March 22, 2016 – Monterey’s popular Alvarado Street Brewery will begin producing its delicious craft beers at a second brewery this week, located in Salinas. The additional space will allow head brewer and co-owner J.C. Hill to keep up with increasing demand and create new taste sensations
Situated near the intersection of Dayton and Harkins, in an industrial part of town, the production brewery resides in a 5,300 square foot space and will afford Hill increased fermentation capacity.
While the production brewery is a second location for Alvarado Street Brewery, Hill says, “The idea is for us to not run out of beer for the brew pub [in Monterey].” He admits, “Right now our IPA and other beers are only lasting a week.” And, at the time of this post, they are tapping six house-brewed beers and twelve beers from other brewers. With the brand-new twenty barrel system installed at the Salinas brewery, Hill shared that they’ll be increasing offerings at Alvarado Street Brewery to a minimum of sixteen house beers. So, it’s more likely they’ll have favorite brews available for longer.
Also in the works for Hill and the Alvarado Street Brewery team is the long-awaited opening of the beer garden at the brewery on Alvarado. Set to open in the middle of April, the beer garden will offer counter service al fresco and will operate as the retail space and to-go portion of Alvarado Street Brewery. Patrons will be able to order some food, grab a beer, and relax in the outdoor space tucked between Alvarado and Calle Principal. In fact, you will be able to access the beer garden from either street.
Having installed a new smoker in the beer garden, Hill plans to put it to good use, offering a rotating daily menu of smoked meats and barbeque. For instance, one day, customers will be able to order ribs, on another day it’ll be brisket, and chicken might be offered on yet another day.
In addition to the good eats, Hill will be offering 32 ounce crowlers of his house brews. A crowler—as its name sounds—is a combination of a can and a growler. Hill explains, “You start off with an open can without a lid. And you end up with a custom-seamed can of beer.” An on-demand fill may be purchased to go for a quick summer picnic or dinner at home.
Though the crowlers will be available as soon as the beer garden opens, by early summer Hill anticipates having some pre-canned brews on hand. “We’ll have some of our more popular brews ready to go,” he says.
Peninsula Pilsner and Mai Tai P.A. will be available in six-packs or four-packs of 12 ounce cans. The pilsner is crisp and clean and decidedly hoppy. The Mai Tai P.A. is an American Strong Pale Ale made with Mosaic hops that render a mellow bitterness and big aromas of tropical fruit. Think passion fruit, guava, and lychee. Mai Tai P.A. was awarded a Gold Medal at the 2015 Great American Beer Festival.
Towards the end of April, Hill anticipates opening the doors to a tasting room at the production brewery. Stay tuned for more updates what Hill and Alvarado Street Brewing have in store for the beer lovers of the Central Coast.
About the author
Camilla M. Mann has crammed a lot of different jobs into four decades: florist, waitress, SCUBA divemaster, stock photo agency manager, stroller fitness teacher, writer, editor, and au pair. But, if she had to distill who she is today – tree-hugging, veggie-crunching, jewelry-designing mean mommy who loves to cook but hates to clean. Thankfully her husband and their boys clean like champs. Her current culinary goal: grow conscientious, creative kids with fearless palates! She blogs at culinary-adventures-with-cam.blogspot.com
