Beer in Laguna Hills, CA?

I am going to be in Laguna Hills, CA for a few days. Are there any decent bottle shops or brew pubs I should check out?

Thanks!

Not really. I grew up around there. There's a BJ's at the LH Mall, though. Good for some pizza and cheap, pretty good beers. If you can travel, the Bruery Provisions has a spot in Old Orange. OC Keg Company/O'Shea's brewing company is in Mission Viejo has a great selection of kegs, but I don't think any bottles. Homebrew supplies, though.

Business travel, or family/pleasure?

If you haven't already visited, Cismontane Brewing Co. is where you want to go my friend:
http://www.yelp.com/biz/cismontane-brewing-co-rancho-santa-margarita

Pacific Park Market in Aliso Viejo usually has some good bottles. Small, but good selection. Russian River belgians are usually there, and they often have some Pliny in the back.

Other than that, there's a TON of BEVMOs around. They'll have all the commonly distributed beers in cali.

As for bottle shops, Hi-Times Wine Cellars in Costa Mesa is worth checking out. It's a little bit of a drive from LH but not horrible. As mentioned, there are quite a few Bevmos. Total Wine is also a good place for bottles.

I visited Newport Beach Brewing Company for the first time on a recent trip and it was pretty good. Also went to a place called Ocean Brewing in Laguna Beach...IMO it sucked (touristy, stale beer, and more focused on cocktails/wine than beer). Haven in Orange is a pretty awesome gastro-pub with a great selection of craft beers. Slaters 50/50 is a gourmet burger/sports bar that has a good beer selection (some on tap, a lot more in the bottle). They're known for the 50/50 burger; 50% ground beef, 50% ground bacon. If you head a bit further south you can check out some of the San Diego area breweries like Stone.

second vote for Cismontaine. Great beer. Check the hours first though, they are not open all weekdays.

Check out Selma's in Rancho Santa Margarita, right down the road from Cismontaine. There is also a Selma's in Ladera Ranch. They have a great selection tap. Best in that area and good food too.

Both places are a short drive from Laguna Hills.

daksin said:

Not really. I grew up around there. There's a BJ's at the LH Mall, though. Good for some pizza and cheap, pretty good beers. If you can travel, the Bruery Provisions has a spot in Old Orange. OC Keg Company/O'Shea's brewing company is in Mission Viejo has a great selection of kegs, but I don't think any bottles. Homebrew supplies, though.

Business travel, or family/pleasure?

Click to expand...

Oshea's has a lhbs (got simcoe last time)and and a small selection of bottles...last time I was up there they had pliny the elder in the fridge for 6 dollars....
Bayhawk ales sucks a big one, don't even bother with them imo...
Igotsand

O'shea Brewing Co. in Laguna Hills is a homebrew shop, they also have a small (but usually good) selection of bottles. I would highly recommend Pizza Port in San Clemente...great beer on tap and great pizza. It would be about a 15 minute drive from Laguna Hills.

Seconded for O'Shea, it's Laguna Niguel though.

Also, highly recommend Pizza Port. I drive down just to eat out there, it's fantastic and it's a real pizza parlor. Kinda hard to find these days in OC.

While we're listing out places, Taps in Brea is fantastic too (they have a killer happy hour). Total Wine in Irvine and in Lake Forest are great for bottles/kegs too. I go there to get my Sweetwater 420 Pale Ale fix. Adison up in Fullerton is great too.