The best breweries in L.A.

From a tiny outpost in the Hermosillo bar to a massive buildout in a Chinatown warehouse, Highland Park Brewery’s grown from an L.A. underdog to one of the city’s most adventurous, innovative and collaborative breweries. While you can still pull up a seat at the Hermosillo on York for a handful of the brewery's offerings, the kid- and dog-friendly Chinatown location is a stunner, and it's where nearly all of the releases, parties and events take place. (Note: It gets crowded, especially on release days.) The newer, larger digs provide a full kitchen for some of the best drinking snacks in town, plus double the tanks, allowing the team to crank out more experimental, funky and collaborative new beers. The menu board swaps out brews frequently but we're partial to their barrel-aged sour ale, and the rotation of hazy IPAs often packing the brightening punch of pineapple, citrus or mango.

Skee-ball, darts, ping pong, great bar food—Arts District Brewing is more than just a brewery, it's a bona fide party spot. The 15-barrel system pumps out some stellar varieties here, including the flagship Traction, an IPA infused with papaya and mango, and the Mateo, an easy golden ale that can effortlessly pair with some of the pub-style comfort food that gets passed from the food-service window and into the taproom. Prime-rib Sloppy Joes, mango habanero wings, chorizo burgers, salads and nachos are all on offer and, let's be real, pair with just about everything. There’s a full cocktail bar if you want to amp things up a bit, but first-timers should opt for a beer flight to sample what Arts District Brewing does best.

Housed in the historic Firestone tire station on La Brea, All Season Brewing is the expansive, all-purpose informal Mid-Wilshire bar that the city has been waiting for. Beer lovers flock here for All Season’s extensive list of brews, which runs heavy on IPAs and lagers, but those who’d rather sip on something fruity will be more than sated by their tropical-leaning cocktails on tap, including a delicious mezcal paloma. A menu of draft wines and classic cocktails, delicious snacks from Chicas Tacos, arcade games and Skee-Ball round out a night at the expansive open-air brewery, which also has an excellent weekday specials.

The only place to buy Monkish is from the taproom, so to Torrance (and their outpost out in Anaheim) you shall go. You’ll find the family-operated South Bay brewery just around the corner from Smog City, in fact, and when you get to the Belgian beers, you’ll also be greeted by free pretzels. (Not a bad way to begin.) While the Belgians are fantastic, especially the triple with hibiscus, you should also opt for one of the IPAs or a sampler of four beers.

The juggernaut of the Southland beer scene, Golden Road is L.A.'s largest brewery. Some of that is due to the company's much-maligned 2015 acquisition by Anheuser-Busch, but it hasn't degraded GRB's hop-forward beer selection—or its Atwater Village location's bustling beer-garden atmosphere. GRB's original space features bright-and-airy interiors and a shaded outdoor area, which both buzz with thirtysomethings, happy toddlers, cornhole and live music. While heavy on IPAs, GRB also serves wine, gluten-free cider and—perhaps most unique—a range of vegan food. If you're not near Atwater, you're still in luck: There's an outpost in Downtown's Grand Central Market, plus an Anaheim location with a killer patio. There's even a GRB in Sacramento and, of course, you can find the beers sold in bars and bottle shops across L.A. It wouldn't be an L.A. summer without a can of Mango Cart wheat ale—good thing they're everywhere.

Housed in an expansive, century-old building in the Arts District, this longtime craft brewery is one of the neighborhood's rock-solid day drinking spots—with the weekend crowds to match.  The warehouse space keeps that industrial feel with a bare-bones vibe and plenty of room to spread out among picnic tables while you sip on IPAs, pilsners, lagers and limited releases. Tacos & Trivia Tuesdays bring beer nerds together each week, while karaoke, art shows, yoga, food pop-ups and one-off events make this communal gathering space a place for more than just beer. If you’re a first-timer, the the classic Angeleno IPA is a solid choice with a bold, grapefruit-infused flavor. For those in search of something more unique, the annual kolsh-style avocado ale should do the trick.

After a half decade of researching centuries-old fermentation techniques across Europe, Ben Farber and Chelsey Rosetter launched Benny Boy, the city's first combined brewery and cider house, in April 2022. The husband-and-wife duo use whole flower hops instead of the more widely pellet hops, which Farber says provides a smoother, less bitter flavor. Forgoing the IPA-dominant menu of so many rival breweries, Benny Boy offers an eclectic mix of crisp lagers and Belgian strong ales, as well as a Desert Champagne Gose, a tart concoction brewed with fresh prickly pear, sage and desert salt. On the cider side, Benny Boy makes their ciders with in-state apples sourced from Santa Cruz, including the spice-forward Devil's Umbrella, which comes infused with pineapple and habanero. An expansive beer garden connects a 55-foot tank bar to a 1,200-square-foot cider room, providing an urban oasis for outdoor parties with food trucks and DJs.

