We waded through an ocean of suds so you wouldn’t have to.

We hit more than 30 breweries to find the best of the best craft beers in Orange County.

To make our top 10 list, a brewpub’s core slate of beers along with seasonal specials and limited editions had to dazzle us. One medal winner wasn’t going to cut it. We also looked at the tasting room atmosphere, the presentation of the beers, the decor and the knowledge of the barkeeps.

Related: Explore more than 150 breweries in Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino and Los Angeles counties

Here’s our top 10 list:

1. The Bruery

This is the bar by which all breweries in Orange County are judged. All hail the King of Belgian-style ales. These brewers can do no wrong. Pick whatever inspires you and trust. Match that with a modern tasting room, complete with board games and, on most days, food trucks. If you’re an IPA maker, it’s time to get nervous. The Belgian Geek Squad is doing what they promised never to do: brew IPAs. Their new line, dubbed OffShoot Beer Co., debuted with four IPA styles in April, including a bad-boy unfiltered triple. 717 Dunn Way, Placentia; thebruery.com

2. Beachwood BBQ and Brewing

Beechwood is rapidly becoming a beer-and-dining empire in Seal Beach and Long Beach. It took over Beach City Brewing, a so-so craft beer outpost in an industrial neighborhood of Huntington Beach, in 2016, partly to increase production for growing demand that couldn’t be handled by its cramped Long Beach facility. With cleverly named beers like Pie Fidelity (strong hints of lemon meringue pie) and Mocha Machine (a well-balanced Imperial Chocolate Coffee Porter), this good-vibe hangout takes a creative approach to its beer making. Mostly it works, especially in beers like Wholly Smoke, a delicious smoked porter. 7631 Woodwind Drive, Huntington Beach; beachwoodbbq.com

3. Bottle Logic Brewing

Beer, foodie and science geeks unite in this hipster haven with a superb collection of stylish but edgy beers. When your tasting room requires a food truck each night, you know you’re doing something right. Crowds spill into the barrel room, where suds junkies gather over upside-down wine barrels drinking flights from elegant, tulip-shaped sampler glasses. For the uninitiated, go for “The Constants” tasting flight, which offers five core beers including the not-to-be missed saison, Tattered Prince. Bottle Logic is the real deal, and it has multiple awards to prove it. 1072 N. Armando St., Anaheim; bottlelogic.com

4. Chapman Crafted Beer

Haven Gastropub’s Wil Dee is one of the creative forces behind this homey place in Old Towne Orange, just a stone’s throw from the circle. Open since summer 2016, it has consistently good brews across the board. The German and Belgian-style beers are especially tasty. We liked Hello Again, a light but flavorful lager with a low 4.8 percent ABV, and Table Friendly, a Belgian Pale Ale that was dry yet fruity. Only drawback: This is downtown Orange, so parking can be a vexing challenge. 123 N. Cypress St., Orange; chapmancrafted.beer

5. Gunwhale Ales

Not far from the Lab and the Camp, you’ll find this smallish, stripped-down but sleek gem. There aren’t any upholstered stools or chairs, but there’s an attempt at decor, with white subway tiles, nautical touches and hanging ferns, which seem like an ironic statement here. (“We are so NOT a fern bar.”) What we liked: Majordomo, a farmhouse ale (creamy, citrus-y, a tad sweet and light-bodied), and Hopped for Mama, an IPA (spicily hoppy and astringent with a nice, dry and somewhat bitter finish). Less impressive: Bail Ball, a raw, unfiltered IPA (a little too frothy, underwhelming finish). 2960 Randolph Ave., No. A, Costa Mesa; gunwhaleales.com/home

6. Green Cheek Beer Co.

So far, so good at this brewery launched in mid-June by former Noble Ale head brewer Evan Price. The place is already jam-packed as Price, a local rock star, has a big fan following. He’s clearly known for cranking out killer IPAs, and Green Cheek (named after the wild parrots of Old Towne Orange, where Price lives) is no different. He’s got a few trendy “hazy” IPAs on tap, but he’s also producing a lager, a Pilsner and two stouts. The Pilsner knocks it out of the park. Brilliant rookie debut. 2294 N. Batavia St., No. C, Orange; greencheekbeer.com

