SEAFOOD & BREWSKIS

One of the redeeming qualities of Santa Cruz seems to be its proximity to a large number of micro breweries.  Having been thwarted in our attempt to wander up to Boulder Creek Brewing Co. to sample their wares we regrouped and the next night I grabbed Tama up from work and we headed south on good old Highway 1 around the horn of Monterey Bay.

First stop was in the small town of Marina for a visit to The English Ales Brewpub.  Just off the main drag, in the merchant area of town this was a charming blue collar gathering spot. It is the closest thing I have ever seen, this side of the pond, which resembles an honest-to-god English pub.  Nowhere in sight are the acres of dark oak paneling and the faux horse brasses. No dark crannies with green glass shades on the lighting nor gigantic Guinness mirrors.  Tall windows face the street letting in plenty of light to wash over the owner’s eclectic and whimsical collection of oddments and nearly 700 regular’s mugs hang from the ceiling. It was about 6:00 on a Friday night and the place was packed. One of the brewers was out in front have a smoke and, having spotted my notebook, covered in beer stickers, he made a point to chat me up and make recommendations about their beers. No IPAs or apricot ales here… they only make English style ales, porters and stouts. Following his advice I had a pint of their Anniversary English Ale since they were out of their true ESB.  It was the brewmeister’s first totally original recipe and it speaks well of his talents. This is a place that I will visit many more times.

A beer and some jalapeño poppers under our belts we headed down the highway to Monterey where, after some wrong turns and a long and valiant search for parking, we ended up at The Cannery Row Brewing Co. for more beers and dinner. It’s a big, big place and it is right in the middle of tourista central so, on a Friday night, it was a bit of a madhouse.

That being said, because our hearts are pure and our cause is just, we were in the right spot to snag a table in the bar after only a few moments and in no time at all the waitress was hovering and delivering beers and dinner menus.  I sampled Madame Flora’s Red Light Special and Canning Line Belgian Ale and found them both excellent (keep your taps cleaned and pay attention to your brewing and you have my vote…)  In spite of the crush of people and the noise level in a cavernous brick warehouse (4 big screen flat screens behind the bar…) the dinner was yummy and the beers were, as I said, excellent.

There was one more brewpub in Monterey but it was downtown in the square where they were have at least one extremely upscale car show and parking was, at best, just a dream so we turned the car homeward leaving us an excuse to return for another visit.