The Beer

Lola was rescued from the streets of Baja and now frolics in the woods of Santa Cruz when she’s not hanging out at the brewery. We celebrate her arrival with this West Coast IPA that’s vibrant with pine and bursting with notes of grapefruit and pineapple. Exuberant Sultana and Chinook hops romp on a biscuity base of Admiral Maltings’ Maiden Voyage, resulting in a brew that will have you frolicking too.

What a treat, that a prickly cactus hides sweet fruit beneath its spines! Our Prickly Pear Necessities is fermented with organic prickly pears, which lend it a neon pink glow. The exotic aroma is both fruity and earthy, while the subtle tartness hints of watermelon rind and sour bubble-gum.

Hi Amarillo! You surprised us all, just popping up in a field of Liberty hops one day! We’re so glad you were discovered. Your little cones give such aromatic bursts of sweet orange and lemon candy. We love the hints of cantaloupe, ripe mango, papaya, and honeyed peach.You were quite a find!

Dive into this year’s Free Day IPA, clear, refreshing, and so drinkable! Bready pilsner malt, with oats and Cara-pils for added body, support the balanced hop flavor of Citra, Mosaic, and Simcoe added to the whirlpool. We dry-hopped with experimental NZH-107 for an aromatic punch of guava, passion fruit, grapefruit, and lime. Feel free to have another!

Stefano balances soft, sweet malt, light fruitiness, and floral and herbal Noble hops character.  Complex and delicate yet saturated with flavor, its strength is in its gentleness.  We named it in honor of Grandpa Stefano Genco, who immigrated from Bari, Italy in 1906, turned his Fresno yard into a vegetable garden, and hand-dug a cellar where he kept Italian cheese amid the garden bounty to share with his grandchildren.

The Lark, our Maibock brewed each spring to celebrate the season, spent a year in a bourbon barrel.  Then, a bit of The Lark from this spring was blended in to add body and sweetness.  Toffee and biscuit on the nose lead into toasted oak, the pleasing glow of bourbon, and a dry lager finish.  Do you get a hint of dried flowers that suggests an early summer stroll through a sun-warmed field?  Us too.

Let me be clear. I’m a West Coast IPA emphasizing hop character over bitterness. With classic Cascade hops contributing their unique citrus and floral notes, and Azacca and El Dorado offering tropical and stone fruits, bright aromas and flavors come shining through.

Our version of Flanders Red, the famous Belgian Sour Red Ale, is fruity and reminiscent of red wine. A lemony nose leads into tart cherry character on a good malt backbone, with oak notes from the barrels mingling with a suggestion of almonds.

500ml bottle

Complex hop chords improvise from jazzy joy. Notes of tropical and citrus fruits, flowers, and pine play well together in this easy drinking, highly aromatic IPA.

Exuberant hop energy amps up Young Rick’s forthright malt personality. The uninhibited hop aromas and flavors, each with something true to express (tangerine, grapefruit, lime, tropical fruit, pine), fling themselves gleefully around. The result is a spirited beer with power and attitude.

Without a doubt, this beer is barrel-aged!  It is the cream that we call into question. There is no cream in our double cream ale nor in cream ales in general.  But the smooth strength, rich mouthfeel, and malty sweetness of Barrel-aged Allegedly are well-proven. Time in a whiskey barrel added notes of vanilla and whiskey. Lively carbonation lifts aromas of pear and accentuates the dry, slightly tart finish. One sip will confirm its deliciousness.

Your splendid tropical fruit and floral aromas lead us eagerly into the opulence of you. Your golden hue promises a wealth of treasures, and you deliver such an abundance of bright and candy-like fruitiness. You whisper of green and resinous secrets, keeping us enthralled.

Parched? Quench your thirst with a glass of Margarita Road. We aged our Mexican-style amber lager in tequila barrels, then added sea salt and organic lime zest. The copper-hued malty lager has a bright and refreshing character that makes for easy drinking.

Our Contemplate beers showcase unique ingredients on a canvas of Belgian blonde ale aged for a year with Brettanomyces in American oak barrels.

Contemplate Grapes stars local, organic Chardonnay grapes. They give a vinous quality to the aroma, with notes of pear, mango, and citrus. Fermentation on the grape skins created moderate tannins which add heft and dryness. The grapes’ acidity lends balance and maintains the refreshing finish. With time, this variation may evolve more complex fermentation characteristics due to native yeasts on the grapes themselves.

Our Contemplate beers showcase unique ingredients on a canvas of Belgian blonde ale aged for a year with Brettanomyces in American oak barrels.

Contemplate Hops displays Jarrylo and Waimea hops. Jarrylo adds its own notes of banana and pear to those same fruit notes contributed by Brettanomyces. Waimea lends bright citrus and pine components that play well with the mild acidity. Together, the hop flavors mingled with Brett’s fruit esters present ripe stone fruit and a tropical touch of pineapple.

The Bay/Porter exit off Hwy. 1  brings you into Soquel Village, our brewery’s neighborhood. It needed to have this beer named after it.

