Good beer in Monterey California?

[bierhaus15]

Going to be there for a week and would appreciate any advice on where to find good beer in the area, both for drinking and taking home. In addition, I will be in San Francisco for two days so any suggestions on where and what to drink would be great.

Also, I would like to make it up to Santa Rosa for a day (Russian River) but that may not be possible. Therefore, anyone know of any stores that would sell their stuff? I have heard that they require their beer to be refrigerated (???) so I was thinking Whole Foods might be my best bet.

Any suggestions, beer or otherwise are greatly appreciated. Thanks!

 

[mayflychucker]

I was there in September and visited a few pubs:

http://www.santaluciamonterey.com/
The best food we found there and one of the few non-touristy restaurants. Good German beers on tap.

http://www.crownandanchor.net/
Decent food, good party bar for the post college age crowd. Good variety on tap.

Bulldog Pub (near the aquarium)
Just OK. But it's near the aquarium! Just a few beers on tap, but solid ones.

http://www.portolahotel.com/dining/peterb.php
Only microbrewery I saw, Decent American style beers (I prefer European styles, so won't rave about it, although others may).

Monterey's a great place. Enjoy!

 

[heafdogg]

This is my first post; I couldn't resist, I live here.

English Ales in Marina (about 10 minutes north of Monterey) is my local haunt. A nice brew pub. Mostly English styles. The IPA is my favorite right now (an English style, though, not a hop bomb) but my favorite changes every few months. It is where I go to watch Giants games. http://www.englishalesbrewery.com/

A new place just opened on Cannery Row called Cannery Row Brewing Company. I sort of have mixed feelings about it. It is overpriced and caters to tourists, but they have around 70 beers on tap. Some good (off the top of my head: Stone IPA, Arrogant Bastard, Anderson Valley Summer Solstice, Affligem White, Racer 5, Green Flash IPA, some Belgians, a bunch of others) but I question their judgment on many of their selections. Also, they don't brew anything, they just jumped on the "call ourselves a brewery" bandwagon. I think Lagunitas makes a couple of their "house" brews, though.

Previous poster mentioned Crown and Anchor. They have Young's Double Chocolate Stout on tap. For me that alone makes it worth visiting.

Also downtown is Peter B's. They have some nice brews as well. I usually get the Pilsner. Be forewarned, though, they have a Dark Wheat on the menu, but what they do is mix their hefe with their stout. That pissed me off the first time I ordered it. Also, it is attached to a hotel, so the atmosphere is a little sterile.

If you make it out to Salinas (about 25 minutes East of Monterey), there is Monterey Brewing company. It is over by the Steinbeck center in downtown Salinas. They have some pretty good beers and a decent restaurant. Last time I was there ( a couple of weeks ago) they had a great cherry wheat summer seasonal. Not cloying at all, just a crisp American style wheat beer with a hint of cherry flavor. I really like their Pale Ale also.

If you make it up to San Francisco, I would recommend going to Rogue Ales. It is their only outpost in California and well worth a visit. Last time I was there they had like 16 Rogue beers on tap (plus a bunch of visitors). It is over near North Beach (I think on the corner of Powell and Columbus) There is a bar specializing in Belgians right down the road from Rogue. They have a good selection, but it is super yuppie and expensive. It is called La Trappe and is like a block down Columbus from Rogue. Also, for a great snack, there is a little sausage diner type place called Show Dogs. It is on Market and they have great sausages and about 8 beers on tap, usually a good selection.

Also, I don't know if you are a baseball fan, but 21st Amendment Brewery is walking distance from AT&T park ( where the Giants play).

If you head over to Berkeley, be sure to check out Triple Rock (on Shattuck).


If you do head up to Santa Rosa, (well worth the trip, BTW, the Russian River pub is amazing) you should also check out Bear Republic in Healdsburg, about 15 or 20 minutes north.

Hope this helps. Enjoy your stay in Monterey.

Heath

 

[bierhaus15]

Thanks for the info! English Ales looks pretty cool, have to check that out.

Cheers -

 

[Salanis]

I lived in Monterey a few years back and was not impressed by the beer selection. No local breweries worth mentioning.

Crown and Anchor was my favorite pub to hang out at though. They used to really know how to properly pull a pint of Guinness. I went there a few months back though, and the bartenders seem to have forgotten and now pull it like anything else.

 

[ToddO]

I was just up there for the US Open and while I didnt get to stop in any places mentioned above, I bought plenty of Anchors Liberty Ale in the area which I cant get down here. Delicious stuff and best bomber bottles ever.

 

[user 57668]

If your going to SF, you have to check out 21st Amendment. They have some great beers, and some equally great food in there restaurant.

 

[jpc]

One quick addition... if you're driving from Monterey up to SF via US-101 (not the most scenic, for sure), stop off in Morgan Hill at El Toro Brewing. I stopped there yesterday for the first time, and was pretty amazed at their beer offerings. They have about 28 on tap, including one cask, a few extra-hopped varieties, IIPA, etc. I had four beers in a sampler and was pretty impressed by them all.