The Best Brewery Hops in Temecula

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Temecula, California is best known for Wine Country, a luxurious stretch of Temecula Valley filled with wineries, high-end food, spas, and visitors looking for an opulent and boozy escape from humdrum reality. However, we didn’t visit for the wine in July— this isn’t, after all, The Wine Travel Guide. We’re pleased to report that Temecula and its neighbor to the north, Murrieta, are also transforming… into Beer Country. Four years ago, during our last visit, you could count the number of craft brewery taprooms on one hand. Now there’s over a dozen in a mere five-mile stretch— which is heaven to us brewery hoppers.

We hit most every brewery in the area on our recent visit, so we’d like to start with some words of wisdom: it gets hot in Temecula. In certain months, very hot. So while everything here is more or less walkable, most of those walks are very exposed to the sun, and brewery hopping is definitely a dehydrating activity. So make sure you drink a lot of water, eat some of the many pizzas available on these hops, and don’t be the member of your party who suddenly feels weak because your flight consumption has outweighed your water consumption. Also, make sure you hit up Old Town Temecula to support some of the local stores there— we bought some fantastic aged balsamic vinegars from Olivedipity that make our mouths water just writing about them.

Garage Brewing —> Aftershock Brewing —> Ironfire Brewing: Old Town Outpost

The southernmost hop in Temecula takes place along Old Town Front Street. There’s basically no cover along this path for those walking, so even though the total path is under a mile, bring a hat and some water if it’s hot outside (and in Temecula, it often is). Start at Garage Brewing, a brewpub located in an old eight-bay garage. Now, instead of rotating tires, they rotate beers on tap and dish out an impressive variety of pizzas. We had the Super Charged pizza— pepperoni, sausage, bell peppers, onions, mushrooms, and olives— and we’ll put it this way, we did *not* need a to-go box. Because we ate it all. Their staff was also kind and attentive the whole time (shout out to Brandy and Amanda!). For those who love beer flights, Garage offers the most impressive variety in town, serving you as many as *ten* flight-sized pours at a time.

Our recommendations: their wide variety makes it hard to narrow down, but we dug the Hatch Chile IPA, an IPA with the right balance of spice to create heat without making us sweat. The Black Currant Imperial Gose gives those looking for a good tart kick exactly what they crave. However, where Garage really shines is with its stout. The Marshmallow Stout is a favorite (we get it in LA from time to time), but their Peanut Butter Chocolate Stout and their Cold Brew Coffee Stout both deliver on the promises made in their names. Strong consistency of quality across the board, giving you the right flavor without ever getting *too* sweet— anyone who digs stouts better take a car to Garage.

It’s less than half a mile north to Aftershock Brewing, but it’ll be good to stretch the legs and work off some of the calories from a full pizza and a flight of ten beers. Aftershock has a clean, stylish interior with a number of walls likely to attract any number of Instagram users to strike poses. We had the pleasure of meeting Garth from the OpenTap app— and several members of a bachelorette party who’d chosen to take some time out from Wine Country for some craft beer! They picked a great place to go.

Our recommendations: Strawberries and Rhubarbs is a delightful Berliner Weisse, and the Peanut Alert is their already-good red ale with a rich peanut infusion… but nothing tops the O.R.C.A. O.R.C.A. stands for Oatmeal Raisin Cookie Ale, and sure enough, it’s got the booze and carbonation of a beer, but we’ll be damned if it doesn’t taste like a liquid oatmeal raisin cookie. It’s a very unique, award-winning beer that’s worth the trip alone.

Take the trek half a mile north, and you’ll see Old Town Temecula approach… but on the left, before you start getting swarmed with tourists, you can find Ironfire Brewing’s Old Town Outpost. It was a scorcher of a day when we visited, so we spent a ton of time trying most of their beers, chatting with their friendly manager Josh, and playing games (Russell gets very competitive with the hook-and-ring game). Luckily, they’ve got a diverse selection of beer, and nearly every style we tried, we truly enjoyed.

Our recommendations: their IPAs were all really good— the Poggystyle was straight juice, one of the juiciest we had in Temecula. The Killarney’s Irish Red was the best red ale on the trip, strong and malty and toasty. Their biggest success comes with their barrel aged fare, and one of the best beers of the whole trip was their 2019 All. Oak. Everything., an imperial stout aged on chilis in a tequila barrel. It has the heft you want in an imperial, it has the right punch of chili heat, and it has just a hint of tequila burn on the finish. It’ll send you off into an Old Town shopping spree the right way.

