Third Annual Santa Cruz Beer Festival Draws Over 4,000 People

Around 4,500 people poured into Skypark in Scotts Valley Saturday afternoon to soak up sunny weather and sample beer -- which came from breweries spanning across Santa Cruz County and the country.

The initial line to the third annual Hop N’ Barley Festival -- which lasted from 12:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. -- was an hour wait, even for those who paid for their $30 ticket in advance. Once inside, festival goers waited up to an additional 20 minutes to sample from over 40 breweries.

The number of tasting tickets was limited to 3,000 so there would be enough supplies to go around, according to event organizers. The rest of the attendees came to hang out in the park, listen to live music, and shop from a myriad of stands.

Still, some of the breweries, like Sante Adairus Rustic Ales from Capitola, took down their booths by 3 p.m. due to running out of samples.

Dustin Colegrove from Felton attended the festival for the first time with his wife to celebrate their six-year anniversary and “support the local community,” he said with a Guinness in hand.

Local Emma McNeil prefered the Rogue Ales. “It’s a really good, hearty beer,” she said.

Steve Zabel, a member of Santa Cruz’ Seven Bridges Cooperative for homebrewing, was impressed at how much the festival grew in size in only three years.

“The first year there was only a small horseshoe of businesses,” he said. “Now they’re stretching all around the fences.”

All proceeds from the event's ticket sales went to the Community Housing Land Trust of Santa Cruz County.