Thursday, May 15, 2008

Central Coast Brewing Company

Central Coast was definitely the most "Micro" of the microbreweries that we went to. This small, yet growing, brewery was tucked away in an office park a few blocks from Downtown Brewery in SLO. As you can see from the picture below, they have quite a large selection of beers. I would say that this brewery has the most interesting of all the beers we have tried. The Chai Cream Ale and Espresso Porter were both so good that we got a growler of each to take home. This brewery does not have a full liquor license yet, so they are only allowed to sell samples. They have a deal for $5 you get 5 samples, otherwise samples are $2. I would definitely be interested in coming back to this place to hang out. The marketing director is also a really interesting guy to talk to. His views on sustainability and the landscape of the microbrewery market are really interesting. Long story short, he feels that the whole point of a microbrewery is to serve the local community and take advantage of short supply lines to keep the beer naturally fresh as long as possible while in the hands of the consumer.


  • Honey Wheat - You can taste/feel the honey in this refreshing light beer. The honey mutes the malty aftertaste, making this a beer that one could drink a lot of after a long day at work. Score: 5/10
  • Chai Creme Ale - This beer tastes like a Chai Latte! No joke! After talking with the marketing director for a bit, we found out that it took them several batches to figure out when and how much of the chai to get the taste just right. I would have given this beer a 10 if it had more of a vanilla-y flavor, but that's just being really nit-picky. This was definitely one of the top beers of this tour! Score: 8/10
  • Kiakis (sp?) Beach Ale - This is a straight up, good tasting, light beer. Score: 4/10
  • Golden Glow Pale Ale - This is a really good pale ale. I could definitely drink a large amount of this if it didn't come in just sample glass sizes. :-P Score: 5/10
  • Stenner Creek Stout - This was an alright stout. It has a mild charcoally flavor that's not too overwhelming. I would probably drink this after dinner if there wasn't another stout to choose from. Score: 4/10
  • Espresso Porter - This is definitely one of their best beers, along with the Chai Creme Ale. It tastes like chocolate milk when you drink it, and turns into an amazing espresso flavor in the after taste. There is definitely a reason that we picked this porter as one of the two growlers we brought home with us. Score: 8/10

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