Santa Cruz Mountain Brewing

It seemed like a perfect day for a stroll on the beach, but about 10 minutes in we were freezing and headed back to the car... Although the beach conditions weren't ideal, we decided it was a great day for sampling some locally brewed ales!

Santa Cruz Mountain Brewing specializes in organic brews. Their brewing facility and tasting room is on the upper side of Santa Cruz, not far off of Water Street. The location seems to be a hotspot for tasting rooms as there were upwards of 5 winery tasting rooms in the same lot. The brewery appeared to be the only one open during our visit and of all the places on the block it had the most pull.

They have a dog-friendly outdoor area with heaters but we decided to head in to finish warming from our short walk on the beach. The space is small, but cozy and there was plenty of seating for us to find a spot and soak in the atmosphere. There appeared to be a lot of locals which isn't surprising. If we lived in the area, we would frequent this place for sure. The walls were flanked with kitschy items such as an antelope head, antique lanterns, signs, a stuffed mallard and other stuff that gave the space a real eclectic feel. Behind the bar, a copper tree adorned with various bottles, glasses and lights was the focal design element.

Brad bellied up to the bar and ordered us a sampler and some fresh roasted peanuts and locally made beef jerky - perfect beer snacks!

Sampler with fresh roasted peanuts

Their sampler consists of 8 - 2oz pours to allow you to sample all their 7 flagship ales and your choice of a seasonal brew. For the seasonal selection, we chose Pepe's Lavender IPA which is a summer IPA brewed with fresh lavender.

The Lavender IPA is a very distinctive brew with heavy lavender notes and was easily our top pick at this spot. Second up was the Peoples Porter with hints of coffee and vanilla. The other brews were also tasty.

We would gladly come back here!