3 years ago when we went to Disneyland there was only one brewery nearby. Alcatraz Brewing Company which was a nice “San Francisco cuisine” brewpub. This time I didn’t even have a chance to go back because there are now four more breweries near Disneyland, three of them are within two miles of the park entrance. The other one is actually 2.5 miles from the park in the town of Placentia. It’s called The Bruery.

The Bruery

I wish I had more time to stay here. They have 27 different beers on tap. They just hand you a menu with a description of every beer and you can check off what which six beers you want a sample of. They do a lot of experimenting with barrel aged beers, and strong beers, Belgium style too. They only sell big bottles, ranging from $9 to over $30 a bottle so the tasters are actually a really good deal. The place was clean and full of 20 something year olds who looked like regulars. It’s located in the back of a Business Park, but I can see why this place is popular. That said; I was more impressed with the variety than the quality. However, if this place was nearby I would be a regular.

JT Schmid’s Restaurant and Brewery.

This place was fun for the entire family. It’s next to the Angles stadium and the Ducks arena too so you might want to check the schedule. The evening we went we had a waitress all to ourselves and we all liked our food a lot. The beer is standard brewpub selection, after the sampler I had a 20 once golden ale. Big screen TVs with baseball on them in all directions. Great!

Noble Ale Works

This was a fantastic oasis after 10 hours at California Adventure. A classic brewery tasting room. In a business park, also near Angels stadium. It’s a small place, but with plenty of parking.  When I walked in there were two guys in business suits, a young couple, then a rasta dude and an old timer at the bar. About 12 beers on tap. They had a strong beer that was so good I had seconds instead of trying more things. Just one girl behind the bar but she hustled and had a great attitude. Through the door I could see the brewer at work.

Anaheim Brewery

This is a brewery so I like it, but it may be my least favorite. It really has the feel of a craft beer business venture more than it does a brewery. The young staff, in matching polo shirts, was friendly and the beer was fine. However, if I came 10 minutes later I wouldn’t have gotten in because of a private party that they didn’t botherr to mention on their web site. They gave me tokens for mini-refills instead of having all of the samples at once. That was okay, but I noticed they had a growler program with a big upfront fee (need to return several times for refills to get your moneys worth). I bought a 12 pack and it was $20 for very standard fair beer. On top of that, parking was surprisingly difficult. Go ahead and skip this place, but I highly recommend each of the other places!