February 27, 2018 – The successful father-son team behind Alvarado Street Brewery in Monterey is at it again. Architect John Hill, and his son, brewer J. C. Hill, are planning to open a new nano brewery and restaurant called Yeast of Eden on the ground floor level of Carmel Plaza shopping center in Carmel.
“It’s incredible. I can’t believe we’re in a position to do another project together again. I’m really blessed,” says J.C.
The Carmel brewery will showcase a relatively new line of mixed fermentation beers that Alvarado Street has been producing out of its Salinas facility over the past two years, which is also called Yeast of Eden.
“It will be a bricks and mortar spot for these beers that we’ve been experimenting with as kind of a passion project,” he says, adding that the small-batch beers are fermented using wild yeasts and other kinds of natural fermentation techniques and then some are aged in oak barrels and others in stainless steel tanks. “These beers have a ton of character and we just started offering them in bottles about six months ago,” he adds.
Other Alvarado Street brews, such as pilsners and hoppy ales will also be served at the new location, which won unanimous planning commission approval last week.
The 4,600 square foot space will include a 96-seat restaurant, an 8-seat “barrel room” private dining room, a 15-seat bar and seating for 40 on the outdoor patio. The 5 barrel mixed fermentation brewery will be visible to diners through a glass “bottle wall.”
A hip, contemporary design combines lots of iron and steel, with natural wood and stone finishes.
The sample menu—which is still in the testing and research phase—focuses on beer-friendly Santa Maria-style barbecued meats cooked over an authentic iron grill, along with a variety of tacos and shared plates of meats, cheeses and vegetables. According to the project document, “the menu will be printed daily to reflect the seasonality of a wide variety of ingredients used throughout our county, with a hyperlocal emphasis on partnering with local farmers.”
It’s hard to tell how long build out for the new brewery-restaurant will take, but J.C. is optimistic. “If we could be open by the end of the year it would be fantastic,” he says, “but we’re going to do this right and take as much time as we need.”
The father-son team already own and operate Alvarado St. Brewery and Grill in Old Town Monterey, the 50-seat beer garden behind the brewery and the Salinas Brewery and Tasting Room on Dayton Street. “It’s going to be fun to be part of a new community and to help build a future there,” he says.
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At Edible Monterey Bay, our mission is to celebrate the local food culture of Santa Cruz, San Benito and Monterey Counties, season by season. We believe in sustainability, and we believe everyone has a right to healthful, clean and affordable food. We think knowing where our food comes from is powerful, and we hope our magazine, website and newsletters inspire readers to get to know and support our local growers, fishers, chefs, vintners and food artisans.
