September 10, 2009
A tiny little Santa Barbara brewery right next to Carr Winery. Cramped space, but they do have a nice little taster bar. Unfortunately I didn’t check their schedule and they were in the middle of a brew when I got there. They were still willing to sell me a bottle or fill a growler, but sadly no taster flight. A cool place with some nice attitude.

July 11, 2009
Went to the tasting room this Saturday after lunch at Hollister. Warehouse type environment that reminds me of Craftsman, but has the edition of a tasting bar. 4 of their beers on tap, directly from the cold storage room. Some music playing, laid back bartenders, and some small 15 barrel fermenters, as well as a couple of oak zinfandel barrels to age the stock porter in. Good prices. Picked up a bottle of the new Rhinoceros, which I have to wait a week to open with friends, and a bottle of the Robust Ale (neither of which were on tap).

April 2, 2009
This brewery is a fun place to find (literally, as it is tucked away so well that it is almost invisible from the street and I had to park and walk to find it). The owner is a great guy and the weekend tastings are intimate. When I was here a year ago and spoke with the brewer, he professed a dislike for even moderately hopped beers - not even a pale ale. (The California ale comes closest, but even here the hops are invisible). Hopheads of even the modest persuasion will be disappointed. (Note: the website now mentions a Robust Ale with hops, so I may need to return...)

January 2, 2009
Telegraph is a small brewery just east of downtown SB, and they are open for tastings ad growler fills on thursdays, fridays and saturdays for limited hours. They have a small bar area in the brewery on the left when you walk in, with the fermenters on the right and the kettle and mash tun in back, along with some barrels and cold storage. Not a whole lot to add to the ambiance, but its cool to drink a pint while examining the equipment. They do a winery style sequential tasting for six dollars which includes a few ounces of each one of their current beers (usually four) followed by a ten ounce pour of your favorite. Growler fills a a great value at eight dollars after you pay four for the glass. The brewers are usually working the tastings and are happy to talk beer with you. Telegraph’s beers are distinctive and are not universally appealing in my experience, but I generally find them both good and interesting. A fun stop to make if you are in town when they are open, but not exa