Brewing, 99 Bottles, Humble Sea, Seabright Brewery and Michael’s Tap Room on Main.