Peter B’s Brewpub

Brewpub attached to the Portola Hotel down on the waterfront in Monterey. Kind of tucked back in a corner, but easy enough to find as there is plenty of signage. A small patio area before you head into the large restaurant and bar space. About a dozen house drafts and some guest offerings in bottles (mostly ciders). They do flights of five for $14, so kind of pricey, particularly when you consider the beer quality. Which leads me to say...the beer here is not very good. Unfortunately our service was not very good either. Took forever to get our order taken, a long time to get the beers, and then they brought my wife the wrong thing. Oh well. It's an easy enough spot to stop in for some ticks, but I would hang out at Alvarado Street instead.

Some decent beers here. They do barrel aging. Happy hour has $4 beers and good prices on around 8 items including wings, calamari, fried pickles and fries. Indoor, bar and outdoor seating is available.

Nice brewpub to stop by, near Alvarado street. They pour decent seasonal beers and staff is very friendly. Had a good time there...

A walk from Alvarado, in the Portola Hotel complex. Quite busy on a Tuesday, with outdoor seating as well as a bar area inside. Service was prompt and good. Beers available as flights of 5 for $7.50. Did not try the food, but the beers were mostly so-so.

Visited on a trip back from The Big Sur. 14 beers on tap, 5 house styles and seasonal/ barrel aged ales. Taster flights available - any 5x 4oz samples for $7.50. Fairly easy to find in the pedestrianised zone. Beers were decent. Free popcorn is a nice touch.

Pretty damn solid spot. 11 house beers on, flights available. Great food. Lots of TVs and NFL Sunday Ticket. Seasonal beers were quite good.

Solid BP a few blocks up from Fishermans Wharf visited on Tues 29/04/14 around 10pm. Not too easy to find, but we popped into the nearby hotel and they directed us. We sat outside (payed little attention to the internals but I think there was a roof, walls, floor etc), where we sat with a table containg an open fire in the middle - nice touch, kept my wife happy compared to the usual BP humdrum! Live sports (Bball) on show from a big screen facing the oustide patio, and a lively enough crowd for last knockings Tuesday. 8 house beers available, 5 standards and 3 seasonals, also a BA offering on the menu but of all the beers they were out of - yup you guessed it! I really enjoyed the beers here. Nothing world class but no duds, all 3.3 - 3.7 rates for me. 5x4oz taster at a very reasonable $6.50 - no limits either, choose all 3 seasonals + the BA if you wish. Decent venue and a nice aesthetic feel outside that pleased the missus who also bagged a cocktail!

Stopped in on my way back from SF Beer Week. This was a bit of a detour off of my 101 route but it’s been years since I’ve been in Monterey. I had to ask directions from some random people to find the place as its hidden in the back of a shopping center.

The bar is very nicely done and clean. The bartender gave me 2 flights of 4 samples and since there were only 7 house beers he filled the last one with a rootbeer. I wasn’t impressed with any of the beers but the Porter was the best. The guy pouring the beer was very nice, not overly knowledgeable about the beer but I get the feeling that that isn’t really the point of this place. The others at the bar were drinking Bud Light and whiskey.

The crowd was a bit thin as it was a Thursday night but it seemed like more of a sports bar. I didn’t eat but I did get out for less than $10 after tip for my 8 samples. Parking was also free at that time but I had to park in the structure, so be prepared to pay if you visit the place on a weekend.

Peter B’s has a nice selection of house beers, all high quality, with a couple superstars. Kevin Clark, the brewer, has a good list of awards to his credit. The gold-medal Russian Imperial Stout is fit for a tsar! I’ve never had bad food here, but frankly I go for the beer!