The Libertine Brewing Company Tasting Room (San Luis Obispo, CA)

The Libertine Brewing Company’s new tasting room was under construction when I visited. They were planning a soft opening in mid-February and a grand opening near the end of that month.

The smallish tasting room has 12 taps, all house brews -- but the large restaurant area will have 76 taps.This second area was still under wraps when I visited. In fact, I inadvertently strolled in, glass in hand, only to discover a large group of new employees undergoing a training session, and I beat a hasty retreat to the tasting room bar. 

The prices are fairly high: 5oz. taster for $3 / 12oz. glass for $6 / 32oz. growler for $12-15.

The focus at Libertine is on barrel-aged sour and wild ales, but they also have a few saisons and IPAs. I tried three small glasses and all were very good.

26 bottles were displayed in a set of coolers opposite the bar, priced between $12 and $30. Double magnum (three liter) bottles were going for $110-$150 … (one was named "Heaven is Expensive"…)    

It seems that this place will soon be one of the the two absolute must-visits (along with Firestone Walker in Paso Robles) in the Central Coast area. I looking forward to coming back.

The Libertine Brewing Company Tasting Room

1234 Broad St.

San Luis Obispo, CA 93401

Tel: 805 -548-2337

Hours:  Sunday-Wednesday: 11-10 / Thursday-Saturday 11-11

Firestone Walker Barrelworks

I visited Firestone Walker Barrelworks on a cold, wet Monday afternoon. The Barrelworks bar is off to the side of the main restaurant/bar area. I went in only to pick up some bottles and did not drink at the bar. The impressive tap list included ten wild ales and eight strong ales.

Firestone Walker Barrelworks deals in specialty beers, such as sour and wild ales, anniversary commemoration brews, and experimental one-offs. Some recent-year vintages available, too. There were bottles of perhaps 12-15 different varieties in a small cooler opposite the bar. Pours at the bar seemed expensive. The bottles are not so cheap, either.

The bartender was quite friendly, answered my questions fully, and then left me to wander around and make purchasing decisions on my own. I did have to listen to (or rather overhear) some fairly aggressive, loud corporate-speak from a few visiting beer reps at the bar.

Anyway, this is certainly the best place to sample or pick up bottles of very limited Firestone Walker beers -- ones that will likely never show up at your neighborhood bar or beer store.

Firestone Walker Barrelworks

620 McMurray Rd.

Buellton, California United States 93427

Taproom Phone Number: (805) 697-4777

Hours

Monday - Thursday: 11:30 to 8:30

Friday - Saturday: 11:00 to 9:00

Sunday: 11:00 to 8:30