Sandwiching a stretch of U.S. 101 between La La Land and Santa Barbara is the city of Ventura. A somewhat quirky, fully conscious coastal community, its beachy vibes lend light and texture to a thriving art culture, the vibrant colors of which have bled into a burgeoning local-beer scene. Headed by a pair of young, fast-growing flag-bearers, Ventura’s close cadre of craft breweries have a great deal to offer, from surf-and-sand-friendly lagers to hop-forward ales and even USDA-certified all-organic brews. It’s SoCal-style suds sans big-city hustle and bustle.
Local beer makes a visit to Ventura a great idea year-round, but the city’s breweries have gone all out in preparation for X Games Ventura 2024. In celebration of that action-sports extravaganza, which will take place from June 28-30, an octet of the city’s brewing outfits have crafted and canned specialty offerings. Those ales and lagers are available at their breweries of origin, as well as local hotels, retail spots and Amtrak‘s Pacific Surfliner. Additionally, all eight beers will be on tap at the Local XG Beer Series Kickoff taking place at local watering hole, Barrelhouse 101 on Sunday, June 23. Attendees who try all of them will be entered into a drawing to receive a prize they can enjoy once they recover from that action-sport level of imbibing.
The following is the full roster from this year’s X Games Beer Series…
- BellRinger Brew Co. | Nac Nac: An extra-dry West Coast IPA with subtle piney bitterness
- Bright Spark Brewing | Space Walk: A mango-infused hazy pale ale with a huge fruit bouquet
- Leashless Brewing | Nelson Grind: An organic extra pale ale flavored with its namesake hop
- Poseidon Brewing | Tail Whip: A hoppy pale ale with orange and tropical-fruit vibes
- Rincon Brewery | Switch Flip: A blonde ale given depth with the addition of strawberries
- Seaward Brewing | White Knuckle: A traditional Pilsner balancing citrus and herbal notes
- Transmission Brewing | Can Can: A crisp pale ale with flavors of peach, papaya and pine
- Ventura Coast Brewing | Summer Shredding: Corn and lime combine in a beachy Mexican lager
BREWERIES
MadeWest Brewing
Brewery & Taproom: 1744 Donlon St | Ventura Pier Taproom: 668 E Harbor Blvd
The first business to bring a sizable, distribution-geared brewery to Ventura, MadeWest was founded by natives Seth Gibson and Mike Morrison, friends since childhood who attended college together at San Diego State. While in that craft-beer mecca, they developed a passion for homebrewing and befriended staff at the iconic Home Brew Mart (the business that birthed Ballast Point Brewing), including future pro brewers who shared invaluable advice with the duo when they returned home to build their brewery.
MadeWest has gone on to win prestigious awards while opening an ocean-view taproom on the Ventura Pier featuring a minimalist, modern motif with whimsical black-and-white cartoon art punched up by the company’s colorful cans. Similar art, including a diagram of the beer-production process, adds character to the tasting room at MadeWest’s industrial-park headquarters, while a wrap-around sail-shaded deck allows for imbibing in the salt-water breeze.
Pronounced hop presence and restrained bitterness are what MadeWest beer is all about. That MO is best illustrated by flagships Pale (pineapple, guava, orange pith), IPA (tangerine, peach, resin) and a thiol-rich hazy dubbed Jawing (intense pineapple, mixed citrus). Thoughtful craftsmanship extends to everyday styles ranging from Ventura Light, a crushable everyday drinker with far more flavor than its archetypal contemporaries, the verdant and lemony Standard Blonde, and Waxing and Waning, a flawless Bohemian pilsner with a hint of mint that, like its blonde sibling, struck gold at the 2020 Great American Beer Festival (GABF).
Standout Suds: Waxing & Waning, Czech-style Pilsner
Pro Tip: Come January, MadeWest rolls out various anniversary events featuring specialty beers, live music and more.
Topa Topa Brewing
Ventura HQ & Brewery: 4880 Colt St | Downtown Tasting Room: 104 E Thompson Blvd
In 2015, a pair of San Diegans that included a Stone Brewing up-and-comer, relocated to Ventura to open a small but mighty brewery on the south edge of downtown. Their aim was to become a regional powerhouse and they’ve succeeded, making a name for their Topa Topa Brewing beyond their home base through out-of-market distribution and establishment of satellite taprooms in Santa Barbara, Camarillo and Ojai.
