Wild Fields Brewhouse, 6907 El Camino Real, Atascadero, California
There Does not Exist, 4070 Earthwood Lane, San Luis Obispo, California
Finney’s Crafthouse & Kitchen, 857 Monterey Street, San Luis Obispo, California
Humble Sea Tavern, 6256 Highway 9, Felton, California
Because I’ve got some new pubs in Sheffield to write about, and I’ll be visiting the US again in a couple of months, I’m going to wind up last year’s California brewery explorations with four more Central Coast breweries and pubs. So here we go...
Located just off Highway 101 north of San Luis Obispo and south of Paso Robles is the city of Atascadero. The name Atascadero--which I love to pronounce over and over again in a Mexican accent because I like the way it rolls around my tongue--merely means “bog” or “mire” in Spanish. Probably most recognised as the site of a state prison, Atascadero is another nostalgic stop from not only my family vacations when I was growing up, but also weekend camping getaways when I was in my twenties.
On the day that my friend Rick and I started our brewery drive up the Central Coast, our second stop of the day was for a pint at the Wild Fields Brewhouse in Atascadero. Located in a former ten-pin bowling alley, this microbrewery was opened by Ryan and Jacque Fields, who both have plenty of experience on the California brewing scene. There is plenty of outdoor seating, but Rick and I decided to go inside so we could sit at the bar. We were lucky enough to chat with co-owner Ryan himself. We commented on the familiar Beachwood BBQ t-shirt he was wearing, and we learned he had worked at Los Abbey, Port Brewing, and Pizza Port, three San Diego County breweries that Rick and I visited on a former trip. Even in a big state like California it’s such a small world.
I was first tempted to have a pint of the Montana de Oro, simply because I used to camp at the campground there all the time in my late teens and early twenties. But we both went for pints of Hop Clarity West Coast IPA (7.0% ABV), a nice crisp and clear IPA with Chinook, Mosaic, and Idaho 7 hops. Yum! I felt like shouting out, “Yes! Again! Encore!” But alas, as we had a busy schedule we only had time for one. And we could had picked a better time to visit, because it was still early enough for children to be in attendance, and far too many sprogs were filling the room with their high-pitched shrieks. It was at that point that we realised half of the pub is a play area stocked with plenty of arcade games, hence the tired parents sipping pints at the back tables with their screaming spawn clustered around the foosball table. I suppose the fact that it was a Sunday explained the family gatherings.
The staff at this microbrewery were very friendly, and there were lots of t-shirts for sale. Before we left, I bought Andrew a souvenir t-shirt in purple, and when I discovered they have women’s extra-small t-shirts, I bought myself one as well.
Later on that same day, after having checked into our accommodation in San Luis Obispo, we miraculously found ourselves at a place called There Does Not Exist. This enigmatically unmarked brewpub is located in an industrial park and was opened by brewer Max Montgomery, who previously worked at Firestone Walker for many years. According to their website, the brewery’s mission is to produce ”high quality beers that stand at the intersection of art, science, and imagination.” Although there are many IPAs on the menu, there are also other styles such as Kolsch, saisons, pilsners, and dark lagers.
The rather stark taproom opens up onto a large patio, so we decided to sit outside. Rick ordered a pint of Stellar Fawn (7.0% ABV), which was described as “an intergalactic space elk style IPA" and hopped with Simcoe and Cashmere, then dry hopped with Citra, Strata, and Chinook hops, and also used a mixture of 2 Row and Pilsner malts, along with a touch of wheat. So there was a lot going on here, with a heavy suggestion of various fruits and aromas. I went for a pint of Memory Machine IPA (6.5% ABV). This was a DDH w/ Mosaic, Mosaic Cryo, CTZ, & Ekuanot hops -- in other words, a wonderfully Dank brew. The combination of sequoia and fruit was right up my alley.
As we sat and sipped our pints, I commented, “These are people who know how to make beer.” I mean, at this point in the day my own memory machine wasn’t working that well, but I did know we were thoroughly enjoying our pints. Besides the patio, where dogs and sprogs are welcome, the taproom is open to the elements, and there’s a decoration on the wall that reminded me of Sheffield’s own graffiti artist, Phlegm. Rick explained to me that There Does Not Exist is a mathematical symbol, basically an italic A with a couple of lines through it. So perhaps that’s why our visit felt so ethereal. It couldn’t have been the amount of drinking we’d been doing up to that point, could it?
