Latest reviews from Aliso Viejo

“So this is a fairly pretentious and busy upscale brew pub in an outdoor shopping/dining area. There is parking, but can get tough at busy times. Outdoor seating, weather permitting, plus a large inside space and a decent sized bar. On my visit the bar was packed but the service staff was pretty cool and let me take a full table even though I just wanted beer. Flights of four for $13 - any four. They do have their own beers, but the two I tried were dismal. More importantly, they now run 60 taps and serve a TON of "not their" beers as well. Lots of CA breweries, but it is a pretty solid list. They had like 10 Russian River taps, for example. Fremont B-Bomb. Chmay Blue. Hard not to find something worth drinking. I of course had to waste two spots on Stadium "beers" and one on another new brewery, but that's just me. The staff was quite nice. Food menu looked good but prices were a bit painful so I waived off. A $20 Cobb just seems wrong. All in all, stop by if in the area, just ignore their house beers.“

bytemesis 60 days ago

“Bog standard Ralph's supermarket, very few singles and like their six pack/boxed selections all well known beers available in every supermarket for miles around. No idea who or why some one added this place and then didn't bother reviewing it (It wasn't me!).“

BlackHaddock 302 days ago

“Visited on 27th April 2016 and again the following evening for a Valiant Brewery tasting. Situated on a non-diScript shopping and car garage mall, it does not look too promising on arrival. Once inside however you are treated to a host of treats with plenty of singles as well as multi-packs. I have no idea if the selection contains rare stuff because I am hardly local, but the choice is substantive and interesting to a visiting beer geek like me. Orange County does not do ’cheap’ but the prices seemed a little high for some bottles. Anyway I liked the place and really enjoyed the tasting evening. Friendly and knowledgeable guys fronting the place and a place I will use when at my daughters again. Just a pity they do not have a proper drinking area apart from the special event tasting bar, I suppose the license is too expensive to bother with?“

BlackHaddock 2930 days ago

“Re-visited on 15th Dec 2017 and again on 20th March 2019, had a great time on each occasion. Now 60 taps with a far better selection than on my first trip. Five beers from a New Zealand brewery and some 'classics' I have wanted to try were also available (2017). My score for this place has been up'ed. First visited on 18th May 2015. Airy, high ceiling and open plan: more seats and tables outside than inside. Bar seating for about 20 with a high table and stools for another 20 close by. Brewing equipment on show but not in operation the day I was there. Lots of large TV screens and plenty of glass where walls would normally be. Service was poor, even sat at the bar as I was. Prices seemed at odd, a tasting flight of the house 7 beers was only $8.00 and some strong ABV guest pints $3.00, none of their house beers however were under $5.00 a pint. Food was not cheap but my platter of mixed appetiser’s was fine ($18.00 though). I thought their beers were OK and not as others have said in the past. I would be happy to re-visit and try more of the 40 taps, just hope another server was on duty.“

BlackHaddock 3279 days ago

“This is another of those places that have been around forever and for that reason (or possibly due to location) manage to stay in business despite making mediocre beer. They definitely have the location going for them (it’s in a large shopping center next door to a movie theater) and in my two visits I didn’t see many people drinking the house beer, so maybe that explains it. The beers aren’t terrible, unlike Ocean Ave, but I certainly won’t be visiting again any time soon. That said it’s not actually a terrible place. Finding a seat on a Friday or a Saturday night can be tough but in both visits I got a seat at the bar without much issue. Lots of TVs around so you can be a bro all you want with your group of friends from a table, or from the bar, or even outside on the patio. The service was definitely slow but friendly and offered free tastes of some of the beers. The weirdest one was the blueberry lager which is served with a scoop of blueberries in it. I asked to try it without the fruit to see if it was just the regular lager with blueberries added but sure enough the base version has some blueberry flavor to it as well (presumably artificial since the beer is not pink or blue at all). Prices are high and parking sucks. I had to park at the shopping center across the street. The food is not bad, just expensive.“

t0rin0 3808 days ago

“This place is garbage. Tough to find with Google directions, but it’s near the movie theater. The place is huge and full of the typical Orange County doucheoisie. Service is terrible and the beers are pretty crappy, too. Prices aren’t exactly cheap, either.“

brokensail 4044 days ago

“Unassuming liquor store in a shopping center in this fairly high-end neighborhood. The guy that runs it (at least beer-wise) is very nice and knowledgeable. Prices are sort of average, maybe a little high on some things. Not a bad selection, but maybe not quite as crazy as I was expecting from what I’d heard about it.“

brokensail 4299 days ago

“Visited here on a recent work trip to the OC. I had a Raspberry Hefe, Blueberry Lager, and Hop Head Red - nothing spectacular but all pretty solid brews. The Blueberry had lots of actual blueberries floating in it which was interesting. Our table split some nachos which were very tasty. The waitress seemed genuienly interested in beer and was very friendly. Our glasses weren’t empty all night thanks to her.“

Dixonian 4666 days ago

“Visited on a Tuesday evening as part of a large work team dinner. They accommodated the group well, and the service was attentive all evening. I had some appetizers, and shrimp pasta dish - all the food was really fresh and well prepared. I also had the beer sampler which ranged from OK to pretty run of the mill. It’s too bad the level of attention the food received was not extended to the brewing - a few of these beers tasted like kit beers. In general this place is worth a visit if you are in the immediate area, but not sure I would recommend going out of your way.

64 = ★★ (Just ok)

I only use the total score, not the component parts.“

theisti 4919 days ago

“I agree with the other raters, that the beers are subpar - though nothing wrong - just bland. We didn’t eat - wrong time of day, maybe that was a mistake. 8 own beers on draft, which for me was reason enough to visit, but probably never coming back.“

Ungstrup 4934 days ago

“What a surprising find! With the BudLight neon in the windows, I expected this to be a typical liqour store. However, it’s got a few fantastic beers for sale. In fact, it’s by far the closest place that I can find anything better than Samuel Adams.“

jburley 5060 days ago

“Corporate style clean aura with big windows. Bland uninspired beers. Yuppies love hanging at this soulless place.“

AmEricanbrew 5349 days ago

“I finally made it over to this place. It can be easy to miss: it’s at Aliso Creek and Liberty in the center with the Dairy Queen. The sign outside says Market & Deli. They have a pretty nice beer selection. RR, Alesmith, Stone, Bruery and many west coast micros. Fridays are tastings. For $7 tonight they had Blind Pig, Pliny the Elder, Sierra Nevada Anniv, Houblon Chouffe, Stone Cali-Belgique and Dale’s Gordon.“

JohnC 5726 days ago

“Below average beers but the tacos on the outdoor patio were good. A twenty-something crowd mostly hangs out here. Save your money.“

Eyedrinkale 7369 days ago

“ReRate: 7/29/2004: The beers here were below average. The hefeweizen was the only one that resembled the style. Most of the others were thin and poorly carbonated. On a positive note, the food is excellent. The menu is far more than the normal pub grub. I’d go back for the food. BTW, on some of the menu items, they even suggest a beer to have w/ the entree. Funny, a brewpub that got everything right except the beer. Previous Rating: It’s been a couple of years since I was at Stadium, but I remember the food being a couple of notches above the typical pub grub and the beer being pretty good. I don’t know why we haven’t gone back. I wouldn’t go out of my way to find this place, but if in the area it’s probably a pretty good choice for dinner & a brew.“

JohnC 7424 days ago