Along the way, they took over a former Patagonia warehouse, transforming it into a stylish wood-and-metal tasting room with an offshoot arcade and a sprawling, oasis-like outdoor area with a raised patio, drought-tolerant landscaping, shaded picnic tables, cornhole and a bar fashioned from shipping containers. In addition to a variety of fundraisers supporting community causes, Topa Topa’s HQ is the site of seasonal keystone events, including its June Anniversary Party and autumnal OkTOPAfest.
Galaxy-driven flagship West Coast IPA, Chief, earned Topa Topa its fast fan base, but its extensive tap-list goes beyond hoppy styles to display wide-ranging proficiency. Mexican-style lager Dos Topas garnered GABF silver last year, Citra hops bring depth to a crystal-clean lager made with jasmine rice called KQ Express, and a citrusy “pub ale” served on nitro is a favorite of brewers across Ventura. Other GABF award-winners include the wood and orange-candy Level Line Pale Ale (gold) and a chocolaty, slightly leathery schwarzbier named Dozer Line (silver). The latter is brewed each August in honor of a local firefighter who lost his life in a motorcycle accident.
Standout Suds: Dos Topas Mexican-style Lager
Pro Tip: With 24 taps it can be hard to decide what to drink. Ask the bartenders what they’re excited about to access the latest and greatest.
Ventura Coast Brewing
76 S Oak St
After graduating from UC Davis’ acclaimed brewing program, Kyle Richards made it his mission to provide his beloved hometown with a brewery to call its own; a comfortable, approachable spot where locals could enjoy unpretentious beers over conversations with friends and neighbors. The brick-and-mortar embodiment of that goal, Ventura Coast Brewing (referred to as around town as VCBC), opened in 2016 and has become one of its namesake region’s most popular beermaking operations.
Soft wood and plant life perk up the black-backed bar in the main tasting room. Additional seating is offered in an abutting sunroom and outdoor patio that is most patrons’ preferred imbibing option during the sunny months (i.e., most of the year). VCBC hosts a number of art-centric events, including fundraisers for charities and causes, many of which are nominated or headed by brewery customers.
Over a dozen taps dispense a lineup of rotating IPAs and lagers with a blonde and pale, plus of-the-moment dark, mid-level malty and fruited sour ales. Neighborhood Pale Ale has an evergreen bouquet with notes of oregano and sage giving way to a piney palate, while NEIPA Mono Loco smells of pineapple and marjoram and tastes like tangerine, passionfruit and lemon thyme. The salted-fruit character and rose-water nuance of GABF silver-winning Raspberry Plum Sour is delightful, while pristine, GABF gold American pilsner Beachscape makes for the perfect start to any VCBC visit.
Standout Suds: Beachscape, American Pilsner
Pro Tip: Stop by during quarterly “pint-sized art shows” where patrons can vote on potential designs to adorn VCBC beer cans.
Transmission Brewing
1098 E Front St
In 2019, the family behind popular local chain, Topper’s Pizza, installed Transmission Brewing in the shell of an old auto shop next door to its bustling downtown location. Items speaking to the building’s previous life, the most obvious of which is a dirt bike suspended over the bar, mesh with modern elements (wooden slats, tilework, chandeliers) at this beautifully appointed venue offering an abundance of seating options, from booths and a club-like back lounge to barstools and tables bathed in natural light.
Co-founder and Head Brewer Carey Jonker’s “shift perception” MO aims to add complexity to styles primarily known for their easy-drinking nature. Examples include Transmission Light, a rice lager with a honeysuckle aroma that took a World Beer Cup bronze and a Mexican lager brewed with lime and Pacific Ocean sea salt called Sal Buena Limetura. Rife with toasted hazelnut notes, Mudflap is a bold take on a brown ale, while the piney, caramely Redline is a punchy, old-school imperial red ale (AKA: “red IPA”). Pales and IPAs are also well-crafted, as are seltzers made with real fruit such as pixie tangerines from nearby Ojai.
With the brewery established and thriving, Jonker and his family have moved to expand their hospitality compound, which extends from the shared courtyard between Topper’s and Transmission to a spiral staircase leading to a sky bar with panoramic views of Ventura and the Pacific. Currently in the works is a large open-air outdoor-entertainment area that will lend yet another facet to this already amenity-rich locale.
Standout Suds: Sal Buena Limetura, Mexican-style Lager with Lime and Salt
Pro Tip: Don’t sleep on the refreshing slushie-style house Margaritas, which use Transmission’s hard seltzer as a base.
