Summer ales: Breweries in season in Santa Ynez Valley
A craft beer movement is brewing in the heart of Santa Barbara County’s wine country.
By the end of summer, the Santa Ynez Valley — on the national radar as prime California wine country since the 2004 film “Sideways” — will have two companies brewing beer in hand-crafted batches. Figueroa Mountain Brewing Co. is retrofitting an industrial space in Buellton for an initial run of about eight beers, and the Solvang Brewing Co. is revamping one of the Danish-themed city’s famous windmill buildings to open a pub and restaurant.
Though there are some ties between the two new breweries — two of the founders are brothers-in-law — the Summer of Breweries wasn’t planned. But the two companies see each other as complements, both to each other and to the winemakers already firmly rooted in the valley.
The full version of this article is only available in the print edition. To view everything the Business Times offers, see this week’s print version or SUBSCRIBE to the print edition for $49.99 today.
