Sante Adairius Rustic Ales

Santa Cruz County gets to boast the addition of a sixth brewery to their list. The latest is Sante Adairius Rustic Ales which just had it's soft opening attended by a large and enthusiast crowd. This new brewery is located in the city of Capitola, and it's owner Tim Clifford is excited to be producing small batch Belgian style ales and barrel aged sour beers.  After spending a couple hours sampling what he had on tap I can say that he's on to something special. Here's what they have to say for themselves:

"We focus our attention on brewing rustic, unfiltered, aromatic beers that are approachable and unique. We pull from our home brewing background to build beers that pay homage to tradition, but break new ground in American brewing techniques and flavors. We are brewers of big ideas in very small batches."

I started out tasting (that is, I had a full glass of) the Saison Bernice which was crisp, spicy and very flavorful. The lighter of the beers on tap, this 6.5% Saison fermented with brettanomyces made a big impact on me with it's easy drinkability. I followed that up with the 7.4% Belgian IPA and was very impress with how well the big hop presence was balanced with the phenolic yeast qualities, it was my favorite of the night (I returned for a second glass of this one).




I also had a glass of a dark sour beer called Nonna's Blend that had a delicious and unusual roasty sourness with a lingering fruit flavor. This beer is a blend of farmhouse and Belgian style rye beer aged in Pinot barrels. Quite good. Others on tap were the 7.2% 831 IPA,  a 6.8% Belgian golden ale and the Sara Loves Brett blonde ale featuring lemony tart brett goodness that sold out quickly.

Tim and Adair

The crowd seemed to be thoroughly enjoying the beers as they overflowed the tasting room and out into the parking lot. Tim and his wife Adair were extremely busy trying to keep up with the demand for his tasty beers. Moving at breakneck speed, the pair managed to fill everyone's glasses as the occasional roar went up from the crowd along with the sound of breaking glass.

This new brewery is just what's needed to fill the thirst of those that enjoy the sours and for me the icing on the cake is that they're just around the corner from me. Within walking distance in fact! I like that.

If you haven't made it over to try out these beers, do it. Do it now, you'll be very glad you did.

P.S.
I've reach 9% of my Kickstarter goal for my project Beer School and looking for more contributors. Help me make it and receive some cool swag including brewing lessons and samples of homebrew. Let's keep this ball rolling with less kicking.