CA, Buellton, Firestone Walker Taproom and Restaurant

Just off Highway 101 in the little town of Buellton is the Firestone Walker Brewing Company tap room and restaurant. Unfortunately we arrived in mid afternoon having spent an hour or two at the Firestone Winery only to find the restaurant was closed, (regular opening hours are 5:00 pm to 8:30 pm weekdays, extended to 9:00 pm on Fridays and Saturdays) but they were serving meals in the bar so we stayed. I sampled a flight of beers, four small (4 oz?) glasses of beer, that were all excellent.

· Pale 31 is aromatic California pale ale, the body was a little light for my taste.
· DBA (Double Barrel Ale) is a barrel fermented British pale ale, a little heavier with a nice flavor
· Union Jack India Pale Ale was excellent, nice taste and smell of the hops and god full body
· Walkers Reserve is a darker, chocolate malt porter, a little chewy

It was a delight to find a pub serving a ploughman’s lunch, cheese and cold meats with pickles and French bread, so we tried one of these and a bowl of chili. Both were very good, though raw onion substituted for the pickles in the ploughman’s. The chili was flavorful and filling. It was worth stopping to sample the beers, I would like to go back and eat in the restaurant and try one of the specialty ales they also serve.

The bill was reasonable, $26.00 including tip and we received a free pint glass as part of the cost of the beer sampler.

http://www.firestonewalker.com/index.php?s=in_search_of_pale&c=taproom_restaurant