13 Best Craft Breweries near Atascadero

“Such. Great. Beer! This place is tiny but mighty. The patio is comfy and there is a great list of beers to choose from. Get a flight in a baking tray and ask their recommendations - he pointed me to some things I'd never have tried and it was fantastic!“

“I love beer. Every road trip I take, I do my due diligence and look for new breweries I haven’t yet experienced. Checking my Untappd app, I saw Spent Grain in Atascadero. Driving from Prunedale to SLO, I made it a point to add their address as a point in my GPS.

Upon arriving, I parked in the rear due to not a lot of available street parking. I walked to the street side front and looked for the brewery. Couldn’t find it. After double checking Google for the address, I looked again to no avail. Dumbfounded, I went to Google once again and delved deeper.

Upon reading the Google reviews, I found that the brewery was very much a speakeasy, if breweries can be defined as such. And why not?

The Google reviews me ruined texting for an appointment. Oh shit! I hadn’t made one! Well, can’t hurt to ask, right? So I sent a text message(available right there in their Google page) explaining my situation and lack of a reservation. Chris, the owner and brewmaster, replied quickly, and instructed me to meet him around back by the glass doors.

I met him at an unmarked entrance that required a security code for entry. He greeted me warmly and walked me down a long non-distinct hallway. We walked through a door that had the address of the brewery.

Now, I have been to 500+ breweries across the US. As I stated previously, I love beer. I love breweries as well. Big or small, it doesn’t matter. Every one has something unique to offer. Chris has built an intimate brewery experience. The entire brewery may be sixteen by sixteen feet. Drinking at the three seat bar makes you feel like a part of the brewing process. Sneeze(please don’t) and all the equipment will need to be re sanitized. You’re really that close. There are 6 to 8 brewing barrels in along the back wall. I’m no expert on size, but I would guess they were between 50 and 100 gallons, which means a lot of small batch brewing. That leaves a lot of opportunity for experimentation and rotation.

The walls are adorned with plenty of swag from a simple t-shirt and truckers hat to top of the line, $100 flannels.

Chris is incredibly friendly. Considering that the brewery may have a maximum occupancy of 5 to 10 beer lovers at a time, one has to be a good conversationalist, and he definitely is.

Chris has almost two decade of experience under his belt, having opened Dunbar Brewing in 2008 in Santa Margarita.

Chris’ beer is great. He let me try a few IPA’a before settling on a pint. He also filled a crowler of his Double IPA Slingin’ Tinnies for me to go straight from the barrel.

Just the idea of a brewery that runs on word of mouth, speakeasy type vibes is fantastic. I’ve been raving about the venue and beer to my friends back home and plan on making a return trip soon, this time making a reservation ahead of time.“

“Eric knows his beer many options and all tasted great!“

“We love trivia and bingo nights, it's a chill and fun place to hang out as a family! The arcades are cool and bowling is great! I don't drink beer, but my husband does and he loves their beer, they have won a ton of awards!“

“This place is great, my brother and I always come here for football games. Alcoholic drinks are good, you definitely won’t leave sober if you get any beer there lol. It’s on the more expensive side but the food is well worth it. I’ve tried a few different things here and I’ve never been disappointed or dissatisfied with anything. The servers I’ve come across are great.“

“Awesome location, beers, food and staff!“

“Really good beer and great staff. A nice selection of fresh beers ranging from lagers to saisons to IPAs. The staff also knows beer and brewing and are great about talking shop. The only down side are the acoustics. It's my new must stop“

“what a great experience. They allow dogs, super friendly staff and great beer. We had such a grand time. If you’re in the area, Go!“

“Everything was good, but the single malt, as well as lemonade and passionfruit/orange/guava cocktails were our favorites. Delicious. While we were there, a local was picking up her big weekly flat of lemonade seltzer. We may need to grab a flat next time we are in town.“

“what a great experience. They allow dogs, super friendly staff and great beer. We had such a grand time. If you’re in the area, Go!“

“We've been coming here so often that they started remembering what we liked to order. The stout is good and not heavy so I can drink a whole pint and not be dizzy in the slightest. The cheese curds are awesome with the ranch sauce they make. I usually get the wagu burger and add bacon/avocado to the burger. They cook it medium rare and it melts in your mouth. The chicken strips are well seasoned. We love the tacos. The establishment has only been open for a short while and I really already like coming here. We usually get a couple krowlers to go of the stout which they can do with any of their beers on tap.“

“We just had Dinner after not going for a long time and we had the pizza and the bacon bleu burger but the best thing was Tyler he was an excellent waiter server. The dinner was great the atmosphere was great it was a good idea to go there much better than the first time when they first opened highly recommend you go back if you didn’t like it the first time. Thanks Tyler you were the best!!!“

“We just had Dinner after not going for a long time and we had the pizza and the bacon bleu burger but the best thing was Tyler he was an excellent waiter server. The dinner was great the atmosphere was great it was a good idea to go there much better than the first time when they first opened highly recommend you go back if you didn’t like it the first time. Thanks Tyler you were the best!!!“