Any good breweries in the Irvine area?

[TheBrewAbides]

I'm headed down to Irvine, CA next week and I was hoping to visit a brewery or two. We are going to make the drive down to San Diego one of the days, so I think we may hit up Stone. We are aslo going to drive up to LA as well.

I'm sure there are tons, and I could probably google it, but I'd like some suggestions from people who live in the area. Thanks!

 

[Monkey55]

Yard House in the Irvine Spectrum. You could do some walking around and shopping. It's been a few years since I've been to the Spectrum. As as far as I can remember, it gets pretty busy at night. Some people dress up really nicely and others casually. I think they have something like over 200 beers on tap.

JT Schmids in Anaheim, which is pretty close to Irvine.

http://jtschmidsrestaurants.com/Home.html

I have never been there, so I can't give you any feedback on the establishment. Although, I always wanted to stop.

Taps Fish House
http://www.tapsfishhouse.com/brea/index.html

It's been about 8 years since I've been to Taps, but from what I remember, it's a nice place. It's a little drive from Irvine. It's probably twice the distance as JT Schmid's.

Traffic gets pretty heavy starting about 4 or 4:30pm and last til about 6:30'ish. If you go on the weekends, traffic should be light.

If you happen to go to JT Schmid's, take the 5frwy North to the 57 freeway North. Exit Kattella and make a right. It will be on the right side across the street from the Honda Center.


Ummmm.. That's all got..

Have fun.

E

 

[Monkey55]

Oh yeah. You could also go to 2nd Street in Long Beach.

Dominco's is my favorite restaurant down there. There's a sushi house somewhere there, a BJ's, a couple of coffee shops, and an ice cream shop.

http://www.belmontshore.org/index.php?pageTurn=food


Edit: Oh Yeah Again... Gordon Biersch.
http://www.gordonbiersch.com/locations/?st=CA#st

Edit Again: Never mind Gordon Biersh. The closest one is in Burbank.

Ok.. my last one... The Universal City Walk can be fun.

 

[InLimbo]

Do you specifically want breweries? Or would you be OK with beer bars?

the Yardhouse is a beer bar with a good selection, but not a brewery. It can get a little frat-tastic for my tastes.. It's like the official bar of people meeting up from Match.com. You know, the spoiled Orange Curtain 20-something year olds who are still living large off of mommy and daddy.

Oggi's is an OK brewpub. Pizza was surprisingly good, but not as good as pizza port, and their beer offerings are a joke compared to PP, which is a little further away. Which brings me to:

Pizza Port San Clemente. Nuff said.

Stone is worth making the trip for. Don't forget that Lost Abbey/Port Brewing, and Green Flash have tasting rooms damn close to Stone as well, not to mention the proliferation of pizza ports in san diego county.

 

[igotsand]

My suggestion would be The Bruery if u are staying in OC...
http://www.thebruery.com/index2.html

Or pizzaport in san clemente for some pizza and beer..
http://www.pizzaport.com/locations/san-clemente/

And 30minutes south u have endless options....:rockin:
http://sandiego.taphunter.com/location/

igotsand

 

[terrapinj]

Tustin is supposed to be an awesome brew pub
http://www.tustinbrewery.com/

Bruery is in OC as mentioned if you like Belgians

Bootleggers is in Fullerton
http://www.bootleggersbrewery.com/index.php/2009010564/Visit-Us/visit-us2.html

here is a list for OC from Beer Advocate
http://beeradvocate.com/beerfly/city/73

 

[daksin]

Not much in the way of breweries up in Irvine area (used to live in South OC too). I've never been to the Bruery, but it seems to be well-liked. Skip the Yard house- mediocre food and a totally corporate chain. A great selection of craft beer of course, but the selection doesn't change much and there's nothing too exotic. Usually only a single example from most breweries, and with 100 taps, there's just no way any of the more obscure brews are going to be fresh.

I'd see if you could add more time in SD (but of course, I'm biased and not afraid to admit it). I'm WALKING DISTANCE to SIX breweries at my house (Karl Strauss, Green Flash, Ballast Point, Airdale, Hess, and Alesmith, but who's counting?) not to mention White Labs itself, which gives a pretty cool tour.

Just a few to pick and choose from while you're down there (!=personal faves, *=North County, so closer to Irvine):

Pizza Port!*
Stone!*
Alesmith!
Oceanside Aleworks*
Mother Earth*
The Lost Abbey/Port Brewing*
Green Flash!
Ballast Point!
Coronado
Airdale
Aztec
Coronado
Iron Fist
Hess
Lightning!
Manzanita
Mission
Alpine Brewing

As well as a ton of great brewpubs like your Oggis, BJs, Rock Bottoms, and Karl Strausses. Also remember that even from north county, it's never much more than half an hour drive to south county if that's keeping you from exploring farther south.

