There’s a little brewery in an industrial park outside of Santa Cruz that’s making a big name for itself as one of the area’s, if not the country’s, most inspired breweries. Sante Adairius Rustic Ales (SARA) is “enamored by saison,” says SARA Co-owner Adair Paterno, who opened Santa Adairius in 2012 with her partner Tim Clifford. For SARA, saison represents an ancient approach to thinking about beer: using ingredients that are local and seasonal, working with what you have.
SARA’s house saison, Anais, is a dry, lightly acidic, fruity Belgian-style beer that serves as the base for many barreled and blended beers. It is brewed with Pilsner, barley, wheat, and spelt malts and fermented with American-grown hops of European origin.
SARA also crafts Lucybelle, a crisp saison brewed with Brettanomyces, and West Ashley, a saison aged in French oak pinot noir barrels with apricots and their house yeast culture.