In honor of the 10th annual OC Brew Ha Ha, which will take place Saturday, Sept. 7 at Oak Canyon Park in Silverado, co-founder Cameron Collins has offered up his top 10 favorite beers. Though he’s worked with dozens of craft breweries in Orange County and across the country and tasted hundreds of craft beers, there are a few go-to selections that have delighted his palate and become some of his go-to drinks.
Here are his picks and some notes on why they made the Top 10:
Juicy Liu from Taps Brewery, various locations: “I love this beer … it’s the perfect balance of that amazing fruity haze beer flavor with zero pretentiousness.”
Jam The Radar from Bottle Logic, Anaheim: “This beer blows my mind. It’s literally jam, oak, vanilla and yum! It’s a dessert beer for sure. One of my faves.”
Amalgamator IPA from Beachwood Brewing, various locations: “This is possibly the best IPA being brewed in Southern California right now. It’s consistently the beer I’m most excited to reach into the fridge and grab. Now being brewed in Huntington Beach, it is much more readily available.”
Trappist Ale from Orval Brewing, Belgium: “This is one of my desert island beers. It’s an incredible Trappist beer, in fact, the first beer to ever nationally be distributed in Belgium. A bottled conditioned beer that everyone should have the joy of tasting at least once in their lives.”
Double Nickels Pale Ale from Docent Brewing, San Juan Capistrano: “When God created pale ales, this is what he intended for them to taste like.”
Citra Ora from Good Beer Co., Santa Ana: “This beer tripped me out the first time I had it years ago. It had those tart sour notes, blended with the citrusy flavor and aroma offered by the CITRA hops. Seriously, get to Good Beer Co., they are killing it!”
Double Stack or Blueberry Muffin from Great Notion, Portland, Oregon: “Yes, you can get this here in O.C., but go to Portland, where they’re from. The beer tastes just like the names describe. It’s mind-blowing.”
Dan K from Riip Beer Co., Huntington Beach: “It’s exactly what it says … DAN K! This beer is right for every occasion and honestly it raised the bar on O.C. IPAs.”
Blind Pig from Russian River Brewing Company, Santa Rosa: “Blind Pig is for sure a beer that beer drinkers drink. It’s flawless and I love that it’s available more places now (including O.C.).”
Red Stripe Jamaican Lager, available everywhere: “I freaking love that beer. That stubby little bottle, it’s the perfect weekend beer. Say what you will, Red Stripe is a great lager.”