{"id":466385,"date":"2026-09-17T04:48:18","date_gmt":"2026-09-17T04:48:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/466385\/"},"modified":"2026-09-17T04:48:18","modified_gmt":"2026-09-17T04:48:18","slug":"best-of-orange-county-2026-best-craft-brewery-orange-county-register","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/466385\/","title":{"rendered":"Best of Orange County 2026: Best craft brewery \u2013 Orange County Register"},"content":{"rendered":"

Each year, we ask Orange County Register readers to choose their favorite places to shop, dine, play and do business in OC.<\/p>\n

Here are the top picks for Best craft brewery:<\/p>\n

1. Brewery X<\/p>\n

Multiple locations;\u00a0brewery-x.com<\/a><\/p>\n

X marks the spot \u2014 the spot where people come together to unwind and catch up over a pint of beer. That\u2019s the idea the group of founders had when they started Brewery X, which has become one of the largest independent breweries in Southern California. They specialize in crisp, easy-drinking light beers and West Coast style IPAs and Hazy IPAs. They are also known for brewing natural fruit seltzers and \u201cHardest-Seltzers,\u201d which are more cocktail-inspired.<\/p>\n

The place is a lot of things to a lot of people. Brewery X has a large outdoor Biergarten that can fit hundreds of guests and is family- and dog-friendly. The indoor air-conditioned Beerhall offers more than 40 beers and seltzers, American style pub favorites bites, burgers, pizzas, salads and more as well as the option to watch live sporting events on large LED screens. There\u2019s also a quieter, pub-style taproom that fits about 40 people and a private events space.<\/p>\n

\u201cTo us, life is about being where you want to be, not where you have to be,\u201d the brewery\u2019s owner say on their website. \u201cWe are a team that has put our best efforts forward to produce great clean beer, provide an unparalleled brewery experience, and contribute to the greater wellbeing of community.\u201d<\/p>\n

Brewery X has five locations, including three in Orange County. Brewery X Anaheim is the largest and has the most settings inside and out. Brewery X at Honda Center is conveniently located if you\u2019re taking in the Anaheim Ducks game, and Brewery X at Angel Stadium lets you watch the game from the right field restaurant and bar, sip Brewery X beers and seltzers and snack on food unique to the Angels culinary staff.<\/p>\n

Also see: Best of Orange County 2026: See all the winners<\/a><\/p>\n

2. Green Cheek Beer Co.<\/p>\n

Costa Mesa, Huntington Beach, Orange; greencheekbeer.com<\/a><\/p>\n

Green Cheek Beer Co. founders are not looking to conquer the world. Explore, collaborate, yes, but they have no interest in distributing their brews on a large scale.<\/p>\n

\u201cGreen Cheek intentionally scales backward to prioritize product quality and taproom culture,\u201d said Brian Rauso, who founded the brewery with his business partner Evan Price nine years ago to cater to a highly local and fiercely loyal clientele. They named the company after green cheek parakeets \u2014 wild parrots that fly around Southern California after mysteriously showing up in the area in the 1960s.<\/p>\n

They are best known for their award-winning West Coast IPAs although their seltzers have become popular lately. Disneyland even picked up their lavender lemonade.<\/p>\n

They now have four locations in Orange, Costa Mesa, Sunset Beach and Oceanside. The OC spots are smaller, more intimate neighborhood hubs.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe want to grow into the communities that foster a chilled, laidback vibe,\u201d Rauso said.<\/p>\n

3. Karl Strauss Brewing Company<\/p>\n

Anaheim, Costa Mesa;\u00a0karlstrauss.com<\/a><\/p>\n

Brewery founder and namesake Karl Strauss dedicated his life\u2019s work to brewing beer in his native Germany and later in America. Known as the godfather of beer, he was also instrumental in launching the craft beer industry in San Diego and creating award-winning varieties. Strauss died in 2006, but his legacy lives on through his titular brew pubs.<\/p>\n

Now, Karl Strauss Brewing Company has nine locations, including two in Orange County. Each brewpub has a distinct character reflecting the local community and serves elevated American bar food to go with house-brewed craft ales, IPAs, seasonal releases and more.<\/p>\n

The Anaheim location is across the street from Angel Stadium and the Grove, making it a good spot to grab a bite and a drink before or after a game or a concert, although it can get busy around those times.<\/p>\n

The Costa Mesa location is near the Westin South Coast Plaza Mall. Online reviewers praise both the food and beer as well as friendly service.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Each year, we ask Orange County Register readers to choose their favorite places to shop, dine, play and…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":466386,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[36],"tags":[163,165,164,8697,1115,2252,100120,183645,118787,183647,2257,76616,183646,183648,55096],"class_list":["post-466385","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-anaheim","tag-anaheim","tag-anaheim-headlines","tag-anaheim-news","tag-bars","tag-beer","tag-brewery","tag-brewery-x","tag-ciders","tag-craft-brewery","tag-green-cheek-beer-co","tag-ipa","tag-karl-strauss-brewing-company","tag-pale-ale","tag-seltzers","tag-stout"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/466385","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=466385"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/466385\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/466386"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=466385"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=466385"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=466385"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}