Alvarado Street Brewery: Production Tasting Room

No food (although I heard that there are lunch trucks sometimes) no (provided) entertainment, just really good beer and a chill spot to hang out. If you've been to any of their other locations, and appreciate their top-notch beer, this place will give you the feeling that you got a fresh try of their latest productions.

Taking a road trip up the coast and I finally got to stop here and eat/drink after enjoying some of their beers at home. It did not disappoint! Food was delicious, service in the beer garden was great, and as always the beer was on point. Had the Paloma Pizzazz which is good if you like grapefruit and their guest beer the Muddlin Forte was sooo good. The only negative was they were out of all their large t-shirts so I'll just have to go shopping online. Hope to be in the area again soon to try some more things.

If you're interested in brewing or like to be close to the action of beer production, this is the best choice for you amongst Alvarado's 4 locations. Since they don't open until 2 PM, you can lunch at Main in the Art Deco building and then head here to the production facility; its about 2 miles. The other locations are the original on Alvarado street in Monterey or the bistro and pilot brewery in Carmel.You can observe the entire process (except canning) and I got to watch an entire box of Yakima Chief go into a wonderful smelling hops addition. They produce most of the beer for retail locations and the other taprooms here, so it's a multi barrel brewhouse operation in an industrial area. You can have more in-depth conversations about their beer and anything they can they also sell to go, as well as merchandise and food...I didn't eat food, but its excellent at the other locations. Food's not the focus herein, just beer.There's more of a local crowd here and brewing folks, so it's a fun vibe. You'll turn left into an industrial center with warehouses. It's not about art direction and food like the other locations...it's about making enough canned and keg beer to quell their constant demand. The bathrooms have unique levers on the bottom of the door to open the door touches, which is a nice touch. It's neat they even have this facility open to the public. They don't need to do tours, as you're right in the heart of the action. This is a different location and vibe I enjoyed, but not the one for a date or power lunch. They have a beer garden at the local MLS football stadium in Monterey and when they play, Land Sea IPA is only $5 here. They have two televisions on the wall.They aren't open on Monday or until 2 PM other days. You get to see how fun it'd be to work in the brewing operation whilst sampling from their broad ale catalog. Not many production facilities would do this and so it's special in that sense alone.

Tired of the downtown restaurant scene? Enjoy being surrounded by tank after tank after tank of fermenting beer? Want to enjoy the quiet serenity of the outskirts of town, knew deep in packing companies and away from the hustle and bustle of busy streets and fast food ‘diarrhetics?’ Make the drive to the boondocks of Salinas and enjoy a friendly experience with similar minded locals. Keep in mind, this brewery may as well be a speakeasy since it’s hidden so well. Listen to your GPS and look for the sign.If you’ve ever had Alvarado beer, then there’s nothing else I can say to impress upon you to have another. It’s that damn good. From hoppy drenched IPA’s to beer smoothies/pastry sours to incredible stouts and everything in between. Their restrooms feature the best beer feng shui decorating, featuring the same design as their much beloved Mai Tai PA. The beertenders are always cool AF and friendly. And while the brewery keeps growing, there’s still quite a bit of space for good occupancy. For those curious, there’s a good amount of swag to choose from should you want to take home some merchandise, as well as to go beer. Food trucks are available most evenings around dinner time.

Peter is amazing! He was an extremely knowledgeable, helpful, and kind representation of Alvarado Street Brewery. I already adored the product, but Peter made the experience 100x better! Open atmosphere, down to earth energy, and amazing selection of draft beers and to-go cans.