The drink most associated with Monterey, CA, is wine. And for good reason – there are nearly 350 vineyards in Monterey County and in the town, along with neighboring Carmel, there are 18 wine tasting rooms.
Yet it is also home of award-winning craft beers and Alvarado Street Brewery is celebrating its 10th anniversary in Monterey. It is doing this in collaboration with 18 breweries by releasing six cans throughout Northern California. Called the Art Styles of Alvarado Street, the styles range from Typography, Retrowave, Nostalgia, Cars, Swiss Modern, and Culinary. Here is a rundown of those beers:
• DDH To Taste (DDH Hazy Double IPA, 9% ABV) — Alvarado Street + Burial + Other Half + Trillium
(The Art Styles of Alvarado Street – Typography)
EAST COAST SKAZE — This is a collab with Other Half, Trillium and Burial, the result being a pulpy, lupulin saturated juice that’s a nod to the Northeast style. Combining a giant coolpool of Simcoe hops, the brewery layered in multiple dry hop stages of hand selected Citra, Riwaka & Chinook. Double Dry Hopped.
• Retro Resin (West Coast IPA, 7% ABV) — Alvarado Street + Altamont + Burgeon + North Park + Shred + Urban Roots
(The Art Styles of Alvarado Street – Retrowave)
WEST COAST OIL — This is a West Coast hoppy pale in a dank, oily beast of West Coast nectar. Featuring experimental HBC 735, CTZ, Simcoe, Mosaic Cryo & Chinook hops it includes old school pine & resin, grapefruit oil and punchy tropical fruit.
• Nostalgic Face Swap (Pale Ale, 5.5% ABV) — Alvarado Street + Cellarmaker + Cloudburst + Faction + Pinthouse
(The Art Styles of Alvarado Street – Nostalgia)
MORE PALE ALE PLZ — A collaborative Pale Ale dominated with three different lots of Simcoe T90 pellets, Simcoe ‘301’ fresh hop cryo, and Simcoe 702 hop extract. The twist: a lil’ bit of exemplary HBC 586 hops to compliment said Simcoe.
• Dream Ridez (West Coast Pilsner, 5.2% ABV) — Alvarado Street + Firestone Walker + Highland Park + Humble Sea
(The Art Styles of Alvarado Street – Cars)
Malty, hoppy, neutral this is a West Coast Pils. It is a blend of California-grown Admiral Maltings pilsner and traditional two-row malts, along with a bit of rice to keep the color extra light, we then layered a blend of old & new world hop varieties: Spalt Select, Mosaic, and McKenzie.
• Spotlight Effect (Saison, 6% ABV) – Alvarado Street + Monkish + Sante Adairius + Yeast Of Eden
(The Art Styles of Alvarado Street – Swiss Modern)
Built from a grist of California grown barley, wheat, spelt, and oats and layered with a blend of old world hops, this is an ode to the Belgian originators. Crisp and thirst quenching yet robust in flavor, this beer is a ready refresher for spring and the coming summer.
• Cheeky Torch (Jungle Bird-Inspired Hard Seltzer, 12.5% ABV) — Alvarado Street + Green Cheek
(The Art Styles of Alvarado Street — Culinary)
They call this one the party starter. It’s a cocktail-inspired seltzer that contains pineapple, fresh lime, lots of bitter orange peel and a few other ‘secret’ ingredients.
Alvarado Street Wins Three Medals At The 2024 World Beer Cup
Alvarado Street Brewery took home three medals at this year’s World Beer Cup, known as the Olympics of craft beer.
Howzit Punch won a Silver medal in the American-Style Sour Ale category, Mai Tai P.A. won a Bronze medal in the American-Style Strong Pale Ale category, and Single Cone won a Bronze medal in the highly competitive American-Style India Pale Ale category.
Alvarado Street’s latest wins add to an impressive list of prestigious beer accolades, including 13 Great American Beer Festival medals (4 Gold, 5 Silver, 4 Bronze), two additional World Beer Cup medals, a Gold medal for Double Cone at The Bistro 23rd Double IPA Fest 2023, and Double Cone being awarded the Alpha King Challenge Winner (2019). From 2014-2023), Alvarado Street’s original downtown Monterey Brewery & Grill has bene recognized as the “Best Local Brewery” by the Monterey County Weekly.