Breweries/Beer Bars in and around Laguna Beach

Beer and Spirits
1

A buddy and his wife are spending a few days in Laguna Beach on vacation next week, and wanted to get the lowdown for some good places they can pop in to get some standout beers. Not major enthusiasts and not looking to do major driving out of their way, but if there are some hidden gems (or someplace they can do some shopping for me) the insider tip would be welcome after all the touristy crap they’re having to do with their family.

2

Matthew,

Hopefully Todd French or Phil Franks can chime it. Also Cris Whetstone knows every beer bar from Mendocino to Tijuana if you can get a hold of him.

3

I live in LB; there is one brewery in town - Ocean Ave Brewery named after the street it is on. One street over is Forest Avenue where you can find Brussels Bistro which sports 10 draft beer plus another 20 in bottle. On Pacific Coast Hwy is House of BIG FISH & Ice Cold Beer with plenty to drink. If you travel up to the next city you find Yard House (no relation) with very large selection on tap, over 50. All these serve decent food as well and I say park downtown LB and walk around and enjoy… It is all about 10 minutes by foot with many other restaurants to pull into.

Shawn

4

I’d like to get my friend home without a criminal record or an STD, thank you…

Thanks, Shawn. Had read about Brussels Bistro and was thinking that would be the first choice. Any decent bottle shops that may have some stuff an East Coaster would crave?

5

Brussels Bistro is great, primarily because it reminds me of a Belgian pub. The Belgian beer selection is excellent, so many good choices with the proper glass. The oysters this month were fantastic.

6

Thanks, Shawn. Had read about Brussels Bistro and was thinking that would be the first choice. Any decent bottle shops that may have some stuff an East Coaster would crave?

While in LB there are no real formal bottle shops yet the Laguna Culinary Arts Café and Wine Shop has a small selection of bottled beer and nice wines from around the globe. There are 2 small liquor stores across town but the big grocery stores will provide larger selections. If you plan ahead your friend can have it all by going to Hi-Times in Costa Mesa. This place claims to have the largest walk-in tempt. controlled wine cellar on the West Coast with huge walk-in refrigerator offering over 1,000 different beers from 25 different countries. Let the fun began…