Welcome

After a great night of sleep at Pelican Point Inn, Val and I walked to Deli-Licious for breakfast and brought it back to the room to eat with Morgan. Our first stop of the day was at 10:00AM at Uncommon Brewers, Alec was nice enough to give the five of us a private tour and tasting. It was my favorite stop of the trip, we didn’t get to sample many beers but he was a great sport and I could tell he was passionate about what he was doing in the industry. After the tour ended there we had a little bit of time before Seabright Brewery opened so we went next door to Uncommon. There was a skate shop that was doing a clearance sale, we all bought some clothing at crazy prices. On our way to the next stop we made a quick stop at Whole Foods to check out their beer isle and make a couple of purchases. Seabright opened at 11:30AM and we were the first people there, we all had sample flights and got some lunch. The beer here was the best of the trip in my opinion. Next stop was Santa Cruz Ale Works, Marc was nice enough to let us poke in, he gave us some free samples and a tour. Ale Works wasn’t open to the public on Memorial Day, it’s nice when people go out of their way for customers. Our group made it worthwhile for him, picking up a couple of growlers and t-shirts. Our last stop in Santa Cruz was at Santa Cruz Mountain Brewing, an organic brewery. We had a sampler here, the beer was pretty good here, but we didn’t purchase any to go. We were all more impressed with Kelly’s French Bakery next door. For dinner we stopped in Fairfield at Blue Frog Grog & Grill. The food was pretty good and I was excited to get a 22oz of Hop Test 3. At the end of our dinner Ethan was crowned with a blue frog hat and was sang to for his 30th Birthday. In Fairfield we parted ways and drove home.

It was a really long weekend and upon falling into bed I almost immediately fell asleep. In my opinion the 3rd Annual Memorial Day Beer Tour was a success. Next year I’d like for everyone to be in one car and if it is an overnight trip, stay at the same place. I feel the two cars detracted from the experience. I love the month of May and look forward to it every year! To view Ethan and Mel’s pictures from the trip, click here.