Inland Wharf Brewing —> 8 Bit Brewing —> Electric Brewing —> Stadium Pizza

The southern end of Murrieta, just north of Temecula, boasts some of the top breweries in the area. Don’t be discouraged from going by the idea that it’s in another city, as if it’s far away— in fact, this hop, which takes place over a mile and a half of Jefferson Avenue, starts in Murrieta and ends in Temecula. Begin in Murrieta at Inland Wharf Brewing. It’s a veteran-owned brewery, made very apparent by the military flags and memorabilia lining the interior. This is also perhaps the only taproom in the area with multiple cask options, so lovers of real ale need to make this stop a top priority. Our recommendations: the Rusted Iron Porter is a tremendously toasty coffee porter, but we’d be remiss to not give the majority of our love to the Admiral Nimitz, our favorite of their cask ales, an incredibly sweet drink with rich fig and caramel flavors.

Next, it’s a little over half a mile down Jefferson to 8 Bit Brewing. Don’t be concerned about missing it— the facility is massive and the branding is everywhere on the exterior. Easily the most recognizable logo in the Temecula area, 8 Bit has a large brewpub with a sizable patio. When we visited, a number of children were playing on the patio, so it’s definitely family-friendly. We ordered plenty of food and found it to be quite good: Russell in particular was fond of his chicken quesadilla. As for the beer, there’s a very long list of video game-themed beers for you to sample. Our recommendations: the Daenerys Tartgaryen doesn’t just win points for having one of the best names in town, it’s also a pleasantly tart passionfruit sour IPA. Our favorite, however, was the Oregon Pale, a smooth and citrusy hazy pale with Citra and El Dorado hops. Order it, or you will die of dysentery.

It’s another half mile from there to Electric Brewing. If hazy IPAs light your fire, then Electric Brewing will douse your fire with gasoline. Their open concept brewery has all the beer brewed in front of you on the other side of a thin counter, with plenty of tables and stools for the numerous people who flock here to bathe in the haze. They are also dog-friendly, as we met several very Good Boys and Girls while we were there drinking. Still, you’re not there for the dogs (or maybe you are— we wouldn’t blame you). You’re there for the beer, and everything we tried was delicious. Our recommendations: while any of their hazy IPAs are worth consuming, the Salacious Affinity is a next-level triple IPA. It’s incredibly fruity to the smell, terrifically creamy to the feel, and pleasantly bitter to the finish. For those who aren’t feeling the haze craze, their Dark Souls is a rich stout and the Berry Slurpcicle, filled with fresh fruit juice, is one of the rare kettle sours that has deeply satisfying taste and tartness.

Finally, after drinking your way through Murrieta, you may need to give your stomach a little something to soak up that booze. Lucky for you, our favorite pizza in Temecula is another half a mile away. Take the stroll (or Uber, at this point) and make your way to the Stadium Pizza on Jefferson. There are a number of Stadium Pizza locations, some with better beer selections, so all are worthy of visiting– but the proximity of the Jefferson location to this Murrieta hop makes this location invaluable. Our recommendation: order a pepperoni pizza or two and get yourself a nice pint of the Chop Block IPA. It’s a full-blown, old-school hop bomb, the likes of which would blow your palate if you had it too early in the hop. Luckily, this is the hop’s end, so munch on your pizza, bathe in the bitter hops, and reminisce upon the great day of beer you’ve had.

Black Market Brewing —> Ironfire Brewing —> Relentless Brewing

Have you had enough pizza? If you have, it’s too bad— YOU’RE IN TEMECULA, BABY. PIZZA IS WHAT TEMECULA DOES. Start your next brewery hop at Black Market Brewing, where they have some old-school arcade games and a series of pizzas named after spys, traitors, and generally nefarious individuals. We’d had too much pizza at that point (Russell was chomping Tums like Jaws did Quint), but we did order their pretzels, which are more like salted pizza dough knots, but good gracious, they are delicious. We also thoroughly enjoyed the service— shout out to Brittany with the Tim Burton tattoos!— and every beer we ordered.

Our recommendations: the Bad Actor is a West Coast IPA that we imagine would pair flawlessly with any number of pizzas, and the Black Belt is a delectably toasty triple black rye IPA. Hazy fans should note that Black Market won Gold at the Great American Beer Festival for Juicy or Hazy Imperial or Double IPA, and their Southern Hemisphere NE DIPA lived up to the accolades, an absolute juice bomb to help wash down those tasty, tasty pretzels.

