Alvarado Street's Spooky Juice is a fitting seasonal ale from the new Castroville brewery.

There is a moment when Alvarado Street Brewery’s Spooky Juice is almost friendly. A mild, plush notion of stone fruit, citrus and gentle malt leaves the palate suspecting little more than a pleasant hazy evening.

But like the ominous notes foretelling trouble in a horror film, there are some less than subtle signs of something brewing—the cackling skull on the label, for one. So just when your senses think everything is safe, a dark and bitter spice bursts in.

Impressions of pine needles and scored wood pounce, with hints of peppercorns and dried chile lurking. The fruity greeting shrivels and dries, gaining intensity. The resinous bite lingers and develops. Gone is the soft, welcoming first impression—never to return. It’s an impressive double-double.

Spooky Juice is Alvarado Street’s annual ode to the season of the dead, a hazy IPA. But this year the brewing team opted for a double dry hopped version—Waimea, Galaxy, Nelson and Citra, which lend an intense aromatic introduction to the beer. No need to swirl and sniff, sensations of orange and peach, tropical fruits, grassy herbs and pine reach out from the glass.

The seasonal ale is also the first one-off label from Alvarado Street’s new Castroville brewing facility. Although the location is not fully opened, the Alvarado team has been canning Mai Tai and other core beers at the location.

When opened, the Castroville brewery will have a bar on site.