Santa Ynez Valley Celebrates Annual Craft Beer Month
Enjoy events, tastings and dinners during Santa Ynez Valley Craft Beer Month in May 2014
Santa Ynez Valley, California— Craft Beer has found a home and continues to thrive in the heart of Santa Ynez Valley’s Wine Country. As an extension of American Craft Beer Week (www.craftbeer.com), Visit the Santa Ynez Valley will celebrate all things craft beer with the second annual Santa Ynez Valley Craft Beer Month 2014 during the month of May. Craft Beer lovers can follow the SYV Beer Trail to learn, taste and dine with special tasting flights, a beer festival, classes, dinners and more.
SYV Craft Beer Month features the 3rd Annual Buellton Brew Fest on Saturday, May 3rd from noon to 4pm in Buellton’s Riverview Park featuring 25+ breweries with lunch included (www.buelltonbrewfest.com). The Brew Fest is also hosting a VIP Dinner on Friday, May 2nd at the Mendenhall Museum. Guests will feast on dishes by Beto’s Place paired with Award Winning Figueroa Mountain Brews among the neon lights of the West Coast’s largest private collection of petroliana memorabilia and race cars.
Solvang Brewing Company (SBC) will host special events seven days a week during the entire month, including a special “Meet the Brewer” talk on Fridays at noon where Brewmaster David Lusk will discuss his passion, SBC craft beer and answer questions about the process. During this discussion, they will pair three unique small batch 5oz samples to three appetizers. Stephen Renfrow, owner of SBC, is thrilled to showcase their craft brews during SYV Craft Beer Month, stating “Solvang Brewing Company is proud to be creating unique craft beers with integrity worthy of our consumers!”
Beer stops throughout the Santa Ynez Valley are hosting special 4 taster beer flights every day during the month of May. Participants include Avant Tapas & Wine at Terravant Wine, Firestone Walker Brewing Company’s Barrelworks, Figueroa Mountain Brewing Co., Los Olivos Wine Merchant & Café, Root 246, Sante Wine Bar & Lounge, The Good Life and Wandering Dog Wine Bar.
Two special bottle release parties will take place in Buellton. On Friday, May 16th join Figueroa Mountain Brewing Co. at their Buellton Taproom to celebrate the bottle releases of Lizard’s Mouth IIPA and their Whole Foods Market collaboration, a beer-wine blend called Bière de Ménage. On Saturday, May 17th, join the brewers at Firestone Walker Brewing Company’s Barrelworks for the bottle releases of Bretta Rosé, a Berliner Wiesse style ale, and Stickee Monkee, their Central Coast Quad.
Special food and beer pairings featuring cured meats, cheeses and desserts will be offered at The Good Life in Solvang during 3 select weekends in May. Root 246 will host their “Pour Man’s Dinner Series” each Thursday in which they pair four unique beers with four courses. The month will close with a special cigar and beer pairing featuring “Dr. Bill” from Stone Brewing Company on Thursday, May 29th at Root 246, with tickets available through Valley Brewers.
To enjoy the ultimate overnight SYV Craft Beer Experience, Fess Parker Wine Country Inn & Spa has created a special package which includes one night luxury accommodations for two, a special selection of craft brews, a complimentary tasting and tour of Figueroa Mountain Brewing Co., and more. Additional accommodations can be found at www.VisitSYV.com/Where-To-Stay.
Major sponsors of SYV Craft Beer Month bring craft beer to life this May: Visit the Santa Ynez Valley, El Rancho Marketplace, Figueroa Mountain Brewing Company, and Firestone Walker Brewing Company.
Visitors can plan their own Craft Beer trip throughout the Santa Ynez Valley anytime with the newly updated SYV Craft Beer Trail Map. Grab a printed version at any valley brewery or find a printable map and complete list of events by visiting www.SYVBeer.com. More information about the Santa Ynez Valley can be found at www.VisitSYV.com.
About Visit The Santa Ynez Valley (VisitSYV)
VisitSYV is a not-for-profit membership-based destination marketing organization (DMO) promoting the entire Santa Ynez Valley as a year-round tourism destination. VisitSYV encourages responsible and sustainable tourism that retains the Valley’s rural, small-town character and unique sense of place in the six communities that it represents: Ballard, Buellton, Los Alamos, Los Olivos, Santa Ynez and Solvang.