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Founders KBS is a Beer For the Ages
Back in 2006, we visited my wife’s family in Grand Rapids, Michigan, with the intention of showing her side of the family our new baby daughter. Like all good newborn parents-travelers, our trips seem...
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From Crane to Glass: AC Hotel Irvine’s Lounge is Live
Tabletop plug, free wifi, and The Signature Gintonic From my cozy cubicle in Park Place, Irvine, I’ve watched the AC Hotel get built from the ground up. The year-long grind of construction, followed by...
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Nine Great Breweries to Check Out on the La Palma Beer Trail
Within a six-mile span of La Palma Boulevard in Anaheim and Placentia, nine craft breweries now exist. By the numbers: three are within walking distance, one sells homebrew supplies and food, the...
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Get Gregarious With Social’s New Spring Cocktails
Mommy’s Juice Box is a balanced part of your cocktail breakfast. All photos by Greg Nagel. “Hi, I’m Greg,” I say, introducing myself to the clean-cut bar staff at Social Costa Mesa. “I’m Greg as well,”...
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Orange County’s Sexiest Beer Labels
Considering I’ve scanned miles of aisles of every liquor store from top to bottom over the last twenty-five years, taking mental snapshots may seem like a chore, but sometimes I find it can be...
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Three Delicious Margaritas for Cinco de Mayo
Fun fact: I named my daughter after my favorite all-time cocktail, the margarita. In English, Margarita translates to daisy, which to me means a simple, bright beauty, resembling a springtime freshness...
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Get Hyped for OCBeerWeek 2017!
Beer googles at Bottle Logic, Christina Ramirez and I. Palms sweaty and shaking nervously, I’m writing these words: OCBeerWeek is BAAAACK! Last year’s inaugural week was filled with hundreds of events,...
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Experience the Gin and Tonic Revival at Hendrix
A sweaty glass of Hendrix’ Perfect Gin & Tonic I had full intentions of simply grabbing a cocktail while waiting for a friend, knowing full well my lovely wife had dinner waiting for me at home....
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Shuckin’ and Jivin’ With This Classic Belgian Beer
I recently went to Shuck Oyster Bar with the full intention of writing a piece about the best bivalves to pair with one of my favorite beers, Tripel Karmeliet from Belgium’s Bosteels Brewery. It’s one...
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Five of O.C.’s Best Lawnmower Beers
With Soundgarden’s Rusty Cage blasting in my noise-cancelling headphones and a few solid yanks of the lawn mower pull cord, my raggedy patch of green sits in fear of its impending bi-weekly haircut....
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Green Chartreuse, Best Liqueur Ever?
One of the most incredible experiences about deep-diving into specialty cocktail ingredients is discovering something that has stood the test of time, somehow maintaining its relevance, complexity, and...
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Adya and Unsung Pair IPA’s and Indian Food During Beer Week
If you told me five years ago that Orange County would have a beer dinner on the bed of a train featuring the fresh Indian flavors of Adya restaurant paired with beers made 50-feet away, I’d be quick...
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Negroni Week is Here!
Oh Negroni, sweet Negroni. Photo, Nagel Dry gin, sweet vermouth, and the almost indescribable Campari. Combined together in equal parts over ice makes one of my all-time favorite cocktails: the...
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The Best Beerfest in the West Gets Better
Three Floyds Brewing out of Indiana is a usual crowd favorite. Photos, Nagel A wise man once said, “a beer festival can be measured in fun per second.” That wise man was me. Driving home from the...
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Beat June Gloom With This Award-Winning Negroni
Monday, 5:16 P.M., Costa Mesa, my table looks like this: I’m one of three cocktail judges cuddled up in a dark corner booth of Mesa’s hip and moody lounge with two-dozen cocktails lined up, eight per...
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Around the World in One Twelve Pack
Milling some grains at Sierra Nevada A few years ago, I managed to get my beer merit badge at Sierra Nevada’s beer camp, a weekend adventure bestowed on various industry types, bar owners, and...
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Five Things I Learned About Kentucky Whiskey (This Week)
Bruce Russell, Wild Turkey. Photos and words, Greg Nagel Every time I drink whiskey, I feel like I just got a little bit wiser…and this week is no different. Tuesday evening at the soon-to-open...
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Windsor Homebrew Turns Two, Adds Bottle Shop
As the yearly Homebrew Con just wrapped up in Minneapolis, this was a perfect time to catch up with Scott Windsor of Costa Mesa’s Windsor Homebrew Supply, who recently just doubled the shop’s size,...
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New Distillery Drifts Into South County
Stepping into Drift Distillery’s new tasting room in San Clemente, it’s easy to feel like you stepped into rural Kansas, where owners Ryan and Lesli Winter hail from. Reclaimed wood and rustic tin...
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Brand New Brewery in Orange Releases Sink & Swim IPA and Almost Sells Out
Green Cheek Sink Or Swim IPA, photo: – John Holzer (used with permission) My grandpa used to tell me various idioms, like, “a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush.” Holding a can of Green Cheek’s...
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