Over 60 craft breweries, ciders, and wineries gathered at Sunken Gardens for a day of local flavors

NORTH COUNTY — The Central Coast Craft Beer Festival hosted over 60 independently owned craft breweries, ciders, seltzers, and wineries on Saturday, March 22, at the Sunken Gardens in Atascadero. Hosted by the Central Coast Brewers Guild and presented by Visit Atascadero, the Central Coast Craft Beer Festival has become one of the best craft beer festivals on the Central Coast. 

Michael Hughs, a wholesaler for Colony Mash Brewing Co., said of the festival, “It has been absolutely amazing today.Everybody’s been so wonderful and friendly and I just love seeing our awesome community from all [over].”

The theme for this year’s event, “Support the Craft Beer Revolution,” was a present reminder to guests and the public to continue to support local craft breweries. This year was an invitational aspect, and Central Coast Brewers Guild members were able to invite other independently owned craft breweries from outside the tri-counties of Ventura, Santa Barbara, and San Luis Obispo. Some of those breweries include Green Cheek Beer Co. (Orange); Los Molinos Beer Co. (San Clemente); Pizza Port Brewing Co. (San Diego); Crow and Wolf Brewing (Clovis); and Ballast Point (San Diego). 

Photos by Rick Evans/ATN

Entertainment at the festival included the 90s Babiez out of Ventura, local reggae band Resination, and DJ Manuel Barbara from Traffic Records, along with plenty of great merchandise and food options, and everyone always must try Mega-Sized Beer Pong. 

Enjoying the sunny day, Sunken Gardens was packed with not only guests from out of town but many locals who came out to enjoy the festival. And despite being a beer festival, ciders and seltzers were also welcome.

“This is our favorite festival to do. We couldn’t not be here,” Cody Morrison with Tin City Cider told Atascadero News / Paso Robles Press. 

Tin City Cider offered its well-known Polly Dolly on tap — a unique blend of cider and rosé. Also offered was a new release, Castaway, which had a unique blend of papaya and feijoa.

“We have a lot of locals coming through,” Morrison said during the festival. “They’ve been to the tap house, they’re excited to be here. A lot of familiar faces … we love Atascadero. We love our local community, so I mean, it couldn’t be better.”

Colony Mash Brewing Co. was in attendance with some of their local favorites. The independent craft brewery based in Atascadero brought some crowd favorite seltzers and a Mexican imperial stout.

“We make our own seltzer base and we use actual fruit puree … then we have our VIP beer, which is a Mexican imperial stout, six different chilies, abuelitas chocolate, and a little bit of extra cinnamon in it,” Hughs explained.

The Central Coast Brewers Guild’s mission is to increase awareness by educating consumers about the California Central Coast’s influence on local craft beer. With the festival’s growing reputation and commitment to supporting independent craft breweries, it continues to be a must-attend event for beer lovers near and far. 

For more information and to look forward to next year’s event, visit centralcoastcraftbeerfest.com

Feature Image: A group of revelers live it up March 22 at the Central Coast Craft Beer Festival at Atascadero’s Sunken Gardens. Photo by Rick Evans/ATN