For IPAs galore, you can’t beat this Glendale brewery located in a World War II era airplane hanger. The retro-chic space includes a lofted area with shuffleboard and lounge-style seating, while the ground floor offers plenty of high-tops and regular tables. While Paperback Brewing specializes in IPAs–both hazy and West Coast—the company also brews a few stouts and lighter options like One Night With Nora, a blonde ale with a touch of sweet honey malt. It’s also located next door to Glendale Tap, if you’re looking to do a mini beer crawl. If you get hungry, grab the excellent smashburgers from Bun & Blanket parked out front. 

As far as brewery-owned gastropubs go, Ballast Point runs some of the best, and their oceanside Long Beach location is no exception. The 30-plus beers on draft should keep you busy, but they never distract from the sweeping views of Alamitos Bay. Throw in the straightforward food menu and a couple of fire pits, and Ballast Point easily wins the title for brewery with the best views in L.A. County.

A mainstay of Downtown L.A.'s competitive craft beer scene for over half a decade, Boomtown distinguishes itself by brewing "old-world ales with an American twist." The taproom offers a half dozen beers year-round and a broad rotating selection of a dozen seasonal concoctions. The Brett Michaels, a kettle-soured Belgian blonde, is barrel-aged for at least three years and infused with a seasonal fruit. The Just, another crowd favorite, is a hop-forward West Coast Double blended with cannabis terpenes. The staff make use of the enormous industrial warehouse space by hosting boisterous nightly events, including open mic, vegan food pop-and karaoke. The company also supports local artists by commissioning their art on packaging and staging exhibitions in the taproom, and Boomtown's Amber Sawicki has recently stepped up to become one of the few female head brewers in the city. 

MacLeod Ale owners Alastair and Jennifer Boase know a thing or two about "real" ale. The small-batch beers at this Van Nuys brewery are made with imported English grains, naturally carbonated, cask conditioned and served at cellar temperature straight from the casks they were fermented in. In addition to serving some of the best cask beers in L.A., the brewery also offers a vast selection of draft and nitro beers, as well as some of the Valley's finest pizza (the spinach artichoke is the staff special). For local beer drinkers, MacLeod provides a taste of something different in a laid-back, friendly atmosphere, and for British expats, it's one of the only spots in town to get a proper pint. Little Spree, a Yorkshire-style pale ale, is a good place to start your re-education.

This spacious, family-friendly South Bay brewery dates back to the earliest days of L.A.’s modern craft beer scene, and it now has a smaller, 21-and-over taproom within Culver City’s Ivy Station. At either location, you’ll find a rotating selection of 25 unique beers on tap including the Wheater Melon (a fruited wheat ale) and El Lay pale ale at the time of writing. Both Metro-adjacent locations regularly stream Dodger games and other sporting events and host food trucks and other pop-ups—just check the location-specific calendars for Culver and Hawthorne.

In 2015, Sherwin Antonio and Kirk Nishikawa turned a drunk promise from high school into Glendale’s first microbrewery. Since then, they've conceived a host of explosively creative concoctions to pay homage to both 19th century California lager and their respective Filipino and Japanese roots. The Ube Wan IPA is brewed with strong ube and coconut flavors, while the Yoi Yoi, a Japanese rice lager, carries hints of Japanese "Ume" Plums and premium Koshihikari Sushi Rice. And be sure to try the Jewel City Common, a malty amber that won first place in the 2019 California Commercial Beer Competition.  

Inglewood's first craft brewery is also one of L.A. County's largest independent taprooms—and one of the few headed by a woman. The brain child of Lynne Weaver, a real estate tax expert turned homebrewer, Three Weavers serves an award-winning Kolsch, the Seafarer, a signature imperial stout called the Midnight Flight, and a number of West Coast IPAs infused with English crystal malt and tropical fruits.The brewery also pledges proceeds from its tasting room sales to a different nonprofit organization every month.

Ohana Brewing Co.'s actual brewery may be located in a Downtown warehouse, but its tasting room is far from industrial, and far from the actual brewery. This family-run operation—which first began in a garage in 2014—now slings 10 incredible beers at its Alhambra storefront, on which a "Ohana Brewing Co" sign is inked in Hawaiian-inspired script. The broad offerings include Tiki on the Beach, a tropical blonde ale infused with hibiscus cranberry; No Sleepy Time, a coffee stout; and a Spa Water Saison with cucumber and lemongrass.

You might pass right by the Smog City taproom if you don't pay attention. From the outside, the humble brewery looks just like all the other warehouses on Del Amo Boulevard: white, boxy, industrial. Pull into their parking lot, though, and you'll immediately spot beer-wielding Torrance folk spilling out the door. Laurie and Jonathan Porter started making beer in 2011, and built up enough of a presence to open a brewery in 2013, and four years later, launched a second outpost in Long Beach's SteelCraft food hall. Locals can pick up growlers of Smog City staples (the coffee porter and the West Coast IPA are serious crowd-pleasers) or put their stamp of approval on variations by the glass.