I’ve previously done weekly roundups of everything I tried, but really you can just follow my Untappd for that. I’m changing things up and going with the top beers of the previous month this time because I’m lazy and you probably don’t want to hear about the crappy beers anyways.

February included visits to a few breweries: Alvarado Street (Monterey), Sante Adairius Rustic Ales, Seabright, Monterey Coast, Firestone Walker (Paso Robles), and Rubicon. All of these spots are worth visiting, but Alvarado Street stood out for their excellent beers, cool location, good service, and tasty food.

Here are my favorite brews from February:

New Glory Copious Double IPA – The flaked oats give this a creamy mouth feel and the dank hops are excellent without being overly bitter. After blowing me away with Listen Up, New Glory has struck again with another excellent IPA.

The Rare Barrel Arrows of Neon Golden Sour – Even though The Rare Barrel is only a few hours away I’ve only had a chance to try a couple of their beers. They are known for their world class sours, and Arrows of Neon is a great example. The citrus fruit shines through the tartness without overpowering acidity. I’m stoked that I’m starting to see their beers in local bottle shops!

Alvarado Street Run the Juice IPA – I visited the Monterey Alvarado Street location and tried lots of great sours and IPAs but Run the Juice was the standout for me. Run the Juice is the darker oranger one on the right. That other beer is When Doves Cryo, which was also excellent. Run the Juice had big citrus flavor with a nice bitter finish.

Sante Adairius Rustic Ales Saison Bernice – The “SARA” brewery is building quite the legendary status among beer geeks, and after a quick visit to the the brewery I can see why. This Saison Bernice was really stellar. There is nothing particularly unusual about it, it’s just executed to absolute perfection. I could drink this all day if I could actually get my hands on it again.

Firestone Walker Bretta Rosé Wild Ale with Raspberries – Firestone Walker’s Barrelworks is killing it. This raspberry sour is clean, acidic, fruit-forward, and so delicious. We also grabbed a bottle of Krieky Bones Cherry Wild, and it was just as good. I hope to get my hands on more Barrelworks creations soon, and I can’t wait to see what they come up with next.

Rubicon Hey Pal Dank Pale Ale – Rubicon is one of our favorite breweries to visit. The beer and food are always great. This Hey Pal was even better than expected. Rich dank hop flavors that stand up to the crowd of great Pale Ales and IPAs coming out of Sacramento lately.

21st Amendment Blood Orange Brew Free or Die IPA – This new release is 21st Amendment’s Brew Free or Die IPA with blood oranges added, and some extra dry-hopping. The blood orange flavor is big and obvious. With some citrus fruit additions you get a vague citrus flavor. With this one, it is very clearly blood orange. The fruit brilliantly compliments the hop flavor. It’s great to see this veteran California brewery continue to innovate and create interesting brews!