If you're looking for the absolute best in beer bars/pubs, with amazing food, look no further than the Blind Lady Alehouse in North Park. Stone, is of course, a must-go for a beer lovers and foodies (currently it's my favorite restaurant in the county, even though it's only my #2 or #3 brewery in the county).

Failing that, if you want a super casual non-pretentious experience more like a standard sports bar, you can never go wrong at the Tap Room in PB. Awesome selection of locals, great assortment of other craft beers, and some tasty pub food. Beer is always fresh there.

When will you be down?

 

[BeerMe21]

Karl Strauss is one of my favorites around here, good beer and food. Right next to south coast plaza, lots of shopping etc. http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/6976

I have been to Alcatraz brewing co. once for happy hour at the orange circle. Wasn't incredibly impressed, but definitely not bad. There is also a lot to do at the orange circle.

I have heard good things about the bruery in placentia and bootleggers in fullerton but have not been there personally.

If you make it down to San Diego, Stone brewery is awesome. Make sure you get there early for a tour. There is also complementary tasting afterwards. I have not tried the other SD breweries but I have been meaning to.

Have fun!

 

[TheBrewAbides]

Holy S--t. I was kind of expecting one or two recomendations, but this is great! Thanks for all the suggestions.

I'm pretty much just limiting myself to breweries or brewpubs. I'm going down there with my wife and daughter, so I want to stay away from bars.

We'll get into Irvine Sunday night and on Monday we're headed to Disneyland, and on Friday we're going down to San Diego for SeaWorld. Other than that we aren't on a schedule so I definitely want to slip in a couple of breweries/brewpubs. I've read about Oggi's, and Pizza Port sounds interesting too. I'll just have to choose based on where we decide to travel on our off days.

Thanks again!

 

[daksin]

If you're travelling with Wife and Kids, I would probably avoid the Pizza port, it's pretty bar-y, but great pizza and great beer. Oggi's is good, but not amazing. Same for Karl's, but they have great food there and the beer is always fresh. They don't pull anybody else's beer, though. If you're going during the day, say for lunch, the Blind Lady is still probably a good place to go. Amazing pizza and a great choice of beers.

Green Flash and Ballast Point Kearny mesa (their main operation is on the coast, but the kearny mesa tasting room is the place I co) are tasting-rooms only, so no food or wine. Most of the smaller breweries are probably the same way. Also, no chairs.
Just check online or here at HBT before you drive somewhere, and you should be good to go. If you PM me I can send you my cell # and give you recommendations on the fly if need be.

Good luck and enjoy your trip!

 

[Paramecium]

If your going during the day on a weekday, hit Pizza Port while you are in San Diego. They have great beer, will have some great guest beers and during the late afternoon it is slow and family friendly for sure.

Thursday through Sunday head up to Fullerton and hit Bootleggers. The Bruery is open on the weekend as well I believe.

Stone would be a good choice in SD as well, they have a nice bistro that is very family friendly.

If you just want to get some good beer, during the week in Orange you can hit Hollingshead Deli, they usually have some amazing stuff on tap and bottles of just about anything you could want. They are closed on the weekend though.

 

[ToddO]

Belmont Brewery in Long Beach is a great spot - brewery and restaurant right on the beach. Beer is good but not great IMO. Beachwood BBQ in Seal Beach has the best beers around on tap and you can always see what they have on tap before you go:
http://beachwoodbbq.com/beer.php
Its a great walk around there as well with the pier and a playground etc..

 

[arturo7]

If you're travelling with Wife and Kids, I would probably avoid the Pizza port,

Are you kidding? Those joints usually loud due to the screaming kids.

 

[davel57]

In Irvine, I like Steelhead Brewing Company, a brewpub near UC Irvine.

 

[kosmokramer]

dale bros brewery in upland, ( my favorite local spot for a nice california lager) or hanger 24 in redlands, very popular for their orange wheat but have about 10 brew on hand at anytime

 

[TheBrewAbides]

Well JT Schmid's wasn't very good. I asked about their beers and besides the usual BMC beers, they only had four of their own beers, and I'm pretty sure that's all they have to offer. I asked to know more about their "handcrafted" brews hoping to read a beer list and all he told me was "we have an light, amber, hefe, and a stout". Well so does Costco, dips--t.

 

[daksin]

How was the rest of your trip? Any luck?