When Drinking Local Fails You
As craft beer drinkers, we tend to like to drink local. What’s better than sitting down in a brew pub to have beer brewed fresh on premise? If not at a brewpub, check the local scene and see what’s going on. There may be local breweries on tap that you couldn’t find anywhere. This is a great idea most of the time. One exception is if you find yourself in Monterey, CA.
I grew up on the Monterey Penninsula. At the age of 17 I moved away to college and only moved back to the area for an 18 month window shortly after college. For the most part, my craft beer education took place in Berkeley, Oregon and Santa Rosa. Now, I go back to Monterey to visit family and enjoy all that the area has to offer (more on this later).
Over Easter I found myself back in my hometown and being sent off for a guy’s night out with a friend whose family had joined us for the trip. When I had lived here more than 7 years ago, the memories of the bar scene were mostly goal oriented. People were there to either get hammered, or find a companion. There had been a beer bar in the area, but sadly, it had closed recently. So we set off for downtown.
Instead of boring you with a play by play of drinks consumed, I want to give a brief recap of the evening before coming back to the point (trust me, there is one somewhere in here). The tour of downtown Monterey began at Peter B’s and headed back up Alvarado, stopping at the Crown and Anchor and Brittania Arms before concluding at the Mucky Duck.
Peter B's Taster Flight
Peter B’s left us wanting more. The Rusty Penny was probably the best of the bunch as a light, sessionable beer, but the heavier “stouts” seemed to fall short of the mark. The bartender even commented that the porter was the darkest beer they brew when a Russian Imperial Stout was available that evening.
Arrogant Bastard and Union Jack bookend a pair of English Ales offerings
As we worked our way towards the Mucky Duck, the selection never proved to be that impressive. At each location you could find a lot of imports (all of these bars have a British pub theme), a few widely distributed crafts, and lots of macro. The choices were essentially made for you as a craft beer drinker as there might be one craft beer per location that wasn’t Sierra Nevada Pale or Fat Tire. At Crown and Anchor it was Deschutes Green Lakes Organic Amber. At Brittania Arms it was Union Jack and Arrogant Bastard (Although we did find local English Ales on draft as well). At the end of the line we were able to have Bigfoot on draft, served in chilled pint glasses.
Would you like a nice frosty pint of Bigfoot?
Now there’s nothing wrong with these beers, if that’s what you want to drink. The problem is, what if you don’t want an IPA? What if you don’t want a barleywine? What if you want a stout? What if you want something barrel-aged, sour, etc?
Monterey is known for its selection of wine and food, in a way very similar to Sonoma County. The big difference is that Sonoma County has not just one, but many big breweries. Each town along the 101 has its own brewery/brewpub, or at least a place to drink a good beer. So why is Monterey lagging behind?
More importantly, what do you do as a beer drinker when the local scene, to put it plainly, just sucks?
Luckily, Monterey does have some hope. Bottles and Bins is an excellent beer store with a wide selection of Belgian and California micros. Also, Cannery Row Brewing Company is set to open shortly. While details are still coming on this new venture, there have been talks about this new brewpub focusing on beer and food pairings in addition to providing a wide selection of guest taps.
I realize I may sound like a spoiled brat to certain areas of the world where craft beer isn’t regularly available. In response to that I can only say there are reasons I choose to live where I live.
6 Comments to “When Drinking Local Fails You”
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I realize I may sound like a spoiled brat to certain areas of the world where craft beer isn’t regularly available. In response to that I can only say there are reasons I choose to live where I live.
Amen to that.
I made this very same unfortunate discovery last summer when i was in Monterey for a week. It seems unfathomable that in a place with so much other goodness (wine, food, etc.), and in a state with so much craft beer to offer, that beer would be so lacking.
Agreed that the Monterey scene sucks. I didn’t even realize the area had ANY brewpubs!
About “drinking local,” well, I know a lot of people dream of a Utopia where everyone does that and skips around in a circle, holding hands and singing f-ing “Ring Around the Rosie” all day, but the fact is that most people who drink exclusively local are missing out on a lot. I’m lucky enough to live in a place now where I can call Russian River more or less “local.” And believe me, I’d be perfectly content only drinking their beers – Pliny, Supplication, and the like. But there are times when I want a Founders KBS, a New Glarus Wisconsin Belgian Red, an Weihenstephaner Hefeweissbier, or a Rochefort 10. I personally think “drink what you like” is a better motto to live by. Of course if what you like is also what’s local, all the better.
I’m not suggesting to drink local and shun other beer. I don’t think anyone who supports the idea of drinking local believes that. I believe the idea behind drinking locally is that you’re open to trying different things. You’re not just ordering the same white can with black letters that say “Beer” on it no matter where you go. Many beers are only available locally, such as English Ales in Monterey. When back home, I do try and sample some of their beer as I won’t get a chance when I leave.
Sadly, the tap lists I encountered in Monterey could just as easily be had anywhere in CA, and most likely anywhere in the US and abroad. There was nothing local about it save a couple taps and a brewpub that no one knows about.
I have yet to visit Peter B’s, but have only heard lackluster comments from those who have, so I have never made it a priority when in the area. English ales however, has some nice beers that I think are worthy of carrying the “local” flag. Stylistically, they are somewhat limited to English styles and a couple wheat beers, but they beers have been solid if conservative when I have had them. I will say that the brewpub isn’t exactly a destination though…
As far as the Cannery Row Brewing Co. goes, the word on the street is that is is not actually going to be a brewery. I’m not sure if they are getting another brewery to make them house beers, but they aren’t going to be brewing themselves.
When it comes to the Monterey Bay, living in Santa Cruz is definitely the better option if you want a local beer scene. It’s still not incredibly strong here, but we have several local breweries and beer bars that do OK for a smaller town. It’s a shame that the local beer bar with the greatest potential (Red Restaurant) squanders it with dirty consistently dirty tap lines.
Santa Cruz has a solid selection of breweries. It makes no sense that Monterey bars and restaurants don’t carry more of their beers. Uncommon, Santa Cruz Mountain and SC Ale Works should all be available in Monterey.