If there's a Western themed anything in Southern CA you better believe I'm trying to be there, and Buckles 'n' Brews ain't no exception! En Fuego Events always puts on incredible festivals throughout SB County, but this one stands out to me because of it's small local feel. When you think festival you probably think Coachella or some massive event on a field somewhere. Buckles 'n' Brews is a smaller sized, half indoor half outdoor, beer sampling event at a hidden carriage museum right by downtown Santa Barbara. Don't be fooled though, there's plenty of parking despite the location size. This fest has everything from IPAs to refreshing ciders, Tri-Tip BBQ sandwiches and home brewed hoppy. Each year the vendors slightly vary and the beers themselves are always new and unique. There's fantastic live music played by the Dusty Jugz which always ends up in a "stage" full of line dancers. I'd recommend this festival to anyone looking to have a wild western themed Saturday with close friends and locals alike, dancing to country and lifting a cheers to craft beers in a nice, local intimate location. read more

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To beat the traffic from OC to Santa Barbara, my friend and I started head out at 8 am. We arrived at 10:30 am and had our morning walk on the Stearn Wharf Pier. It was quite a relaxing morning before the event. We didn't know about the parking until we walked in from the 90 mins street parkings. Got handed out a wristband, a cute short glass, and a yelp bag. So awesome to get in this event and tried as much beers as I can. So much fun the beer I like the most is the High Heat Edition from The Brewhouse, it habanero spicy, love it...found my new beer. There is pretzels to snack on. Drink and play! It a great event where we can relax and enjoy with country music and tastes all kind of great beers. People here are so friendly and very informative about the beers and anything you wanted to ask. Also game to play, basically it's a wonderful and fun event to be at and enjoy after our busy working day. My friend and I had a great time. Thanks, Dani! read more

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This was a great event! The selection, theme, and location was perfect and just out of the norm. The intimate size helps it feel less overwhelming and easier to slowly try each and every booth. The VIP offerings were great, especially to have a specific brews just for us and a calmer environment. A few had some crazy cool/different offerings for the VIPs (looking at your Firestone Walker), letting us try something new or strong or small batch. That's a special kinda treatment. The theme was awesome, especially for the location of the Carriage Museum! The band (Dusty Jugs) that played was so fun to enjoy the beer to, and it was awesome when more than one line dance started up. Everyone was having a great time, and I think that was helped a ton by their music. My absolute favorite experience was over at the Firestone Walker tent. They walked you through how to taste the Luponic Distortion and map out the flavor notes in comparison to jars of each of those flavors (lemon, grapefruit, pine, etc.). It was so fun to do a sommelier-like tasting for beer! We then compared our thoughts to the brewmaster's, and overall it was fun to think about that beer in a more analytical (but still delicious) way. And for doing the tasting analysis, we got free swag and picked out a FW hat and bottle opener! Each vendor had great options to match the sunny Santa Barbara day, which was perfect. Most were crisp and refreshing, and several places featured local citrus in their beers, which was awesome. Barrelhouse 101 had the Hell or High Watermelon which was PERFECT for this event - just fruity enough with a melon, crisp flavor. I loved it! Ballast Point's Wahoo White Citrus was also a top favorite. There was limited seating in shaded areas, but it looked like most Santa Barbarans were soaking up the sun in their cowboy boots and cowboy hats. While it was warm, it was nice that overall, all the tasting options were pretty light, making them great for a warmer beer festival. And of course, the Yelp popcorn was the perfect saltly complement to the ice cold beer. The generous beer pours (and oh my were they generous!) went fast when I had that popcorn right beside it! Don't worry if you can't or don't want to drink the whole tasting, though - the next vendor would always do a quick dump or rinse before pouring in their beer. read more

By far the most chill and cool beer fest held in SB. On top of that you will get the best beers poured from the best breweries within 100 miles. It's in an awesome location and never feels overcrowded. Add a bunch of great breweries, good music and great people and you can't go wrong. 2 years in a row we've been impressed and can't wait for the next one read more

Loved this event and all thanks to Yelp SB. I love the little foodie community Yelp is building here! This was my first beer festival and I'm hooked. I loved the variety, the different vendors, and cute take away glass. Loved this event and can't wait to attend more in the area! read more

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Good low-key event as far as Santa Barbara beer festivals go. Great variety of beers and meads from local and non-local vendors. Only 1 food option, would have like a see a few more snacks available. The highlight was the space, such a great venue! Live band added to the ambiance too. read more

Thanks to Sb yelp I was able to attend this fun event, Had never heard about it before, wow and what a great fun beer festival it is!!! Ended up going with my brother and his wife and they also had a great time. Getting an extra ticket online was super easy and quick, easy to follow from link on bucked and brews website. We did have VIP passes, so we arrived an hour early, defined worth going early. There was plenty of parking, and no line to check in!! We got checked in and bracelets put on, our little tasting glass and every one supper friendly during all that process. It was my first time at the carriage museum, so that was nice I got to see it. As VIP we had that extra hour before everyone got in, some breweries did have special brews to offer us. One thing I really wish they had was maybe another food option, the sandwiches need to also be made onsite, bread was soaked and mushy when we got it. Also they had the bags of chips which were stale, and I couldn't find a date on them, so not sure if they were beating the date marked. Love, love, love the yelp table set up there, they had popcorn which was a great snack to have with beer, who knew!! All breweries were great, all people friendly ready to pour and explain their brews, their contents and special things about them. The band kept the fun going but wish they had another band too, or music in between their breaks, which were few the time I was there. All in all great, fun festival. So glad I got to taste and sample so many beers, I did discover couple favorite ones!! read more

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This was such a fun event! I love that it was on the smaller side because I then had the chance to visit each vendor! I got the chance to try so many different beers and really liked all of the beers I tried! The VIP hour was worth it because there was many specialty small batch beers being poured during this hour. Some of the breweries even continued to pour their special beers throughout the day too! This fest has everything from sour beers, to IPAs, to stouts, to refreshing ciders and more. Tri-Tip BBQ sandwiches were around and so delicious too! There was some other vendors besides just food and drinks. There was some clothing vendors, a cocktail mixer company, and a jewelry vendor too! I thoroughly enjoyed the band and the live music too. By the end of the event everyone was dancing and having such a great time! I had so much fun at this event and I look forward to coming again in the future. read more

LOVE this smaller scale invitational beer fest! The VIP hour was well worth it with specialty small batch beers being poured. Discovered some new Westlake breweries that I had never heard of and other more common breweries brought interesting beers, not necessarily their flagship beers. And to top it all off, I thoroughly enjoyed the Dusty Jugs band! read more

Great beer festival. Good selection and good atmosphere. The small size let's you talk to the brewers and understand what flavors are in the beer. read more

Amazing time with great weather! A nice variety of drinks as well as some outstanding sandwiches to top it all of. Will be back next time! Perfect way to spend an afternoon with friends and family. Everyone was friendly and helpful. Side note, some of the best cider out there. 10/10 read more

One of the better beer festival experiences. Perfect mix of vendors, music food and people gives laid back vibe with great tasting beer, cider and wine. Definitely recommend to anyone looking for a entertaining Saturday with the desire to expand their horizons into the world of craft beer! read more