Later on that evening, we walked from our motel to Finney’s Crafthouse, a bustling place in the city centre that offers up to thirty local craft beers and a food menu that features burgers, sandwiches, salads, pizzas, and steaks. The place seemed very trendy and was full of young people, but we managed to find seats at the bar to the rear of the room. From there we could observe the rustic brick walls decorated with photos of the likes of Paul and Linda McCartney, James Brown, and someone else I should recognise. Also along the walls were several big screens broadcasting a basketball game and, on one lone screen, a baseball game. In the front near the windows is a very nice bright red ceiling fan with extremely long blades, satisfying my appreciation for these brilliant appliances.
Seated at the bar we shared a pint of Libertine Framboise Sour (6.0% ABV), a satisfying beer with just the right amount of sour. Our other pint was Topa Topa Chief Peak IPA (7.0% ABV, which was resinous and tropical, a flavour combination that really appeals to me. For dinner we decided to share the Mushroom Truffle Pizza, with black garlic, fontina, arugula, shaved parmesan, truffle cream, which was very yummy. A man who was sitting next to us told us he was a big tennis fan, and he was disappointed there was no tennis showing on any of the screens. Oddly, for someone sitting at a bar on a Sunday night, he was drinking a cup of coffee.
There are quite a few Finney’s around California, including this one, Westlake Village, Santa Barbara, Ventura, Burbank, and Porter Ranch, with more being planned in Orange, Camarillo, and Laguna Beach. Finney’s is family owned and operated, and they feature a Happy Hour Monday to Friday from 3-5pm.
After our pints and meal, we took a detour back to the motel via the San Luis Obispo Creek, where we were treated to a loud chorus of what must have been a thousand tree frogs. What an amazing ending to a first successful brewery day. A couple of days later, after another successful hop-filled evening in Santa Cruz, we headed up into the Redwoods to briefly visit with Vicky, who was self-isolating at her second home. As we stood outside and chatted with her from a safe distance, she warned us against standing too close to the breathtakingly tall Sequoias. Apparently they're known as "widow makers", because if a branch happens to break off and fall from far above, it can gain enough velocity and power on its descent to Planet Earth to actually kill a person. Yikes.
Needless to say we did survive our visit, so we treated ourselves to a pint in the nearby town of Felton. Dating from 1874 as a logging community, Felton is still a small town, with a population of less than 5,000. But because this is now the 21st century, and there are breweries everywhere you turn, there is of course one in Felton.
After parking on the main road through town and having a quick coffee at White Raven, we crossed the road to the Humble Sea Tavern. Seating ourselves at the bar we chatted with the barman for a bit, and we once again decided to share a couple of pints. The first one was Foggylicious (5.5% AVB), a pale ale brewed with El Dorado hops, Nectar, and Admiral Malt. It seemed a bit too fruity, especially as my stomach hadn’t quite recovered from the overly thick and fruity cans we'd had the previous night in our hotel. The other pint, which I much preferred, was Stay Hydrated (8.0% ABV), a Dark Thiol Boosted DDH Hopfused Foggy DIPA with Galaxy, Mosaic, Simcoe, Columbus, and Cascade hops. The overly complicated name gave testament to this complicated beer. There was a lot going on here.
For lunch we shared some Shishito Peppers, prepared with honey, vinegar, bee pollen, and Maldon salt, and also some Calamari Fritto, marinated in white wine with garlic and pickled onion. The food was very good, and there were plenty of squid tentacles in the calamari, which I always appreciate.
With the original brewing operations having been started by three childhood friends in nearby Ben Lomond, the Humble Sea Brewery was founded in 2015. They also have venues in Santa Cruz and Pacifica.
Related Links
- All about the various frogs found in California (CaliforniaHerps.Com)
- All about cooking with shishito peppers (Better Homes & Gardens)
- All about Phlegm, one of Sheffield’s best known graffiti artists