You may know by now that I consider beer to be a main food group, for which reason I’m super duper excited to share that Santa Maria is getting its first craft beer festival later this month. The first Santa Maria Beer Fest, slated for Oct. 22, will feature 22 breweries—most local, all Californian—and one local cidery.
Josh Snow owns O’Sullivan’s Pub in Santa Maria, which will be participating in the festival. Snow said the Santa Maria Beer Festival will raise money for the Disabled American Veterans Chapter 82 in Santa Maria.
“This is an opportunity for us to introduce Santa Maria, or recognize Santa Maria, as a growing craft scene,” he said. “All our local breweries and a few of our regional breweries we really like will raise some money for these guys.”
Snow said the funds raised might go toward an adaptive van for the veterans, though the decision is ultimately up to the veterans—and how many people show up. Snow said they’re prepared to host 500 participants, though he thinks 300 is a more realistic expectation.
“It’s a good chance for people locally to come out, meet some of these brewers, taste some cool beers,” he said. “We’ve got pretty much every local brewery.”
Participating local brewers include Figueroa Mountain, Central Coast Brewing, Firestone Walker, Rooney’s Irish Pub, Tap It, ManRock, Barrelhouse, Santa Maria Brewing, and San Luis Obispo Brewing. The regional brewers include Green Flash, Anchor, Ballast Point, Lagunitas, and Sierra Nevada.
More than that: They’ll have games, Santa Maria-style barbecue, a raffle, and a couple of live bands, including La Faz and Joe Daddy and the Sumthins. The event, which will take place across the three separate spaces in the Veterans Memorial Community Center, will include a table for each featured brewery. Attendees can taste one or two selections from every brewery.
Since the festival is taking place so close to Halloween, those attending can feel free to dress up and participate in a costume contest, Snow said—though that part’s totally optional.
Snow added that the city of Santa Maria is providing a free shuttle service from two locations in Santa Maria—Cool Hand Luke’s is one pickup location, and the other is at Albertsons on South Broadway and McCoy in Santa Maria.
Tickets for the festival are $50 a pop, though the event’s Facebook page and website advertise discounts randomly at two-hour intervals, during which you can snag a $40 ticket instead.
So if you’re like me and include beer as a part of a healthy, balanced diet, do yourself a favor and hit up Santa Maria’s first-ever beer festival. You know. For your health.
Brenna Swanston is considering an all-beer diet! Give your input at bswanston@santamariasun.com.
This article appears in Oct 13-20, 2016.