![]() ![]() What fuels the varied, eclectic brewing scene in Santa Cruz County? Most likely it is the region’s culinary tradition, its emphasis on small local businesses, and a rich home brewing culture. Before moving on to another table, he quickly added, “This brewery better work because I don’t want to do anything else.” Considering his beers are notorious for selling out quickly, it’s unlikely he’ll have that problem. program in the History Department at UC-Santa Cruz, but decided I wanted to work with my hands instead of my head,” explained Clifford. Perhaps that’s because Clifford was on his way to becoming a professor before finding a new calling. The tall, bearded Clifford looks somewhat professorial with his thick black glasses as he quickly works through the crowd. Santa Cruz Mountain Brewing’s unique taproom. Stopping by the Sante Adairius tasting room one late summer afternoon, I noted that a crowd was overflowing out of the tap room and into the parking lot. It didn’t take long for Sante Adairius’s distinctive beers, often barrel aged and brewed with specialty yeast strains, to generate considerable buzz throughout Northern California’s beer geek community. While Discretion hatches its expansion plans, they continue to recommend tap room visitors to check out Sante Adairius Rustic Ales in nearby Capitola, which was opened last year by owners Tim Clifford and Adair Paterno. Our early plans are to distribute it locally in the Santa Cruz area, but we expect to eventually distribute over the hill as well.” SANTA CRUZ CALIFORNIA BREWERIES INSTALLOutlining Discretion’s plans, Demers states “We’ll install a canning line as part of the expansion. While Discretion currently sells beer only at its tap room, that will change soon as it expands into a 3,000 square foot space next door. “It’s an exciting process building virtually everything from scratch,” is how Discretion brew master Michael Demers describes it. ![]() Like most Santa Cruz breweries, Discretion started with few resources. ![]() Since 2005 Santa Cruz Mountain Brewery enjoyed their position as the only organic brewery in the area, yet without hesitation they provided the Gencos with invaluable support and insights in running an organic brewery. Santa Cruz brewers are constantly loaning each other equipment and bags of malt or hops the way next door neighbors swap power tools or borrow cups of sugar.ĭetail of the craftsmanship at Santa Cruz Mountain Brewing.Ī similar collaboration ocurred when Rob and Kathleen Genco approached Santa Cruz Mountain Brewing co-owners Emily Thomas and Chad Brill last year while planning to open a brewery of their own, Soquel’s 100% organic Discretion Brewery. And of course, when Chavez needed a compressor for his canning line, he borrowed one from nearby Uncommon Brewers. “One day, Tim Clifford (co-owner of Sante Adairius Rustic Ales) shows up at my door with a bag of malt and tells me his mill is down.” Without hesitation, Chavez let Clifford use his mill until he could get his fixed. “We’re all friends here,” says Chavez of the region’s seven breweries. After completing the American Brewer’s Guild program in 1997, Chavez started as an assistant brewer in 1999 under Marc Rosenbloom at Seabright Brewing until Rosenbloom left to start Santa Cruz Ale Works about six years ago. And what did his mom tell him when she discovered him brewing beer well below the legal drinking age? “She just told me to make sure to clean up after myself,” he recounts. Jason started brewing at the tender age of 17 when he first tried his hand at home brewing. Share a pint with Seabright brewmaster Jason Chavez and he’ll gladly tell plenty of stories on how the Santa Cruz brewing scene came to be. Seabright Brewery brewmaster Jason Chavez. ![]()
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