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The Orange County Beer Trail
A map to all of our fine craft breweries, liquor stores and pubs pouring the good stuff!
Ever heard the joke about how drinking Coors Light is like having sex in a canoe? Because both are fucking close to water? It's an old, tired joke, sure, but back when Santa Ana's Mayor-for-Life Miguel Pulido was a wide-eyed innocent, 3.2 percent beer was all that was available in OC. Those days are happily going the way of the Great Park boondoggle. The craft-beer revolution, which reached a fever pitch in San Diego a decade ago, has claimed our infernal county as its latest territory, with breweries, craft-beer bars and liquor stores specializing in bottles and kegs of luscious elixir popping up as though mushrooms after a rainstorm. These days, craft beer isn't just for plaid-clad, bearded hipsters and people who compulsively check into bars on Untappd; you'll find it in airports and dive bars, in the hands of people ranging from the gnarliest 8 a.m. drunk to the snobbiest foodie this side of a DSLR lens.
Curtis Taylor
Laila Derakhshanian
Location Info
Map
Amazing Grapes Wine Store
29911 Aventura
Rancho Santa Margarita, CA 92688
Category: Retail
Region: Rancho Santa Margarita
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BRADLEY'S FINE WINES & SPIRITS
12932 Newport Ave., Ste. 1
Tustin, CA 92780
Category: Retail
Region: Tustin
DIMENSION LIQUOR
20761 Lake Forest Drive, Ste. J
Lake Forest, CA 92630
Category: Retail
Region: Lake Forest
Hi-Time Wine Cellars
250 Ogle St.
Costa Mesa, CA 92627
Category: Restaurant > Wine Bar
Region: Costa Mesa
Hollingshead's Delicatessen
368 S. Main St.
Orange, CA 92868
Category: Restaurant > American
Region: Orange
O'Shea Brewing Company
28142 Camino Capistrano
Laguna Beach, CA 92677
Category: Retail
Region: Laguna Niguel
PACIFIC PARK MARKET
27792 Aliso Creek Road, Ste. B100
Aliso Viejo, CA 92656
Category: Retail
Region: Aliso Viejo
Brix Wine Bar
16635 Pacific Coast Highway
Sunset Beach, CA 90742
Category: Retail
Region: Sunset Beach
Bru Grill & Market
23730 El Toro Road
Lake Forest, CA 92630
Category: Restaurant > New American
Region: Lake Forest
The Globe Dine Bar
12926 Main St.
Garden Grove, CA 92840
Category: Restaurant > Bar Food
Region: Garden Grove
Out of the Park Pizza
5638 E. La Palma Ave.
Anaheim, CA 92807
Category: Restaurant > Bar Food
Region: Anaheim
The Riders Club Cafe
1701 N. El Camino Real
San Clemente, CA 92672
Category: Restaurant > American
Region: San Clemente
Selma's Chicago Pizzeria
30461 Avenida De Las Flores
Rancho Santa Margarita, CA 92688
Category: Restaurant > Pizza
Region: Rancho Santa Margarita
Selma's Chicago Pizzeria
27702 Crown Valley Parkway
Ladera Ranch, CA 92694
Category: Restaurant > Pizza
Region: San Juan Capistrano
Selma's Chicago Pizzeria
218 Avenida Del Mar
San Clemente, CA 92672
Category: Restaurant > American
Region: San Clemente
SideDoor
3801 E. Coast Highway
Corona Del Mar, CA 92625
Category: Restaurant > Comfort Foods
Region: Corona Del Mar
Slater's 50/50
8082 Adams Ave.
Huntington Beach, CA 92646
Category: Restaurant > Burgers
Region: Huntington Beach
Slater's 50/50 Burger By Design
6362 E. Santa Ana Canyon Rd.
Anaheim, CA 92807
Category: Restaurant > Burgers
Region: Anaheim
SLATER'S 50/50
24356 Swartz Drive
Lake Forest, CA 92630
Category: Restaurant > American
Region: Lake Forest
St. Roy Chef's Pub
211 N. El Camino Real
San Clemente, CA 92672
Category: Restaurant > American
Region: San Clemente
Tap Shack
1617 Westcliff Dr
Newport Beach, CA 92660
Category: Restaurant > American
Region: Newport Beach
Anaheim Brewery
336 S. Anaheim Blvd.
Anaheim, CA 92805
Category: Restaurant > American
Region: Anaheim
Beachwood BBQ
133 1/2 Main St.