After you’ve eaten your fill of pretzels, you have a choice for your next destination. The Ironfire Brewery is a little under a mile away, which is a bit of a hike (especially in the hotter months), but if you aren’t doing the previously mentioned hop with Ironfire’s Old Town Outpost, you need to make sure to hit them on this brewery hop, because Ironfire is a must-drink if you’re in Temecula. We ultimately weren’t able to make it to the brewery itself— as you can tell from this guide, we kept very busy! However, since the beer is the same stuff we had at the Outpost, we feel very safe in recommending those who don’t hit Old Town to visit here instead. Our recommendations: see above!

Whether you hit Ironfire first or you head straight here after Black Market, any parishioner at the Church of Sour owes it to themselves to visit Relentless Brewing. Wall to wall, their taps are pouring the finest sour beer that Riverside County has to offer— and some of the best in Southern California, period. We were shown an absolutely terrific time by those pouring that evening (Blake, in particular, helped crank up the Sour Power). The taproom is small and intimate, with great art on the wall and great shirts for sale, and of course, the beer is outstanding. We tried everything on tap and a few unique blends, courtesy of Blake, and we were left blown away.

Our recommendations: the Jam Master Flash is a blend of beers aged in white wine barrels for 18+ months then fruited with raspberries and apricots, giving you a very sour, very jammy treat. The Tequila My Vibe is a golden sour aged in tequila barrels, and you definitely get that unique blend of peach, guava, apricot, tequila, and full-blown pucker-inducing sour goodness. Finally, if you’re not into sours— first of all, let Blake convert you, and second of all, Relentless also has An Udder One, an exceptional milk stout that is smooth, roasty, and slightly creamy. There were variants on tap, but our minds kept coming back to that fantastic base stout. We would drink that with a bowl of cookies and cream ice cream every night.

Refuge Brewery —> Wiens Brewing

For those looking to prioritize hoppability— meaning the easiest breweries to walk between— look no further than Wiens Brewing and Refuge Brewery, which are literally across the street from one another. Start at Refuge Brewery, because if you end a brewery hop at Refuge, you’re likely to doze off on one of their wonderful couches. Their taproom is spacious and welcoming— while many taprooms emphasize the space, providing mostly benches, barstools, and tables to fit as many customers as possible, Refuge’s taproom is constructed with comfort in mind, inviting people to relax on sofas and cushioned chairs, play games, and sip their selection of IPAs and Belgians. Our recommendations: the Tropical Hop Wave DIPA, giving you deceptively light citrus flavor for a beer above 8%, and the Vanillin, a Belgian style Grand Cru with rich vanilla flavor and a gentle pat of oak on your tastebuds.

From there, jaunt across the street (but look both ways!) and head to Wiens Brewing. Wiens is a modern taproom with high ceilings, string lights, and dark walls and tables, giving the interior an end-of-the-night vibe even during daytime hours. There’s plenty of room for games with friends, and there are plenty of beers on tap— easily over a dozen— for those looking to try a wide variety of options. Our recommendations: the TVL, or Temecula Valley Lager, is a dry-hopped lager with a full, crisp flavor that we could sip all night long. Conversely, if you’re trying to start a day off right, the Get Roasted Coffee Stout, a creamy and medium-bodied coffee concoction.

BEST PLACE FOR IPAS:

Electric Brewing (Runners-up: Ironfire, Black Market, Stadium Pizza)

BEST PLACE FOR SOURS:

Relentless Brewing (Runners-up: Ironfire, Garage, Electric)

BEST PLACE FOR STOUTS:

Garage (Runners-up: Ironfire, Relentless, Electric)

BEST PLACE TO PLAY GAMES:

Ironfire (Runner-up: Refuge, Inland Wharf, Black Market)

BEST PLACE FOR A LARGE GROUP:

Refuge (Runner-up: Garage, Electric, 8-Bit)

BEST PLACE FOR A QUIET DRINK:

Relentless (Runners-up: Ironfire, Aftershock)

BEST PLACE TO EAT:

Stadium Pizza (Runner-up: Black Market, Garage, 8-Bit)

Which is your favorite of these brewery hops? Are there any you love that we neglected to mention? Please shout them out in the comments below! Also, for those in Southern California, please check out our brewery hop guides to Downtown Los Angeles, Orange County, and the South Bay!