Santa Monica's Only Craft Beer Brewery Launching a Taproom Later This Year

Don’t look now, Santa Monica: there’s a craft beer brewery and taproom headed your way, which should help to add to the impressive 405-adjacent drinking options available from Santa Monica to the South Bay. And according to LA Weekly, it could be here before the end of the year.

The name Santa Monica Brew Works may already be familiar to some eagle-eyed drinkers, though the 2015 debut of their on-site consumption space is certainly going to bring loads of new fans. The fledgling craft brewery has technically been around since late 2012, but didn’t really pop up on anyone’s radar until April 2013 when the team applied for an ABC license to manufacture beer on premises.

In reality, Santa Monica Brew Works has only really been making beers since last year, rounding out a collection that includes a personal take on a witbier, an XPA, and more. Currently, they pour on a rotating basis at mostly Westside spots like Rustic Canyon, but are quietly growing their accounts.

Owner Scott Francis says that the on-site expansion (their production brewery sits just below a UCLA clinic) will be more than just a few empty barrels for seating and some grain bags thrown around. "We don’t just want to stick a bar in the corner," says Francis, adding that customers will be given a more refined experience while tasting from a selection of widely available and one-off Santa Monica Brew Works beers.

No official timetable for opening, but everyone involved says a late 2015 arrival is likely.