BellRinger Brew Co.
472 E Main St
After cutting his teeth at Torrance’s Smog City Brewing and building an award-winning portfolio for VCBC, Dan White was ready to open a beer biz all his own. The dawning of that aspiration dovetailed with the shuttering of Ventura’s 22-year-old Anacapa Brewing. White and his wife happily snatched up the downtown brewpub, bending its time-tested equipment to their modern will while installing a motif honoring the region’s historic missions and White’s ancestors, the Glöckners. That German surname translates to “bellringer”.
A shaded patio supplemented by pandemic-era street seating gives way to a shotgun space with a bar separating the brewery and cellar from the dining room. Dishes ranging from pub-style starters, salads and bowls to smashburgers, tacos and a chili-cheese dog inspired by Dan’s nostalgically scrumptious high-school memories are of the Whites’ devising. That American casual fare incorporates fresh, never-frozen proteins plus family sauce and marinade recipes.
Cleanness and hop vibrance are hallmarks of White’s beers. A Pilsner called The Ringer gets nuanced verdancy from German Noble hops, while Citra, Mosaic and Columbus Cryo lend an orange-grove aroma and fruit-salad body to a pale ale named after the Whites’ puppy, Chewy. The Postman IPA comes on strong with peach and nectarine, while big roast and drinkability make Hells Bells dark American lager a great pairing with the aforementioned burgers. Looking for something hazy or fruited? A half-dozen or so guest beers from breweries White maintains industry relationships are also available and fill things out nicely.
Standout Suds: Chewy, Pale Ale
Pro Tip: Skip the decoration-only hostess stand, an Anacapa holdover. Order from the bar and seat yourself.
Poseidon Brewing
5777 Olivas Park Dr, Unit S
It was nearly a decade ago when retired Navy Sea Bee Brian Oliver debuted one of Ventura’s first breweries in a southerly industrial park. Founded on the motto “ales with depth”, its hall-like tasting room is outfitted in a subaquatic thematic drawing on Oliver’s undersea-construction background. Bulbous light fixtures hang from rope-tethered hooks, illuminating a bar backed by a nautical mural complete with Poseidon’s mascot, a mermaid sporting a harpoon and a beer goblet.
Beers pour from a large pipe that looks as though it’s been pulled straight from the hull of a freighter, while a wall of multi-colored placards tell of the corresponding ales and lagers flowing from that apparatus. Wide-ranging and in many cases quite adventurous, they are in line with Oliver’s “screw it, brew it” motto. Those creations fit into base categories (e.g., IPA, dark, fruited) and series such as the Spindrift line of SMaSH (single-hop and single-malt) beers.
Locally sourced ingredients make it into a bright and bitter Grapefruit IPA, the nicely balanced Blue Barpoon blueberry-rhubarb blonde ale and a blood-orange pale ale dubbed Bubblehead. Though imported, Canadian Fanny Bay oysters lend a minerality that combines with notes of baker’s chocolate to make Sea Warrior Stout sing. Also impressive is the deep-caramel Sea Monkey Scottish Red and a piney 100% Cascade wet-hop IPA. Almost anything can be found on tap at any given time, and specialties (including barrel-aged beers) are released as part of special events, including Brews & BBQ, Oktoberfest and “12 Casks of Christmas”.
Standout Suds: Sea Warrior, Oyster Stout
Pro Tip: On Thursday, active-duty military and Armed Forces retirees receive a 10% discount, while beer-industry vets get 15% off on Tuesdays.
Leashless Brewing
585 E Thompson Blvd
Inspired by The Omnivore’s Dilemma and Food, Inc. and guided by the belief that everyone should be able to enjoy good beer, John Gonzales opened Leashless Brewing in a circa-1920 Goodyear tire-repair shop in 2017. That historic structure’s garage now houses a brewery and cellar pumping out all-organic ales, many of which are also gluten-reduced. Those USDA-certified brews can be sipped and savored in a vaulted-ceiling tasting room with a beachy, nature-driven motif salt-and-peppered with paraphernalia plucked from Gonzales’ recreational pursuits—a surfboard, skateboard and paddleboard oar.
Leashless’ tap list is split between Gonzales’ beloved Belgian styles and the hoppy, hazy ales consumers crave. The former include a citrusy blonde ale, peppery saison, semisweet tripel and a floral, estery Belgo take on a pilsner. Hop-sect standouts include a pair of double dry-hopped West Coast IPAs, Beach Vibe (navel orange, mango, black tea) and V-Town (tangerine, pineapple), and a tropical, coconutty hazy dubbed Coco Man.
