Santa Barbara Brewing Company

Yetiman420

Ohio

4.4/5  rDev +29%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 5 | service: 3 | selection: 5 | food: 4.5 | $$

In early May 2006, I had the opportunity to visit Santa Barbara on business. As is usually the case, I fit in a couple brewpub site visits/quality checks during my travels (~170 to date). I hit The Brewhouse first and SBB later in the evening (see review - worth checking out but not as good as SBB). SBB is about as good as it gets. It's hard to say things are touristy in Santa Barbara because it's so nice. The location is right on the main drag of shops and if you were going to be critical, you could say there were a lot of posers here. However, I come for the beer and this place gets it right. As a hop lover, I almost creamed myself when I saw they had three hoppy beers on tap - Pale Ale, IPA, and Hoptometry. All three were excellent examples of agressive Pac NW hoppy styles of beer. I look forward to the day I can return to Santa Barbara, enjoy the outdoors and indoors at SBB. Keep up the great work!

05-03-2006 21:44:23 | More by Yetiman420

drewbage

California

4.08/5  rDev +19.6%
vibe: 3.5 | quality: 4 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4 | $$$

Santa Barbara's main brewpub right in the heart of the touristy section of Old Santa Barbara right on State Street.

Big room with bar and 4 tall serving tanks lie to the left with the primary dining in the middle and right side of the room. In the back lies the brewing system, one of the most compact 7 barrel systems I've ever seen. There's a loft above the brew deck that holds the ferment tanks, glycol and other equipment.

The only separation from the dining and bar area comes courtesy of a removable rail. (Careful leaning.. I almost went head first into the brew deck!)

The feel here is brick and wood with a more industrial bent in the area of the brewery.

Service was crisp and professional and after asking a few questions about the deck, one of the owners came over to my party, bought us beer and then gave us the "brewer's" discount on our growlers. Not too shabby!

The beer here is directly in the American west coast and british traditions. The Barleywine was a little shaky, but the hoppy beers (IPA, XPA, DIPA) that I'va had from this place are top notch.

I recommend this place for the beer traveller, but if you want the truly local neighborhood place, you'll have to wander a few blocks off the beaten path and go the Brewhouse. Either is a good thing.

03-20-2004 02:08:29 | More by drewbage

baiser

Massachusetts

4.08/5  rDev +19.6%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4 | service: 5 | selection: 3.5 | food: 3.5 | $$

Went on a Thursday afternoon during Happy hour, $2.75 pints and discounted appetizers. Had their wet sand pale ale, and also tried some others. Beer was decent, but nothing was outstanding. Just a nice place to have some food, enjoy the good weather and beautiful Santa Barbara and watch the game. On a side note, the manager of this place really knows how to hire staff. They are all friendly, competent, and they are all knockouts. Every single waitress was a hottie. When our waitress approached us and asked if we decided on our beers, our tongues dropped and we were speechless. We had an all around good time. Definitely a must stop in SB.

12-04-2005 08:03:59 | More by baiser

getkrunkhoe

California

4.03/5  rDev +18.2%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 3.5 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4 | food: 4 | $$

I was impressed when I walked in, nice mixed crowd, interesting setup of the tanks.
Tun and kettle upstairs while fermenters/serving vessels downstairs.

I got greeted as soon as I sat down, menus right in front of me. I ordered their "egg hots" which were probably the best and unique chile poppers. Green chiles with cheddar, red chiles with cream cheese on the same platter.

The beer selection was a generous amount, the beers were hit and miss but the one brew that stood out was their incredible Honey Porter.

they have a nice IPA, Brown was decent, very nice belgian pale, and their pumpkin was a nice treat.

Their SB fish n chips were really great.

11-16-2008 20:05:10 | More by getkrunkhoe

Rumrunner

California

3.93/5  rDev +15.2%
vibe: 3.5 | quality: 4.5 | service: 3.5 | selection: 4 | food: 3.5 | $$

Stopped in for lunch and I have to say it was a very good choice.

Located in a very touristy and trendy part of Santa Barbara. Plenty of parking garages are around if street parking is not available.

The atmosphere is somewhat rudimentary. One large rectangular building made from brick. The main bar to the left. A small ledge bar in the middle back. Booths along the right side of the building and tables and chairs make up the rest of the place. The brewing equipment is behind the bar and on a catwalk above the back wall. Plenty of t.v.s for viewing sports. The atmosphere is very easy on the eye but provides no oohs and aahs.

We sat at the bar and the service was good. We started at a table and since nobody came around to take our order we moved to the bar when a couple of seats opened up. It was crowded and so I will not be harsh about not being noticed right away.

The food is good. A mix of pub grub, better than pub grub and some quazi healthy items on the menu. It is California afterall. I thought the halibut sandwich was very tasty. They also serve wine and have a small bar with spirits.

They generally have about eight to ten beers on tap. They range from California styes, to Belgium, English and German. The IPA was very good. Nice and hoppy. A Belgium Golden ale was served up and that was nice as well. The amber is one of their biggest sellers and the pale is considered a fine brew as well. The stout was decent. Nothing to write home about. They are brewing some fine beers here.