7. Taps Fish House and Brewery

With restaurants in Brea, Corona and Irvine, Taps is a throwback to Orange County’s brewpub days — not surprising, since it’s been around since 1999 — with a decent food menu to go with its prize-winning brews. Longtime brewmaster Victor Novak set a sterling standard that has been maintained by his successors since his departure in 2014, and Taps has distinguished itself consistently at Denver’s Great American Beer Festival. There’s always a wide selection on tap, from light hefeweizens to murky stouts. Taps does particularly well with fruit infusions — try the Orange Nectar Injector (8.6 percent ABV), a double IPA that somehow balances disparate, powerful flavors of fruit and hops. 101 E. Imperial Highway, Brea; 2745 Lakeshore Drive, Corona; 13390 Jamboree Road, Irvine; tapsfishhouse.com

8. Noble Ale Works

The powerhouse brewery is known for its award-winning, hop-forward IPAs. But with head brewer/genius Evan Price gone, can Noble keep the crowds interested? With a much-needed tasting room expansion in the works for 2017, we hope the new brewers will branch out beyond the brand’s wheelhouse. We know it’s possible. Naughty Sauce, a stout on nitro, is one of its best beers. 1621 S. Sinclair St., No. B, Anaheim; noblealeworks.com

9. Hoparazzi Brewing Co.

Popular sours Cerise and Melina are like drinking liquid jam. But don’t be scared away from this humble La Palma beer trail brewery. The fruit-forward sours are low-alcohol and won’t make you stupid-drunk like those crazy bourbon barrel-aged sours found a few miles away at a certain higher-profile brewery. These are a must-try for connoisseurs and novices, as this brewer is well-studied in the Belgian process. And every brew is classically crafted for a sophisticated lineup of global beers. Old-school, but fun. Beers have playful riffs on rock ‘n’ roll names. When you visit Stereo Brewing, you’ll see why its owner spent many days hanging out at Hoparazzi. 2910 E. La Palma Ave., Anaheim; facebook.com/hoparazziBrewing

10. Lost Winds Brewing Co.

Yet another great craft brewery hidden in the San Clemente light-industrial area that has rapidly become South County’s answer to Anaheim, Lost Winds has very friendly staff and patrons. The light, airy taproom has a high ceiling and big fans, and it’s meticulously clean, as is the generous length of blond-wood counter facing the brewing equipment.The session beers are particularly good, uniformly clean and crisp. The San Clemente Session Ale (4.9 percent ABV) is a lightly hopped, straw-colored saison with enchanting hints of clove and fruit, with a surprisingly earthy maltiness that sneaks up on you. It finishes cleanly. 924 Calle Negocio, No. C, San Clemente; lostwindsbrewing.com

Docent Brewing has a lively comfortable tasting room. They also sell food! (Register file photo)

Victor Geesink, left, and Alex Dehesa play foosball against a backdrop of Docent Brewing kegs. (Register file photo)

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San Juan Capistrano Mayor Kerry Ferguson, right, presides over a Docent Brewing ribbon-cutting with brewery co-owners, from left, Scott Cortellessa, Joe Wilshire and Brian Hendon. (Register file photo)

At Unsung's only tasting room in Anaheim, you'll find core beers from their Tustin production facility as well as experimental brews. (Nancy Luna, Orange County Register/SCNG)

Stereo Brewing is Placentia is another brewery on our watch list. Keep doing great stuff, and you might make next year's top 10. (Nancy Luna, Orange County Register/SCNG)



Love the rock-themed branding at Stereo, a new brewery in Placentia. (Nancy Luna, Orange County Register/SCNG)

Docent Brewing’s public house serves food and brews in a social setting. (Register file photo)

Paul Hodgins and Nancy Luna sipped on many flights of beer to come up with their top 10 best breweries in Orange County. (Nancy Luna, Orange County Register/SCNG)

Honorable Mentions

We duked it out over the bottom five on our list, as the top five breweries are hard to argue against. They are simply light years ahead of the rest. That being said, some of the newer breweries in town impressed us but didn’t quite make the final cut, including Unsung, Stereo and Docent.

If we were to give an award for the best-designed brewery, it would go to Docent in San Juan Capistrano. Bravo for providing comfortable seating geared for Gen X guests with delicate backs. If we have to sit on one more backless metal barstool, we’ll need to find a good chiropractor.

Stereo and Unsung get bonus points for paying attention to graphics, as beer labels and logos are an important part of any brewery’s branding. We love these new breweries and look forward to trying the new brews they plan to bring to the tasting table.

Keep up the good work because we’ll be back.

Related: Top 10 craft breweries in Los Angeles, Top 10 craft breweries in the Inland Empire