Brews at the Beach

Update: After magnanimously offering (some?) disgruntled 2015 ticket holders a discount on their 2016 tickets, looks like Brews at the Beach quietly canceled their 2016 event entirely. If you attend any future events put on by these people, don’t say we didn’t warn you.

Year THREE and the rain could not stop thousands of filling the park for taster after taster of beer but it still falls short of it’s potential.
The vibe has changed each year
The food was a let down. The pizza was what I’d expect to eat on the streets of New York at 4am when the bar closes and the burrito was almost meatless. A beer fest is not about the food though.
While I fail to understand how organizers could run out of sampler glasses when the tickets were sold out for weeks. You can count. Right? What they did right was apologize and offer a more than generous gesture. This is what was received via e-​mail.
«If you were one of the people who arrived after we ran out of glasses, we would like to either send you a replacement glass, or offer you discounted admission (20%) to next year’s Brews at the Beach.»
Now that’s how you make amends.
Not my fave fest in town but it’s drinking beer on the beach and that’s more than 28 other states can do so for that, I’ll come back.

Great location! Could definitely use a bump in food choices (maybe get some local food trucks involved?) Lots of breweries represented with some really good choices — would have preferred a few more non-IPA’s though. All in all, worth it and for a worthy cause. Bathroom waits were usually reasonable.

For someone who doesn’t typically enjoy beer, I had a great time. There were even some beers I liked; one being the Ninkasi Mosaic beer due to it’s fruity flavor. The Howlin’ Hefeweizen banana beer, from Wolf Creek Brewery, was pretty interesting also. It took me a few sips to get used to, but after that I really enjoyed it. There were also some ciders and a wine tasting booth (which is more down my ally). After a few samples, I became brave enough to try the IPA’s, which by that time weren’t half bad. As a rookie when it comes to beer, I had to ask for recommendations and more information about each type of beer before making a decision on which ones to try; the individuals providing the samples were very helpful and open to educate me. They went through the lines quickly and ensured a short wait for sampling.
The vibe at the festival was great! Everyone was socializing and having a good time, including my friends and I.
The festival not only provided a large variety of samples and brew companies, but plenty of restrooms to avoid long waits. The music consisted of live bands and rock music; however, a lot of the music was unfamiliar, and therefore difficult to enjoy.
All in all I would recommend going next time!

I reviewed Brews at the Beach last year and gave them four stars. They did better this year. I am not sure but it seemed like this year they had a few more Breweries. My absolute favorite was Indian Wells Whiskey Barrel! Loved that beer so glad I didn’t discover it until the end of the day if you know what I mean!
For the IPA fans they should have been in IPA heaven, seemed to be an IPA festival more than a beer festival.
The food might have improved just a touch as well. Giovanni’s pizza, two slices for $ 5. They also had burritos and Tri Tip. This year they allowed people to bring in their own food if they wanted as well.
And everyone’s biggest complaint last year was the excessive bathroom lines, no problem this year, I think they had four times the capacity and the lines were no longer than a couple of minutes.
Great event! $ 35 last year $ 40 this year, hope that it doesn’t go up next year.

I was really taken aback by the fine cuisine this establishment produces.

This was Brews at the Beach’s first year, and I really think the event organizers need to be applauded. Check-​in was organized, the tasting glasses were 10x better than the ones I have gotten in the past, and they had a great selection of beer.
I do have three suggestions to make the beer festival even better next year:
1. More bathrooms! The lines were ridiculous, and I’m a girl… I think we all know how small female bladders are.
2. Is there any way the festival could be any longer? Breweries started shutting down around 3:30 — 3:45. I wish we could have been there an hour longer.
3. Better food. I think this one is pretty self explanatory.

Was it worth the 35 bucks? Hell yes! Could it have been a LOT better? Unfortunately, yes. Don’t get me wrong, I had a great time. But having been to the rugby-​sponsored beer fest in Ellings Park two Octobers in a row, this one had a lot to live up to in my heart.
Why it didn’t measure up:
–Food situation. They ran out of food multiple times, and often they sold food tickets to people without explaining there was no more pizza. So if you paid 3 bucks to get a ticket for pizza, you just wasted 3 dollars.
–Bathroom lines. They knew how many tickets they sold, so why so few porta pottys? As the drinking wore on, more and more people had to pee. And drunk people aren’t good at waiting in lines. Recipe for disaster. People were cutting, three dudes were hopping into one portapotty, etc. I don’t blame the guests, it’s hard to keep it classy when you’re tipsy and your bladder is full!
–Unprepared breweries. Many brewers ran out of certain types of beer with an hour plus left in the event. Also, some brought swag to give away which ran out in 20 minutes. This leads me to believe that they were misinformed about the number of attendees.
The beer was tatsy, weather was fantastic, and the music was good. I’ll definitely be back again next year, hoping that they work out some of the organizational kinks!

