A tall boy of Monterey County beer news in honor of S.F. Beer Week

Beer is big. Beer is good. Beer is beautiful.

And beer is here.

That's because it is simply a great week for beer, whether you're taking one down at Mulligan Public House post AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am or venturing into the city for nine days and 700 events around the Bay Area starting with an opening gala at Pier 48 on Friday, Feb. 10.

With that in mind, the Weekly took a quick survey tour of the area's strongest craft beer hubs and found plenty that was fermenting. (Note: a shorter version of this appears online and in print Feb. 9.)

Here's the latest:

Alvarado Street Brewery (655-2337) will be all over the map in San Francisco, with a dozen-plus events including the opening gala (pouring four beers including the orange-and-guava-laced Haole Punch) and tap takeovers at eight different spots like Ale Arsenal Feb. 11 and Gourmet Haus Staudt Feb. 13.

Back home a major can release party starts right as this issue hits the street, with new 16-ounce four packs available to take out, starring cult-favorite Triple Cone IPA (normally only available for ASB’s anniversary, $22/four-pack), Trois Cabrones double IPA done with Amplified out of San Diego ($20), and When Doves Cryo West Coast IPA with Cellarmaker Brewing ($18).

Fear not—the cans should last through the weekend, if only for the four pack limit on four-packs per person per day.

Meanwhile there’s a revisited 3-6pm happy hour with new nibbles like chorizo street tacos ($5), and better deals on garlic fries ($4) and garlic cheesy flatbread ($5) plus new $3 bar bites for the bar and beer garden: deviled eggs, house potato chips and chili-lime roasted peanuts ($3).

They’re also planning a major expansion of the relatively new Salinas production facility/tasting room to make sure Monterey County is well-fueled come late spring.

“It’s gonna be big,” says head brewer/owner J.C. Hill. Maybe as big as the 10.5-percent (!) Triple Cone IPA.

Peter B’s Brewpub (649-2966) is enjoying the fruits of relatively new brewmaster Justin Rivard, who has a small fleet of new stuff coming.

Among the goodies: a 484 IPA 6.9-percent with the numerically named experimental hops with a fruity nose and a mellow-bitter finish.

More fruit comes with Danger Berry, a 6.8 percent blackberry ale fermented with 84 pounds of local poison-oak honey from The Honey Ladies of San Jose.

Then there’s the cask ale infused with Pinot grapes and dry hopped with Cascade cultivars for a nice balance of floral, sweet and bitter.

More good news: Chef Danny Abbruzzese is introducing comfort food chalkboard specials like braised chicken enchiladas with queso fresco in Oaxacan-style red mole ($11.99) to go with Rivard’s best beers.

The enchiladas will go with a new barrel-aged IPA that’s yet to be released. Bonus: They’re doing $3 pint specials like Basic Witches brown ale.

Farmers Union Pour House (975-4890) has enjoyed an inaugural winter in Oldtown Salinas to surprise co-owner/operator Colin Hattersley: He thought it would be a lot slower, but valley herds continue to rumble through, new faces included, for the constantly rotating beer menu kept up-to-the-sip on Tap Hunter and Facebook with some of the best from Discretion, Elkhorn Slough Brewing and East Cliff.

They’ve added live music like what’s coming March 23 with Bruce Pittenger and Dave Offerdahl.

When asked about specific favorites from the beer list to share with readers, Hattersley has this: “The only problem is we’re not going to have it when they come in.” (He does concede he’s into the Beer Geek Breakfast by Denmark’s Mikkeller ApS.)

A collaboration with neighboring Giorgio’s at 201 Main (800-7573) is working out well. Lobster nachos with chunks of shellfish, Spanish rice and pickled Fresno chilies and bisque ($17), spinach-artichoke dip in a sourdough bowl with housemade potato chips ($11) and fungi pizza with toy box mushrooms, caramelized onions and tartufata truffle love ($16) rank among the order-in favorites.

Post No Bills Craft Beer House (324-4667) catches beermakers heading north with a tap takeover from open to close Friday, Feb. 10, via six different beers from Coronado Brewing like its Gordonado IPA, bourbon barrel-aged German chocolate imperial stout, and a hazelnut-tinged Fogbound Brown Ale served on nitro.

Friday also means bottle specials and a mixed six pack of Coronado IPAs plus a draft pour for $17. Stay tuned for a date on the ownership changeover party once ABC gives the go-ahead, where a fabulous full-bodied red IPA ($7) by incoming owner Kye Ricks and barkeep Erich Weingand done at Sierra Nevada (called Ken Abides in honor of Sierra chief Ken Grossman) gets its last turn on the tap.

Next week they do a Firestone Brewing “milk and cookies” promotion with Merlin milk stout on nitro and brown butter cookies ($7).

Trailside Cafe & Beer Garden (298-7453) is cultivating a crop of mug club members numbering 70 after just a couple of months, who make the most of 15 artisan beers on tap (plus a cider), including Crux Fermentation Half Hitch Double IPA.

For S.F. Beer Week owner Sean Allen is guarding a stash of bottled West Coast craft brews unavailable anywhere else; happy hour romps on 4-6pm with $2 off select craft drafts and most of the 40-plus bottles, which include Delirium Tremens Golden Strong Ale.

XL Public House (754-2337) was next on my list of local craft shrines, as any self-respecting beer list should be at least a six-pack long.

But the barkeep couldn’t be bothered to talk specials or specifics, so I’ll add a few other standout places with surprisingly good craft beer:

1) Salinas City BBQ (758-2227), where the small-batch beers match the quality of the brisket and change constantly;

2) Valley Greens Gallery in Carmel Valley (620-2985), where the selection tips toward high-gravity craft and the art goes urban;

and

3) Whole Enchilada Marketplace in Moss Landing (632-2628) which keeps a roster of $4 local craft drafts on 14 taps in a liquor store/deli setting that doubles as an undercover beer spot with a long slab bar.