Festival featured over 55 independently owned breweries, ciders, seltzers, kombuchas, and wines
by Christianna Marks
CENTRAL COAST — On Saturday, Oct. 23, the Sunken Gardens in Atascadero was filled with over 2,100 guests. The reason they were there; The Central Coast Craft Beer Festival! The third annual Craft Beer Festival, luckily, beat out the rain, and the people were ready for the festivities.
“The City of Atascadero has such a wonderful charm to it, and the Sunken Gardens [where the festival is held] is a perfect space to gather everyone for the day to celebrate craft beer along the central coast,” said Central Coast Brewers Guild president, Tony Grimes.
The Festival had to be canceled last year due to COVID-19 restrictions, and this year it was rescheduled from Spring to Fall; however, that didn’t have an effect on the event at all.
“Everyone was super excited that we were finally able to host it [The Central Coast Craft Beer Festival]. They didn’t mind that it happened in October instead of March,” said event organizer Andres Nuno. “Our hopes are to keep it in March [next year], but we will make our final decision in the next couple weeks,” he continued.
This year, The Central Coast Craft Beer Festival featured over 55 independently owned breweries, ciders, seltzers, kombuchas, and wines on site. The event includes alcohol-makers from Monterey through Ventura Counties. So there was something for everyone.
The event also featured live entertainment to keep the crowd pumped. Resination (a local reggae band), semi-finalist Will Bremen from The Voice, and DJ Hecktik all performed.
“The bands were fun, and everyone truly had a fun time,” said Atascadero Deputy City Manager Terrie Banish.
Since the Festival took a year off, there were plenty of new breweries participating in the craft beer fest this time around. Breweries that weren’t open prior to March 2019, which is the last time the Central Coast Craft Beer Festival was held.
“We were super excited to have several new Central Coast Craft Brewers Guild members join us, like Wild Fields, Colony Culture, California Coast Beer, Humdinger, Liquid Gravity, Tarantula Hill, and There Does Not Exist,” Nuno said.
There were also a variety of food trucks, vendors, and even a few lawn games available to everyone attending.
“We love having the Central Coast Craft Beer Festival in Atascadero. The city embraces the craft beer movement, and you can’t ask for a better setting for a craft beer festival. We love working with the community and look forward to hosting this event for years to come,” Nuno adds.
Cheers and Beers until next year!
For more information on next years event or other festivities hosted by the Central Coast Brewers Guild, visit centralcoastbrewersguild.com.