In addition to using all-organic ingredients, Leashless eschews Styrofoam and other unsustainable items, company-wide. Even its apparel and merchandise are made from organic cotton, hemp and responsibly sourced materials. Gonzales sees his business as a vehicle for advancing organic beer into an everyday product. It will take time and energy to make that happen, but he is in it for the long haul.
Standout Suds: Sunrise, Belgian-style Blonde Ale
Pro Tip: Enjoy organic beer with a side of live music on Leashless’ outdoor patio, Friday through Sunday.
Bright Spark Brewing
4561 Market St
One of Ventura’s newest breweries is one of its most stylish and family-friendly. When installing Bright Spark in the longtime home of Surf Brewing, its founders added luminosity and life to a once one-dimensional space that now offers visitors a many-splendored experience.
Bright Spark’s taproom is outfitted in a delicate-yet-vibrant color palette with furniture fashioned from similarly soft-toned woods. Additional seating and a repository of games await in a hallway segueing to a “solarium” and full-scale dining room. The latter features a mezzanine stage area for musical performances and is ideal for enjoying Bright Spark’s menu of familiar dishes given uniquity care of Lebanese accents. Examples include chicken shawarma fries, seven-spice wings with pomegranate sauce, and a “bar pizza” (thin-crust with an outer layer of caramelized cheese) topped with potato, labne and almond-sesame dukkah.
The food is the pride and joy of former Edible Los Angeles Magazine owner Linzy Mahoney, while the beers are the domain of her husband, Tim Harbage, who previously brewed for Rock Bottom, Golden Road, Smog City and Figueroa Mountain Brewing. At Bright Spark, his creations are split into light, hoppy and malty categories. Solimar honey blonde is dry and earthy with an intriguing honeydew note, Good Natured saison smells of banana and tastes of the herbaceous yarrow flower it’s brewed with, and local Beacon Coffee Roasters single-lot Colombian java is at the forefront of the nose and palate of a brilliant gold-hued milk stout named Fika.
Standout Suds: Fika, Golden Coffee Milk Stout
Pro Tip: Looking to sit in the dining room. Check in ahead of time as it’s the site of frequent fundraisers and private events.
Seaward Brewing
1920 Goodyear Ave, D
Tucked away between tall buildings, Seaward Brewing’s shaded picnic-table and cornhole-equipped patio area brings an unexpected après-ski air to the heart of a business park. Inside, vintage items—blown-up photos of the Seaward Pier of yesteryear and an arcade packed with ‘80’s video-game cabinets—combine with coastal elements and a laidback staff to present a post-surf hang. At the heart of it all is one of the city’s most nouveau tap lists, featuring multiple hazy IPAs, pastry creations and lagers, including lesser seen bottom-fermented fare like a Vienna-style lager and schwarzbier. It’s a place for the youthful and young-at-heart.
Rincon Brewery – Ventura
4100 Telegraph Rd
Opened in 2016, this is the lone brewery-owned venue in Ventura’s northeast College Area and the largest of Carpinteria-based Rincon Brewery’s three locations. A sprawling restaurant with a lengthy, inlaid-wood bar and roll-up doors giving way to a concrete patio, it’s adorned with art and photography, sales of which benefit charities such as the Ventura Land Trust. Community-based efforts extend to fundraisers for local non-profits and the brewing of numerous charity beers. The tap list is lengthy and made up mostly of light-bodied lagers (Mexican, international, Bohemian pilsner), West Coast IPAs and hazies. Those brews are meant to pair with a menu of apps, salads, sandwiches and Southwestern fare.
RECOMMENDED LODGING
Four Points by Sheraton Ventura Harbor Resort
1050 Schooner Dr
With expansive, green grounds including a wealth of amenities (pool, jacuzzi, tennis and basketball courts) and a lobby bar serving up local beers, this is a welcoming harborside homebase that’s equal distance from downtown’s taprooms and the easterly inland breweries.
Amanzi Hotel
298 S Chestnut St
Best Western Plus Ventura
708 E Thompson Blvd
Crowne Plaza Ventura Beach
450 E Harbor Blvd
Ventura Beach Marriott
2055 E Harbor Blvd
Waypoint Ventura Vintage Trailer Hotel & Campground
398 S Ash St, Unite E