Bay Area brewery day trip: Exploring Monterey’s suds

My Bay Area brewery tour took me to the Monterey Peninsula recently. Well, a weekend getaway took me there, but as far as I’m concerned, no vacation is complete without checking out the local beer and cider scene. If you’re headed toward the coast, too, here are some suggestions for where to hoist a pint in Seaside, Carmel-by-the-Sea and Pacific Grove.

Other Brother Brewing

Brewmaster Kevin Brown and partners Ron Loewy and Michael Nevares opened Seaside’s first brewery in 2019, and gave it a name, Nevares says, that “describes our philosophy of sharing experiences with people we care about” — friends and guests who quickly become other brothers.

The large, two-story tasting room is a former carpet showroom, with large windows and a high ceiling that make it feel light and airy. There are benches, booths and more seating along the windows facing the hustle and bustle of Broadway Avenue.

Other Brother brews multiple hoppy beers, both clear and hazy, which are uniformly quite good, but I’m partial to the Seasider Citra, a SMaSH pale ale — Single Malt and Single Hop. The brewery’s best-seller is Sunbelt IPA, with a touch of rye that gives it a perfect spiciness without too much bitterness. Their Cerveza La Reina, a Mexican-style lager, is a real thirst quencher, as is Tangerine Giant, a wheat beer made with tangerines. Builder’s Nitro is based on one of their original beers, an oatmeal stout, but on nitro it’s particularly smooth.

If you’re looking for a bite to accompany that brew, check out Ad Astra Bread Co., a bakery co-founded by James Beard-nominated chef Ron Mendoza. Tucked inside the brewery tasting room, the bakery serves up sandwiches, pretzels, pizza, challah and other baked good that pair beautifully with beer.

Details: The brewpub opens at 11 a.m. six days a week (closed Mondays) at 877 Broadway Ave. in Seaside. Taste the beer there or order four-packs at https://otherbrotherbeer.com and have them shipped to you.

Carmel Craft Brewing

This pico-brewery is part of The Barnyard shopping center in nearby Carmel-by-the-Sea. Owner and brewer Jeff Vitalich (Soquel Fermentation Project) took over the brewery in August 2020. He may rebrand the brewery sometime this summer, but the beers will remain the same. That’s good news, because he brews a nice range of tasty beers

Carmel Craft’s two lightest beers are both well made. The Carmel Valley Blonde and the Carmel Valley Wheat are both thirst quenchers for a hot day. The West Coast IPA, Blissful Thoughts, is a great throwback to old school IPAs, with grassy, piney and chewy bitterness throughout. I was also surprised by how good their peach kettle sour, Peaches & Cream, is — clean, not overly bitter and with great fruit flavor.

Inside the small, but cozy tasting room, you’ll find a pair of pinball machines and other diversions, plus a window that lets you order bites from Allegro’s Pizza next door without leaving the brewery.

Details: The brewery opens at 3 p.m. Monday, Thursday and Friday and at 11 a.m. on weekends at 3777 The Barnyard in Carmel-By-The-Sea; carmelcraft.com.

Pacific Grove Ciderworks

Perhaps my favorite small town on the Monterey Peninsula is Pacific Grove, which is famous for its Monarch butterfly sanctuary, a stopping point on the butterfly migration route between November and February each year. There aren’t any breweries in this small town, but there is a terrific cider maker, Pacific Grove CiderWorks.

Tim Calvert was a home cider maker for more than 25 years, before he and his wife, Christine Monson, took the plunge and went pro in 2016. Their hopes to open a tasting room in 2020 were simply delayed, not dashed, until last year.