Alvarado Street Brewery Castroville is nearly ready to pour. The new taproom at the Alvarado Street Brewery production facility, 11440 Commercial Parkway, is waiting only on final approval from California’s Alcoholic Beverage Control department, Monterey County Now reported Oct. 22. Owner and brewmaster J.C. Hill told the paper that approval “could happen any day,” and he hopes to host an opening on Nov. 7, “but that remains to be determined.”
When the doors open, there will be 20 taps, a game lounge and two taps sitting in ice. Our long-range sensors are pointed at Highway 1. Here’s what’s coming to the Artichoke Capital of the World.
Alvarado Street Brewery Castroville: the taproom
According to Monterey County Now, the taproom will have 20 taps. Eighteen are traditional taps lined up on the wall behind the bar. The other two are fixed to a stainless steel countertop and encased in ice.
The taproom itself is bright and modern, with a long bar and tables lit by large windows, the paper reports. A second room works as a game lounge with a pool table, dart boards and shuffleboard. Monterey County Now says the taproom is ready, while finishing touches continue in the brewery.
Sharp pour taps at Alvarado Street Brewery Castroville
Those two iced taps are a Japanese sharp pour system. Monterey County Now describes it as something “just beginning to catch on in the U.S.” and says it is “likely a first in Monterey County.” That’s the paper’s assessment, and we haven’t seen the brewery claim it.
Hill explained to the paper that the technique captures the aromas, and especially the effervescence, of a lager. It’s a two-step process: beer is poured into the glass first, then capped with foam that traps the aromatic notes. The freezing temperature matters too. It reduces escaping gases during the first step, and it gives the drinker a crisper, more refreshing beer, Hill said.
The brewery hinted at this months ago. Its “Viva la Castroville” blog post promised “the coldest beer around (we will dive into this later..).”
A bigger brewery behind the bar
The taproom fills part of a facility that can increase production to three to four times that of Alvarado Street’s Salinas brewery, Monterey County Now reports. Hill told the paper that once the facility is fully running, Alvarado Street will add non-alcoholic drinks, including beer, cider and sodas.
Hill gave KSBW numbers in March. “We do about 15 thousand beer barrels per year at this location, that’s kind of about the ceiling we’ve hit,” he said of Salinas. “The new location can get up to 45 thousand new barrels.”
The brewery’s blog says the heart of the new site is a 50-barrel BrauKon brewhouse, and that more production and packaging will move to Castroville as it comes online. The Salinas facility on Dayton Street isn’t closing. “Salinas isn’t going anywhere,” the brewery wrote. The blog also describes plans for a beer garden with rotating food trucks and teases tours, though those weren’t part of the Oct. 22 update.
Helloooo Castroville and Cynara
Alvarado Street already has beers out that mark the move. Helloooo Castroville is a 7% hazy IPA, $20.20 per four-pack of 16-oz cans on the brewery’s online shop. The brewery says it’s “brewed in celebration of our new home, affectionately known as The Plant, nestled among the agricultural fields in the Artichoke Capital of the World,” using a “rarely seen hop combination.”
The brewery describes aromas of ripe papaya, funky guava and mango, followed by juicy citrus, pineapple and subtle herbaceous spice, with Southern Hemisphere diesel and white wine notes. Its label sums it up: “A taste of what’s to come from our new home in Castroville!” Wondering why hazies drink so soft? Our explainer on why hazy IPA is not bitter breaks it down.
There’s also Cynara, a 5% Japanese-style rice lager, $14.20 per four-pack of 16-oz cans. The brewery says it’s “brewed fresh at our new production facility in the Artichoke Capital of the World.” (Cynara is the genus of the artichoke.) A Japanese-style lager seems like a natural match for the sharp pour taps, though the brewery hasn’t said what will pour from them first.
| Beer | Style | ABV | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Helloooo Castroville | Hazy IPA | 7% | $20.20 / 4-pack 16 oz |
| Cynara | Japanese-style rice lager | 5% | $14.20 / 4-pack 16 oz |
Source: Alvarado Street Brewery online shop, Oct. 2026.
Alvarado Street is also one of the collaborators on this year’s West Coast IPA Is Dead release led by Green Cheek, according to JollyPint. For the bigger picture of where this brewery has come from, see our coverage of Alvarado Street Brewery’s 10th anniversary.
FAQ
Waiting on one signature
The Castroville taproom has 20 taps ready, two of them iced for sharp pours, plus a game lounge and a much larger brewery behind it. What it doesn’t have yet is final approval from the ABC. Nov. 7 is the date Hill is hoping for, not a confirmed one.
Helloooo Castroville and Cynara give a first taste of the new chapter. We’ll update when the doors officially open.
Transmission complete.
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