First-Ever Hoptopia

Carrillo Rec Center Hosting Exploration, Education of Hoppy Beers This Saturday.

Certified Cicerone Zach Rosen is doing his darnedest to fire up the intellectual side of Santa Barbara’s suds scene, and this Saturday’s “Hoptopia Beer Festival” — put on by his new company Brew Reverie — is perhaps the most ambitious attempt yet. Each of the Carrillo Rec Center’s rooms will be transformed to play to explore attendees’ “visual, olfactory, auditory, gustatory, and tactile stimuli.”

Hop Hall: The main ballroom hosts the majority of brewers, who’ll be sharing their “hop-forward” ales as well as many special dry-hopped versions, as Fishbon artists and improv groups from Comedy Hideaway rule the stage.

Humulene Canteen: Explore the magic of hops with experts while smelling different varieties, experimenting with art, and sipping two beers alongside four appetizers with each.

Lupulin Lands: S.B. Brewing Co. will offer four differently hopped versions of their Santa Barbara Blonde to reveal the nuances of American, European, and Southern Hemisphere hops. Participants get a full pour of the normal beer, plus tasters of the other three.

Myrcene Scene: The event’s “crown jewel” occupies two rooms on the second floor, where beers will be paired with music, noise, lights, and projections. Drinkers can get in touch with how they feel about each beer, for real.