As Los Angeles County just keeps growing in the number of craft breweries and has hit the 90-plus mark, Ventura County also has seen a lot of growth in small breweries in the past few years.
Less than an hour drive north of Santa Clarita, there are quite a few craft breweries to visit for a day trip to explore and enjoy some great craft beer.
One of the oldest in Ventura is Anacapa Brewing Co. Located on Main Street downtown, it has been there for 18 years. Anacapa is a brewpub, so along with their beer they have pub food and are open for lunch and dinner.
Another great brewery in Camarillo is Institution Ale Co., which brews some amazing beers and bakes some great pizza.
If you love great German-inspired lagers, then you should definitely make another stop in Camarillo at Enegren Brewing Co., which crafts great true-to-style lagers.
Both Enegren and Institution are must-visits on my list!
Two of the newer breweries are Casa Agria Specialty Ales, which brews unique farmhouse ales, barrel-aged wild ales and hazy IPAs, along with Red Tandem Brewery. Both are located in Oxnard.
Two of my favorite breweries to visit in Ventura are Topa Topa and MadeWest Brewing Co., which both are brewing some awesome beers! Both also will often have food trucks if you’re hungry.
There are way too many breweries to visit in one day, so you will probably have to spend the night or come back another day to check out the others. Other breweries located in Ventura are Poseidon Brewery, Seaward Brewery, Ventura Coast Brewing Co., Concrete Jungle Brewing and Rincon Brewery.
So many breweries, so little time!
Life’s short, drink craft! Cheers!
Rob McFerren is the owner of Wolf Creek Restaurant & Brewing Co.