Aromas of deeply roasted chocolate mingle with notes of toasted black bread. Smooth caramel on the tongue transitions to bittersweet chocolate and roasted malt flavors with a pleasingly bitter finish.

This Brett-ed wit with coriander, pink pepercorn, and chardonnay pomace was aged in a Windy Oaks pinot barrel for 18 months. The aroma is oaky, spicy, citrusy, and pear-like, with vanilla and some chardonnay notes. The light refreshing flavor starts with a kiss of tannin and gives way to a silky, oaky fullness.

We support the Land Trust of Santa Cruz County, which works to preserve local lands and critters.

Is there anyone better to sit around a campfire with, telling stories, IPAs in hand? We think not. Cheers, Uncle Dave! Our Rye IPA has fruity/herbal hop aromas with a substantial supporting maltiness. The rye contributes a hint of peppery spice to this full bodied, complex IPA.

Available in 12oz and 19.2oz cans.

Aged for over 15 months in French oak barrels, this old ale’s brettanomyces character expresses itself as fruity funk on the nose, with flavors of dried cherry leading to a dry finish.

In this Red IPA aromas of sweet citrus mingle with wisps of pine. The fruity interplay between hops and caramel malt creates a beer that is
bracingly otherworldly.

“Follow the Creek” is always good advice, whether you’re seeking adventure upstream or finding your way home. This IPA will refresh you wherever you end up. Aromas of pine and citrus lead to lemon drops on the palate, enhanced by the sweet, grassy character of California grown and malted pilsner malt.

Three Fawns is a Belgian-style tripel aged in American bourbon barrels. A boozy warmth redolent of vanilla, black pepper, and honey, along with soft berry notes, leads into a dry peppery finish influenced by oak.

Brewers who sing are a wonderful thing. This IPA celebrates song-sharing as well as hops and malt. It’s loaded with tropical and stone fruit aromas along with accents of citrus and pine. Soft carbonation and a little malty sweetness provide backup harmony.

Tens of millions of flowers were visited by local bees to make the honey that gives a taste of place and a dry finish to our Kolsch-style ale. Vinous esters mingle with a wisp of honey in the nose. The delicate malt flavor is gently accented with a touch of orange zest in this refreshing, food friendly beer.

We follow the creek, dodging brambles and splashing through shady pools to get to the blackberries hanging in the sun. Some berries are tart but we eat them just as happily, glad to be alive for both the sweet and the sour.

Our Bramble Ramble is tart, fruity, and refreshing. It’s fermented with organic blackberries, which impart a berry tang and a pretty purple hue.

This new-school hazy IPA is brimming with aromas of tropical fruits. Hops, hops, and more hops were added to this beer throughout the production process to create a distinctively succulent IPA with notes of pineapple and guava. You wouldn’t be blamed if you thought this was some sort of “new juice” rather than our latest IPA.

Originally brewed for the Redwood Mountain Faire, this blonde ale is a favorite for sipping beneath our beloved, towering redwoods.  Delightfully bright and refreshing, its low bitterness and subtle malt expression will win you over.

Now available in 12oz. cans!

Stone by tiny stone, a picture emerges…

In our Mosaic-hopped pale ale, shining facets of flavor and aroma build a beautiful beer. Breathe in papaya, guava, and freshly-bloomed blossoms, each scent an element of the Mosaic hops.

The man who played his accordion for us in a small beer garden in Baden-Baden forever changed our impression of this instrument.

Thanks for the gorgeous music, accordion man. This beer’s for you!

Our golden-orange-hued Oktoberfest Lager is brewed with imported Pilsner, Vienna and Munich Malts for authenticity.

Get off the boring route. Amazing panoramas await. Our export stout’s roasty, chocolatey flavors are rounded out by the addition of flaked oats.

While we wait for the rains, foggy forest walks reassure us with green, misty promise. This IPA hints of forest pleasures with its dank, resinous, piney hop aroma.

Our old shepherd Faith would’ve made a great brewery dog, but she didn’t live quite long enough. (Dogs never do.) Here’s to her and to all the good dogs. Good Faith is a Strong Ale, with malt derived toffee and dried fruit notes.

Oh Black Lager, Keep on Rollin’… The sound of the black lager happily burbling in the brew house brought this song to mind. Similar in style to a German Schwarzbier, this lager is dark brown in color with a roasted malt aroma and a lingering finish.  Its flavor is malty and mellow with a slight roasty edge reminiscent of bitter chocolate.

She has a shimmery depth, like light on the fathomless sea. Our brewer’s wife, Eileen, inspired the name of this beer.  Shimmer Pils is a crisp and refreshing German-style Pilsner, a true lager with a balanced hoppiness.

Our brewer always has a song in his heart, and it makes us happy when we hear it. May you, too, have one, whether shared or all your own. “Song” is a British-Style session beer with soft roasty caramel notes and no bitterness. A song goes well with just about anything!

Our award-winning Strong Ale balances sweet toffee and dried fruit with oaky bourbon and vanilla notes from bourbon barrels.