The Best Santa Cruz Breweries // my Santa Cruz Beer guide
My Favorite Santa Cruz Breweries and the order I suggest going! I’m always coming up to Santa Cruz from Monterey, on the way we like to stop at the kid’s favorite pump track with their bikes, hit up the redwoods at Henry Cowell, ride again at Wilder ranch and head up to Davenport. SO after all of that, we're usually STARVING and ready for beer and food and heading North to south.
WARNING: we would not be able to hit all of these in one trip with the kids and driving ourselves. We’ve done a similar order for my husband’s birthday with a sober driver and we usually pick one or two of these on a normal visit. Shout out to our friend Dave Jr who really deserves the credit for showing us all of these.
Located on the earth north of Santa Cruz this place brews awesome beer! They have small bites usually, with some guest food trucks and local events. Dog and Family friendly.
Located right around the block from Humble sea, within walking distance! large outdoor sunny spot with food sourced from a neighboring restaurant Kelly’s around the corner. Dog and kid-friendly.
Honestly, I’ve only been here once and it was after several other breweries It wasn’t memorable but I had SO many people reach out to me on Instagram to make sure and include this one! It’s a tapas house with a brewery attached which, ( I know) sounds like my jam. It’s a mostly indoor spot with games in the back. Not dog friendly.
My all-time favorite beers are brewed here! I love their sours!! They have two locations, I’m including the one in Capitola for your trip to flow smoothly. Not kid-friendly and food is limited.
THE BEST FOOD!!! You guys, the caesar salad and seasonal menu are bomb always. I usually always force my family here for the food alone. The beer can be hit or miss but I’m a foodie and this hits the bill.
This is a pour house, this and Beer Mule have some fun corn hole set up. Great to go with friends, a wide selection of beers on tap, and an even bigger selection of bottles. The food is not good but it’s dog and kid friendly and worth a stop!
This is such a fun stop!! This one is new to me but they have 3 restaurants surrounding the brewery, with the option to bring their food in. One of my favorite Capitola restaurants Zameens is there! Also, the food at Beer Mule is great, dog and kid-friendly, large outdoor seating areas with corn hole during non-covid times. I had the short rib tacos which were great, my husband had the short rib sandwich which was also great.
Camila and Greg Eloped this week at Garrapata Beach. When Hwy 1 had a rock slide a week ago we had to quickly pivot away from their original plan of getting married in the redwoods. They found an incredible Airbnb at Ribera Beach where they had their first look and ceremony. From there we adventured down the coast with an impromptu cheesecake on the hood of their rented vintage Thunderbird. They were both so full of joy and love it was infectious.