This is a very fine establishment and I recommend it when visiting Santa Barbara.

Notes: They have growler service.
They have a cask and I was told that cask night is Thursday. Beers vary from week to week. Santa Barbara has a serious parking problem. If you park on the street beware the meter police are everywhere. The second your time is up there will be a ticket on your vehicle. It is best to pay for parking in a lot and not worry about the time, even if it is a few bucks.

07-11-2004 06:49:00 | More by Rumrunner

aquaderek

California

3.88/5  rDev +13.8%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 4 | service: 4 | selection: 3.5 | food: 3.5

Santa Barbara Brewing Company is fun place to go, Santa Barbara is a wonderful place to live and the Brew Co. just make life that much better. Come on your birthday and get a free pint glass. The beers are about what you would expect from a nice local brew pub, the food is the same ok bar food, but state street has amazing resturaunts so its hard to compare, It is good pub grub. It also has a great late night happy hour. Some times the crowd is a little young but, that is what you get on state street. GO GAUCHOS>>>>>>>>>

02-05-2005 05:02:22 | More by aquaderek

BeerGoodness

California

3.88/5  rDev +13.8%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 4 | service: 3.5 | selection: 4 | food: 3.5 | $$$

SBB is a wonderful location and has a great atmosphere. However I find it difficult if not impossible to feel relaxed and jovial in this establishment.

The beer is great with a consistency in flavor that surprises me still. There State Stout is great along with their Blonde and IPA. The menu is strong with lots of variety and quick service for the amount of people they pack in on a weekend. This is a great location to catch the game, but be warned everyone knows this on game day so get there early.

The pub falls victim to the huge tourist population in this town. The bar sits on the main drag on a corner, high prices on the beer and food make this an expensive place for the regular crowd. Another draw back to this location is the lack of a Patio which is key in SB. It would be nice to see them open a second location off the strip for the locals.

05-23-2006 23:49:44 | More by BeerGoodness

nickname

California

3.83/5  rDev +12.3%
vibe: 3.5 | quality: 4 | service: 4 | selection: 3.5 | food: 4 | $$

V: This place is nice for Santa Barbara and they make the most of the space they have available. The main restaurant is usually very busy on the weekends and often during the week. It mostly consists of tables, and the bar has limited seating, however there is a Lounge in the back with pool tables and a separate bar. The restaurant can get tight with a crowd and the Lounge is big and open with music usually playing. There are large flat screens throughout the restaurant and lounge, all usually playing different sports games. The girls that work here are SMOKING hot.

Q: The beers I order are really good and they always have about 1/2 dozen on tap including a tasting option. When they brew their DIPA I stop by often for one or two though I don't see it in their list of beers on this site. Though their Blonde is the best seller, I'm a fan of the DIPA, Rincon Red and IPA. Those are the only ones I have had so I don't have any input on their other beers. It's rare for me to order a stout, brown, wheat, etc, from a brewery.

S: I've never had an issue with their service. I always sit at the bar and they are attentive and helpful.

F: Food is good quality bar food. It's really just basic American bar food, sandwiches, burgers, apps, lots of salads, pizza, and a smaller but decent dinner menu with pasta and other choices. Their garlic Parmesan french fries are one of the signature things to try. The food has always arrived freshly prepared, hot, and also prepared very well. The food on the plate just looks professionally done like the chefs in the back or whoever is overseeing things really takes the extra effort with q/a.

V: Everything is reasonable given the location. This is a prime Santa Barbara location on State Street, and Santa Barbara can be expensive really no matter what restaurant you are at because of rent and miscellaneous overhead. I'll leave it at that.

08-11-2011 21:47:00 | More by nickname

JayTheFinn

California

3.8/5  rDev +11.4%
vibe: 3.5 | quality: 4 | service: 3.5 | selection: 4 | $$

Brewpub on the lower end of State Street, the main drag in beautiful Santa Barbara. Good selection to choose from. I tried the White Star. It had a strong fruity favor. Had a sip of my wife's nut brown and that was quite good. My brother enjoyed his stout, which looked like liquid chocolate.

As many bars as there are in SB, this place can get busy.

This sort of place seems to be getting popular around here even though is "wine country". Probably because the locals are learning you can be a snob about beer too!

I'd definitely give it another shot sometime.

04-01-2006 05:24:10 | More by JayTheFinn

DesMoinesMike

Iowa

3.78/5  rDev +10.9%
vibe: 3.5 | quality: 4 | service: 4 | selection: 3.5 | food: 3.5 | $$

Located on State St. with good parking options. Sat at one of the few window seats for some good people watching. The beer sampler had 5 of their concoctions, one was a messy pour that leaked on the table and floor. Ended up choosing the Gold Coast Wheat that was nice fruity wheat beer. We weren't very hungry so we picked the potato skins, which were 1/4 potatoes with sour cream, chives, and bacon that were tasty. The menu had some good looking options we were still full from the free breakfast at the hotel. It's a nice place with decent beer. If you want some intense beer, hit the Brewhouse on the other side of the highway.

05-01-2012 20:37:22 | More by DesMoinesMike