Monterey Beer Garden curates the region's best craft brews for your face hole.

Just a taste of the brand-new, as-of-yet unreleased grapefruit IPA collaboration between Peter B's BrewPub and Alvarado Street Brewing Company would be reason enough to get me to Custom House Plaza this Saturday, Sept. 27.

But then there are 15 other robust reasons I'll be there for Monterey Beer Garden ($40 in advance; $35 Mug Club members), namely:

Peter B's Brewpub • Uncommon Brewers • Firestone Brewing Co • Sierra Nevada Brewing Co • Alvarado Street Brewery Co. • Boulder Creek Brewery • English Ales Brewery • Seabright Brewery • Stone Brewing Co • Tied House/Hermitage Brewery • Triple Rock Brewing Co • Discretion Brewing • Highway 1 Brewing • Santa Cruz Mountain Brewing • Drakes Brewing • Santa Clara Brewing

They represent Central California's most eager and enthusiastic craft beer makers—with a couple of gateway bigger names like Stone and Sierra Nevada thrown in to help bring in neophyte craft beer drinkers—assembled by Peter B's BrewPub brewmaster Kevin Clark.

He's quickly built a festival long on enlightenment and flavor by prioritizing area brewers and relationships with fellow members of the Bay Brewers Guild. They love coming to beautiful Monterey, and seizing a chance to show off some new creations.

"Working with other brewers is a highlight of the job for me for sure," Clark says. "There’s so much fun creation to it, that—similar to how a chef runs her kitchen—we can get a lot out of seeing how other people do it. I love making something new."

Another big draw: The superb barbecue and housemade sausages from Jacks Restaurant/Peter B's Exec Chef Jason Giles and music are included in the ticket price. 

Also enticing: a chance to try Clark's raspberry Beliner Wiesse and his Russian imperial Acme espresso stout, aged in Jack Daniel’s barrel for eight months. 

"I absolutely love beer," he says. "I love being able to create it. I strive for biggest flavor and aroma and balance. There's so much depth to beer—different ingredients and yeast strains all produce different things and keep me excited."

His won't be the only potable intrigue.

"I leave it up to the brewers to bring what they really want to showcase," he says, "but they usually want to showcase something fun. And to throw a good flagship out there, a good staple."

A bonus taste comes from Beau Schoch of homesteading and trailblazing Schoch Cheese, who will sample folks on the local cheese he aged in Peter B's stout, along with other artisan curds and whey.

Meanwhile local radio flavormakers 102.1 KRML broadcast live and UBER partners to provide rides to and from.