Time flies when you’re having fun, and by the time Brews at the Beach ended, I was already looking for where I can buy my ticket for next year.
I got a hold of a VIP pass early, so getting through the door was a breeze. Took me all of 15 seconds before was holding my complementary glass and scanning the scene before me for something to fill it. I decided to start at the stage and work my way counter clockwise. In the first hour of the VIP exclusive I was able to make it all the way to the Margaritas, which was deliciously refreshing. Every server I met was friendly and smiling, ready with details about how their particular Brew was made and what I could expect.
In one afternoon I manged to sample about a dozen different delicious beers, had a lovely lady crown my neck with pretzels, and managed to snag a hearty slice of Giovanni’s pizza, all for the price of admission. I’d brought cash just in case, but didn’t end up needing it.
The organizers had the foresight to provide plentiful buckets of bottled water, so it was easy to stay hydrated. This was fortunate because it was a typically beautiful day in Santa Barbara.
A good strategy was to get a full glass and circle the area. I rarely managed to make it more than a quarter of the way without seeing some friend, old or new, that I was happy to see. People were in good spirits.
Towards the end, the lines for the bathroom did look a little intimidating, but I noticed they moved along at a pretty good clip. The one near the stage actually appeared to go quickly.
The music was good. Lively enough to put everyone in a good mood, no so loud you couldn’t hear everyone talking. At the end there were some people dancing up front.
TLDR: The beer was tasty, weather perfect, people beautiful and much fun had by all. The VIP was totally worth it, and I’m a shoe in for next year.

This event was fantastic and I can’t wait until next year!
I had purchased the MVP ticket for early access, but wasn’t able to take advantage of it and ended up arriving around 1pm. The lines for entry when I got there were short, I pretty much walked right in.
The beer selection was great; I tried many new beers and some classics. All the regular local breweries (Firestone, Telegraph, Fig Mtn, 805, Island etc) were there and there were plenty of new breweries (new to me anyway — Lat 33, Tap-​It, Coronado) as well as some classics (Lagunitas, Anderson Valley, Mendocino, New Belgium, Deschutes). I think there were other options too (wine, cider, etc), but I stuck with the beers.
The layout of the grounds was great, beer tents along a side and in the middle, bathrooms in the front and back (there was never a long line for the back bathrooms), and live band in the corner. The place was full but never felt crowded, there was always plenty of room to move around.
Towards the end of the event some breweries started running out. But at that point, fewer people were drinking anyway (4 hours in), so the lines never became unmanageable.
Looking forward to an even better event next year!

Had a fantastic time at Brews at the Beach!
The selection of brewers was outstanding! Even through there were lots of people there, the organizers did a good job of keeping things moving. Lines got a little long at the end of the day, but that’s to be expected!
We drank our fill, hung out on the grass and listened to the awesome bands, and basked in the Santa Barbara sunshine. Perfect day.

This was the first year for Brews at the Beach, the only springtime beer fest in Santa Barbara, and it was amazing! The event was extremely well-​organized – even the check-​in line went quickly, and the weather was perfect. The festival did an amazing job of getting a large number and great variety of big name and craft breweries to attend – and for those people who wanted to try other things in addition to beer, there were also margaritas, wine, and some ciders to choose from. I didn’t do the VIP admission, so I got in around noon instead of 11am and found that I still had plenty of time to sample a wide variety of beers and mingle with my friends.
In addition to just providing an amazing array of beers, the event also had pizza and burritos, a large amount of open space so that people could bring blankets and sit and enjoy food and drink picnic-​style, and live bands to help set the mood. The festival was well-​attended and sold out, and while it never seemed too crowded for the space, it was great to see so many familiar local faces while working your way around the festival. The organizers were also great about making sure to provide lots of cold bottled water, so that people could stay hydrated while standing in the sun for several hours. Other efforts to encourage safer festival participation included a bike valet to encourage attendees not to drive. The end result of all these efforts was a festival that was fun without getting out of control.
All in all I thought this festival ran itself like one that has been in existence for several years. The vibe was great, the location amazing, the staff friendly and helpful, and the lines never took longer than one would expect from this type of event. A couple breweries were starting to run out of beer at the end, but by that point most people had had their fill anyway. I’m sure next year will be even better now that the organizers and participating breweries know what to expect from this event, and I for one intend to buy my ticket for next year as soon as they are available!