Seal Beach, CA 90740
Category: Restaurant > American
Region: Seal Beach
Bootlegger's Brewery
130 S. Highland Ave.
Fullerton, CA 92832
Category: Breweries and Wineries
Region: Fullerton
Cismontane Brewing Company
29851 Aventura
Rancho Santa Margarita, CA 92688
Category: Breweries and Wineries
Region: Rancho Santa Margarita
Huntington Beach Beer Company
201 Main St.
Huntington Beach, CA 92646
Category: Bars and Clubs
Region: Huntington Beach
Left Coast Brewery
1245 Puerta Del Sol
San Clemente, CA 92673
Category: Restaurant > American
Region: San Clemente
Newport Beach Brewing Co.
2920 Newport Blvd.
Newport Beach, CA 92663
Category: Breweries and Wineries
Region: Out of Town
Noble Ale Works
1621 S. Sinclair St., B
Anaheim, CA 92806
Category: Breweries and Wineries
Region: Anaheim
Old Orange Brewing
1444 N. Batavia St.
Orange, CA 92867
Category: Restaurant > American
Region: Orange
Pizza Port
301 N. El Camino Real
San Clemente, CA 92672
Category: Breweries and Wineries
Region: San Clemente
Taps Fish House & Brewery
101 E. Imperial Highway
Brea, CA 92821
Category: Bars and Clubs
Region: Brea
Tustin Brewing Company
13011 Newport Ave., Ste. 100
Tustin, CA 92780
Category: Bars and Clubs
Region: Tustin
VALIANT BREWING
2294 N. Batavia St., Ste. C
Orange, CA 92865
Category: Restaurant > American
Region: Orange
Related Content
More About
So behold our guide to all things cerveza in Orange County, along with a handy-dandy map for pinning on your cubicle. Read all the blurbs we have on the county's breweries, finer liquor stores and pubs, with a special shout-out to our country cousins in Long Beach. And, finally, come to the latest OC Weekly/KCRW Good Food Happy Hour on Thursday, Feb. 7 from 7 to 9 p.m. at the king of OC's New Beer Revolution: The Bruery at 715 Dunn Way, Placentia, (714) 996-6258. Meet Evan Kleiman of KCRW's Good Food and your favorite Weekly food writers, and enjoy beers released exclusively for our event—see you there! And remember Mark Twain's advice: Write drunk and edit sober!
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BEER STORES
1. AMAZING GRAPES WINE STORE
Don't let the wine moniker fool you: When Cismontane Brewing is closed, it's not time to play in traffic, the only other thing to do in RSM. Just head to Amazing Grapes next door and pillage its huge, brightly lit coolers full of California craft beers. 29911 Aventura, stes. D, E and F, Rancho Santa Margarita, (888) 299-WINE; amazinggrapeswinestore.com.
2. BRADLEY'S FINE WINES & SPIRITS
Bradley's is where Tustinites go to buy good wine cheaply, and the good prices extend to beer. The selection can be daunting, though not as bad as the parking lot it shares with Trader Joe's; the staff is just as good at knowing beer as wine. 12932 Newport Ave., Ste. 1, Tustin, (714) 544-1444.
3. DIMENSION LIQUOR
Foothill Ranch may be a soulless place, where life is put on hold pending a review by the HOA's architecture board, but Dimension Liquor, just downhill from the 241 toll road, is an oasis of craft beer that will make the waiting for Godot much better. 20761 Lake Forest Dr., Ste. J, Lake Forest, (949) 380-8786.
