Santa Barbara Brewing Company
Santa Barbara, California, USA · Est. 1995
Tally's Take
Why this matters
California Pass 187. Noozhawk's 2008 interview with Larry Kreider identifies him as a co-founder of Santa Barbara Brewing Co. in 1995 and says he moved to Santa Barbara that year specifically to open the brewery with partners. A 2006 Santa Barbara Independent feature confirms beer was brewed on premises at 501 State Street. A 2009 Daily Nexus profile documents the brewery's house-beer lineup and continued operation. Noozhawk reported in September 2018 that Santa Barbara Brewing Company would shut its doors on October 1, 2018, with the space to reopen as The Cruisery. Exact identity of all original partners and any legal asset/recipe continuity into The Cruisery remain unresolved.
The Beer Library
Beers
Pacific Pale Ale
Year-RoundAmerican Pale Ale
California Pass 187. Aliases: https://dailynexus.com/2009-04-29/sports-bars/. Daily Nexus 2009 identifies Pacific Pale Ale among Santa Barbara Brewing Company's regular house brews; Noozhawk's 2018 closure report names it again among the brewery's iconic beers.
Drank this? Add it to your passport →Santa Barbara Blonde
Year-RoundBlonde Ale
California Pass 187. Aliases: https://www.independent.com/2006/10/19/caffeine-cocktails-bosb06/. Santa Barbara Independent 2006 says Santa Barbara Brewing Co. brewed on premises and calls Santa Barbara Blonde its most popular beer; Daily Nexus 2009 and Noozhawk 2018 independently preserve the name.
Drank this? Add it to your passport →Gold Coast Wheat
Year-RoundWheat Ale / exact subtype unknown
California Pass 187. Aliases: https://dailynexus.com/2009-04-29/sports-bars/. Daily Nexus 2009 lists Gold Coast Wheat among Santa Barbara Brewing Company's regular house brews. Exact wheat-beer subtype and ABV remain UNKNOWN.
Drank this? Add it to your passport →Rincon Red
Year-RoundRed / Amber Ale
California Pass 187. Aliases: Rincon Red Ale. Daily Nexus 2009 calls Rincon Red one of the brewery's regular house beers and even notes its use in the brewpub's fish-and-chips batter; Noozhawk 2018 names it among the closing brewery's iconic beers.
Drank this? Add it to your passport →Old Town Nut Brown Ale
Year-RoundBrown Ale
California Pass 187. Aliases: https://dailynexus.com/2009-04-29/sports-bars/. Daily Nexus 2009 lists Old Town Nut Brown Ale among Santa Barbara Brewing Company's regular house brews.
Drank this? Add it to your passport →State Street Stout
Year-RoundStout
California Pass 187. Aliases: https://dailynexus.com/2009-04-29/sports-bars/. Daily Nexus 2009 lists State Street Stout among Santa Barbara Brewing Company's regular house brews and describes it as intensely dark.
Drank this? Add it to your passport →Show your working
Sources
- recordProbable
Brewery record taken from Tally's California master, Pass 187, which cited https://www.noozhawk.com/0908_noozhawk_talks_leslie_dinaberg_sits_down_with_larry_kreider/ for this entry. The cited page has not been opened by the archive.
Tally's California master, Pass 187 (research workbook) · Tally's Beer Universe research workbook · 2026
CommercialMedium reliabilityAccessed 2026-08-19Reviewed 2026-08-19
Only the claims above are sourced. Everything else on this page is the archive's own research and has not yet been tied to a document — which is worth knowing rather than hiding.
Straight answers
Common questions about Santa Barbara Brewing Company
- Who owns Santa Barbara Brewing Company?
- Santa Barbara Brewing Company is independently owned — there is no parent company above it on record. It is based in Santa Barbara, California, USA.
- Is Santa Barbara Brewing Company independent?
- Yes. Santa Barbara Brewing Company is recorded as independent, with no parent company. Independence is recorded as the brewery states it; where a stake is a minority holding or joint venture, this archive leaves it unmapped rather than calling it ownership.
- Is Santa Barbara Brewing Company still open?
- No. Santa Barbara Brewing Company has closed. California Pass 187. Noozhawk's 2008 interview with Larry Kreider identifies him as a co-founder of Santa Barbara Brewing Co. in 1995 and says he moved to Santa Barbara that year specifically to open the brewery with partners. A 2006 Santa Barbara Independent feature confirms beer was brewed on premises at 501 State Street. A 2009 Daily Nexus profile documents the brewery's house-beer lineup and continued operation. Noozhawk reported in September 2018 that Santa Barbara Brewing Company would shut its doors on October 1, 2018, with the space to reopen as The Cruisery. Exact identity of all original partners and any legal asset/recipe continuity into The Cruisery remain unresolved.
- When was Santa Barbara Brewing Company founded?
- Santa Barbara Brewing Company was founded in 1995 in Santa Barbara, California, USA.
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