Brass
Bear: Living the America Brewing Dream in Santa Barbara
The
Santa Barbara Funk Zone has become the hot spot for area brew
and wine aficionados, and when Seth and Lindsay Anderson, owners
of Brass Bear Brewery & Bistro, had a chance to start their
new business in this hip area they grabbed it. According to
Lindsay they had spent years studying the art of brew making,
beginning in their Manhattan financial district apartment. They
traveled to Australia and New Zealand to study what is sometimes
called zymurgy - the study of fermentation, with a plan to eventually
return to Santa Barbara, where Lindsey grew up, to create a
tasting home for their master brews and start a family. As the
plan grew so did the services, and they added good local wines
for patrons to savor with a selection of food menu items.
Brass Bear View
The
Brass Bear is located at the right far end of the City of Santa
Barbara Cabrillo & Garden Street parking lot as you enter
to park, and looks like a cozy cottage at first glance. Lindsay,
a design major, has made use of every inch in their venue creating
a chic and space effective ambiance. The walls are covered with
paintings created by local artists, and the overall impression
is clean, sleek and inviting.
Design by Lindsay Anderson
Chef
Cisco Arias makes one mean and delicious burger, served with
kettle cooked chips that is a perfect meal with a flight of
Brass Bear Brew. His menu offers a variety of skewers made of
shrimp, tri-tip and chicken as well as tico tacos to enjoy with
potato cake (a recipe of Seth's grandmother made with egg battered
smashed potatoes), a green salad, bowtie pasta salad, chips
or Costa Rican slaw that are all very unique. Additional menu
items include grilled cheese or grilled ham & cheese sandwiches,
chicken salad Sammie or a grilled veggie wrap.
Medley of food & Beverage
For
the 'ladies who lunch' that enjoy charcuterie this is your new
favorite place. Items for this amazing tray are sourced locally
with C'est Cheese and include Holey Cow, Mt. Tam and Cabot Cheddar
with a few divine meats from Finocchiona Salami and Niman Ranch
ham to enjoy with dried apricots and delicious olive rosemary
bread to dip in oil and balsamic vinegar. Their wine menu has
some great local wines to enjoy with charcuterie including Hahn
SLH Estate Pinot Noir, Brander Savignon Blanc and an extremely
nice Piper Sonoma Rose, along additional wine menu selections.
Charcuterie & Wine
Their
wonderful assortment of beer can be sampled in a tempting tasting
flight of Goldilocks Blonde, Cave Age Lager, Blood Orange/Raspberry
Imperial Gose and Hopping Grizzly HPA, Captain Fatty's Rise
& Grind Coffee Porter, Firestone Luponic Distorton, IPA,
SLO Brewing Reggae Red, American Amber that are all wonderful
and pair well with all the menu items. Soda and iced tea are
available for kids and designated drivers. Matt Matlis is the
main man in the bar and knows his brews as well as how to pair
wines perfectly.
The
Brass Bear is like watching an American dream come true, and
a testament to that old adage 'plan your work and work your
plan'. Lindsay and Seth have created a very special niche for
the brewery set, and now have an amazing little six month old
boy named William, who is adorable and loves the potato cake!
I'm recommending this place to everyone and can hardly wait
to go back again with friends to gossip over a charcuterie tray
and a glass of Brander Savignon Blanc. Cheers!
Brass
Bear Brewery & Bistro
28 Anacapa St #E_
Santa Barbara, CA_93101
(805) 770-7651
http://www.brassbearbrewing.com/
By Bonnie Carroll
About Bonnie Carroll
Bonnie Carroll has been a food/travel/lifestyle writer since
1983. She is the founder & publisher of Bonnie Carroll's
Life Bites News - www.lifebitesnews.com,
does travel and food reporting on KZSB1290 radio, and contributes
to a variety of national and international travel/lifestyle
publications. Her first children's book C.C. Charles was published
in 2002 and she is currently working on a second book. Contact
her at Contact her at writebc@aol.com.
