Beer geeks, have you heard? Brewer Chuck Silva of Green Flash Brewing Co. in San Diego has his eyes set on opening a new craft brewery in SLO. The Central Coast native will return to his old stomping grounds and brew up something frothy and delicious in the coming months. Stay tuned for more deets … Firestone Walker Brewing Co. has made history with an unprecedented hot streak, ladies and gents. The Paso Robles brewery earned top honors at the Great American Beer Fest for the fourth time in a decade, solidifying its position as Mid-Sized Brewing Company and Brewer of the Year. Congrats, Matt Brynildson and team … Central Coast Brewing also took home a nice prize during the festival, earning a gold medal for their Monterey Street Pale Ale (centralcoastbrewing.com).

Margarita the beautiful!

Ancient Peaks is known for many things: award-winning wine, a plethora of interesting soil structures, zip lines soaring over undulating Santa Margarita hills—and now—lunch. And not just any lunch. Chefs Jeff and Cheyne Jackson of the Range Restaurant have whipped up an impeccable menu that ranges from sandwiches named after the ranch’s founding owners (the “Dougie,” named after Doug Filliponi, features ham, manchego cheese, arugula, red onion, muffuletta remoulade) to a meze plate brimming with sage hummus, marinated olives, herbed goat cheese, and house pickles. The café and tasting room is newly remolded with indoor/outdoor seating and a fresh, spacious bar. Stop in for a taste, and don’t forget to ask your tasting room pourer about Cinnamon, the ranch’s famous cow now memorialized on the café’s wall (open 11:30 to 5 p.m. Thursday through Sunday; 22720 El Camino Real, Santa Margarita).

Fall flavors

Slurp, slurp, yum! Mark your calendars for the fifth annual Soupabration, a carnival of soup, wine, and chocolate coming up this Nov. 1 in Morro Bay. The whole event benefits Pacific Wildlife Care and will feature a range of restaurants, including Black Cat Bistro, Edna Valley Market-Deli, Fig Good Food, Nibble Nook, Robin’s Restaurant, Shine Café, and others paired alongside a dozen local wineries. Sip artisanal soups and dine on chocolate cookies and see who wins bragging rights as creator of the best soup/cookie (for tickets, go to pacificwildlifecare.org/soup) … Paso Robles Wine Country’s Harvest Wine Weekend is coming up quick this Oct. 16 to 18 with a host of wineries throwing fun dinners, live music events, and more (go to pasowine.com for a list of shindigs) … and don’t forget about SLO Wine Country’s Harvest on the Coast this Nov. 6 through 8 (for a list of fun things to do, see, eat, and sip, go to slowine.com).

Send your best fall flavors to [email protected].