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The doors are finally opened at Orange County’s newest brewery, Santa Ana River Brewing Company, three years I’ve been following their journey on Instagram and I’m happy to say it was worth the wait. Geoff Brand, Mike Miller and Ian Maddux are the homebrewers behind the hops and grain, they are focusing on hoppy, West Coast Style beers but the menu has a little bt of everything for everyone.
SARB (Santa Ana River Brewing) is located in the south western corner of Santa Ana, near the corner of Harbor and Warner, the address is 3480 W. Warner but it’s actually set back in a newer looking industrial building complex anchored by a Self Storage unit. It might be hard to find at first but once you do find your way you’ll be welcomed by one or all three of the brewers, they are a very friendly group and will help you decide on your choice of suds. The area when you first walk in is where you order your beer, you can sit there at the bar or go back into their large warehouse area where all the brewing equipment is. It’s cool to see that they still use their homebrewing set up to brew beer, using it for small batches which I’m looking forward to. This part of Orange County is totally devoid of fresh brewed beer, Fountain Valley is close by as well as Costa Mesa, and they’re a welcome addition to the other breweries in Santa Ana. Drink Up People! 😄
I started off my visit with the Par for the Course Pale Ale 6.4% ABV, Single Hop w/Citra, very refreshing, hop forward but not bitter at all. Delicious! Sometimes Pale Ales are, well, Pale, no body, just blah, not Par for the Course, this Pale would compliment a juicy steak or burger, YUM! I then had to have the Saigon Stout 6.8% ABV Nitro Milk Stout w/Cascade Hops and Vietnamese coffee. Smooth AF! The coffee is from a local roaster, Delta Café Roasting, excellente!! Rich, wonderful flavors, one of the best Stouts around. Next up was the FarCryo All Cryo Hops IPA 7.4% ABV using Simcoe, Citra and Mosaic. Fantastic IPA, again this beer was super hop forward but with no bitterness, smooth, enjoyable, so much going on with all the hops.
I was told to let the homebrewing community know if you want to hold your meeting here you are more than welcome. SoCal Cerveceros let’s meet up! SARB is closed on Mondays but Tuesday they will start having a Trivia Night with a Taco Truck @tacos_el_gringo. For more information follow them on Instagram @santaanariverbrewing or www.santaanariverbrewing.com
Cheers! BobbyKnowsBeer!
Last modified: February 25, 2019
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