Other Brother Beer Co. Adding Location in Aptos

October 8, 2024 – Other Brother Beer Co. has another brother on the way. 

The Seaside-based brewery’s new sibling will be a little brother (it’s around 1,400 square feet, compared to 6,000 at the brewpub), a northern brother (setting up in Aptos Village, in the former Doon to Earth tasting room), and an outdoorsy brother (complete with patio and located near The Forest of Nisene Marks State Park). 

But, yes, the DNA will remain the same. 

A primary way that will express itself: neighborhood connectivity. 

“People unfamiliar with us might be surprised we’re very community-oriented,” brewer and co-owner Kevin Brown says. “We definitely view our taproom and brewery as an event space and somewhere we want to keep people involved and coming back, and will do our best with that in whatever future venues and ventures await.”

A more predictable expression of OBBC DNA will be outstanding craft beer—namely clever and habit-forming IPAs and sours—adding to a loaded Santa Cruz County beerscape flush with quality producers. 

“I’m excited to have us branch out into a neighboring community and do more collaborations, and have a more personal connection with them,” Brown says. “Just being in that area with all the great beer is [energizing].”  

Co-owner Evan Loewy elaborates. “We’re definitely lucky to be neighbors with Discretion, Sante Adarius and Humble Sea, the local legends,” he says. “We’re going to continue doing what we’re doing and working to make our contribution.”

When Other Brother launched in 2019 amid a heady time for downtown Seaside, its leadership chose a beer manufacturer license that allows for a half dozen tap rooms, so additional locations have long been part of its bigger arc.

Then—spoiler alert—a global contagion threw a crowbar in the brew works, though Loewy believes that ultimately evolved their toolkit.

“During the pandemic we had to pivot so much we tried pretty much everything, realizing what worked and what didn’t,” he says. “Successful events, markets, pop ups and [live music] shows revealed how important it was to be a venue.”

Finding a suitable second location on the other side of Monterey Bay sent OBBC’s team searching from the Westside to Midtown to Capitola and 41st Avenue.

“We looked everywhere, across all the parts of Santa Cruz,” Loewy says. “We saw spaces that could work, and then when we saw this space, we were instantly like, ‘This is the one.’”

That fit extends beyond the space itself, which will allow for a small kitchen helmed by Seaside chef Josie Lewis, who’s developed a strong food program on Broadway Avenue/Obama Way by way of faves like double smash burgers, loaded waffle fries and chopped miso mandarin salads.

Loewy ticks off magnetic nearby purveyors in Aptos Village like Penny Ice Cream, Mentone, Parrish Public House, Betty’s Burgers and Cat & Cloud Coffee, and the steady presence of mountain and road bikers. 

“In our experience we’ve realized how important the symbiosis of businesses is, for both food and other vendors,” he says. “There’s a community in Aptos.”

Optimistic opening date is late 2025.