Dunbar Brewing, Santa Margarita, CA

5/28/10

Whether you are a local or just passing through the area, plan on stopping by the Dunbar Brewing in Santa Margarita, California.  The town of Santa Margarita is about 10 minutes north of San Luis Obispo off of highway 101.  It is a quaint town with a population of less than 3000.  There are a couple of places to eat, a handful of shops, wine tasting and of course Dunbar Brewing.  

You would miss Dunbar if you weren’t seriously looking for it.  Look for the black and white sandwich sign in front of Ancient Peaks Wine Tasting.  Dunbar is located in a new building on the west end of town, behind Ancient Peak Winery’s tasting room, but in the same building. 

Chris Chambers owner, brewer and host has been brewing and selling beers on the Central Coast for years.  Previously he had a larger place in Los Osos.  Chris has taken his experience of over 13 years of brewing to create his dream.   I would have to classify the place as a micro-pub specializing in Irish style beer.  He makes 3 barrel batches and they are only sold at his place.  No bottling, no growlers, you must stop in to try his artisan beers. From the conversation we had, you can tell he is passionate about the quality of beer he serves.  

 We played hooky the other day and took a field trip to check out Dunbar Brewing.  The day we were there, he had the following on tap:

Dunbar Brown Porter
Dunbar Oatmeal Stout
Sierra Nevada Summerfest
Sierra Nevada Harvest Ale
Dogfish Head 90 min. IPA

Although he does not sell flights, he was very generous allowing us to taste before we picked the pint for the afternoon.  I had the Dunbar Brown Porter, while Eric had the Sierra Nevada Summerfest (Eric isn’t a big fan of porters and stouts).   Great tasting beers brewed on site, a nice clean establishment, an impressive selection of craft beers and a very informative host made it worth the trip.  I definitely recommend the place.     

Dunbar Brewing, SANTA MARGARITA
22720-A El Camino Real, Santa Margarita
(805) 704-9050

Link to Dunbar's Facebook Page http://www.facebook.com/people/Dunbar-Brewing/100000164755392