4. G&D LIQUOR
We could write about the selection, but we'd rather write about the best deal in OC craft-beer retail right now: make your own six-pack for $9.99, with no more than three of any individual beer. At that rate, you'll make your way through the cooler in a few months or so of steady drinking. 338 N. Euclid St., Fullerton, (714) 525-0085.
5. HACIENDA BEVERAGE
A cluttered hodgepodge of liquor in no particular order (try to find a specific bottle of tequila!) stands between you and the huge back wall tiled with craft beer. Consider a pole vault because the selection includes Eagle Rock and other LA microbrews. 670 S. Brea Blvd., Brea, (714) 529-1593; haciendabeverage.com.
6. HI-TIME WINE CELLARS
As with everything else liquor, Hi-Time is a juggernaut, our Elysian Fields of booze, with an enormous walk-in beer cooler containing everything from ESB to English mild. Just remember to wear a sweater. 250 Ogle St., Costa Mesa, (949) 650-8463; hitimewine.net.
7. HOLLINGSHEAD'S DELICATESSEN
If it's German beer you're after, you've got to wander the aisles at Hollingshead's, one of the OC pioneers of great beer. There are craft brews from the U.S. as well, but the vast majority of the hundreds of bottles are from places that sprechen Deutsch. Just don't wear a Vikings jersey or root for the University of Michigan—you've been warned. 368 S. Main St., Orange, (714) 978-9467; hollingsheadsdeli.com.
8. ICON BEVERAGES & CIGARS
Little ol' Cypress is blessed with a liquor store that can boast of the best U.S. craft-brew selection in the county by far, with 600 craft beers; a knowledgeable, friendly, staff; and an upcoming tasting "room" cordoned off by so-flimsy-it-can't-be-true 3-foot barriers. 5721 Lincoln Ave., Cypress, (714) 229-8904.
9. K&S FOOD STORE
K&S, just west of oh-so-fancy Floral Park, looks as though it ought to specialize in malt liquor, but wind your way through the labyrinth of boxes, and you'll find a surprisingly good selection of local brews. 2626 N. Bristol St., Santa Ana, (714) 543-7190.
10. MR. KEGS
Where do you go when you're having a keg party and you're past the "bro" age at which Coors Light is okay? You go to Mr. Kegs and stock up on California craft beer in 5-gallon party balls. 5914 Warner Ave., Huntington Beach, (714) 861-7270; mrkegs.com.
11. O'SHEA BREWING
This is a wonderland in South County: brewing supplies, cheesemaking supplies and craft-beer kegs. Also, you can get the house brew, made by Bayhawk to its recipe, for far less than other craft brews. 28142 Camino Capistrano, Ste. 107, Laguna Niguel, (949) 364-4440; osheabrewing.com.
12 comments
Interesting that there's no mention of Bootlegger's Brewery being the home of Beer Magazine's #2 Beer IN THE WORLD! No other American brew is even in the Top 10!
Also, I remember trying a local microbrew at a sport's bar in a Disneyland area hotel. It was a Raspberry Ale, I believe, and brewed out of Rancho Santa Margarita. I've never seen that beer since - even at that hotel bar! Any clues as to it's origin?
@acutaboveentertainme If it was a Raspberry Hefeweizen, it came from Stadium Brewing in Aliso Viejo—sadly inadvertently omitted.
I only had 25-40 words for each blurb, so long descriptions of awards will have to wait for longer profiles.
@Dave_Lieberman @acutaboveentertainme Thanks! That IS what it was. I'll keep a lookout for it...
Any reason Steelhead isn't on the list? I know it's a mini-chain from Oregon, just curious.
1 Like
@Blue.Osmium For the same reason BJ's and Oggi's aren't on the list. Steelhead brews its own; BJ's and Oggi's don't, but they're chains. I struggled with Selma's too, but they're an OC-only mini-chain.
It's possible that some were left off inadvertently, so please post any that you find!
1 Like
@Blue.Osmium The deep, dark secret is that they actually outsource the writing of articles to India now, and it's Feb. 1 in Bengaluru!
Hollingsheads, enough cannot be said of that place! Have a sandwich, a side of mushrooms and a Pliny the Elder (on tap!)
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