MacLeod is a standard-bearer for the San Fernando Valley beer scene. The place specializes in traditional English styles and has continued to push boundaries with its food (including a big pizza focus) over the past few years, as well.

With dozens of taps and a lot of hard-to-source beer, Glendale Tap has emerged as one of the city’s best beer bars over the past decade or so. The semi-hidden corner location also now welcomes a variety of food pop-ups.

Highland Park Brewery’s Chinatown location is big, fun, and full of flavor. Beer heads come through for specialty pints made on-site, while locals and casual newcomers tend to stick around because the patio is large, there’s food, and the park is right across the street.

The sweeping lines of this historic building help to tell a tale about adaptive reuse in Los Angeles, while the beers themselves do their own talking, winning IPA awards and other accolades. All Season is en route to becoming one of the city’s busiest craft beer spots.

Arts District warehouse option Boomtown Brewery hits all the right notes, with its on-site taproom that offers shuffleboard, cozy lounge areas, and a long wooden bar capable of keeping the crowds at bay.

The new Ivy Station tasting room from LA Ale Works is already a hit, thanks to its transit-friendly location, ample patio space, and, of course, its collection of Hawthorne-brewed beers.

While not exactly located right along the strand, this Santa Monica staple still feels like a seaside hangout thanks to cool coastal breezes and a bright collection of beers made for easy drinking. Better still, the brewery is also now home to New York City’s Emmy Squared, one of the country’s most well-known craft pizza operations.

Bell-based Border X leans into Southern California’s Mexican heritage, offering a unique collection of brews to try. Be sure to snatch up some of the horchata golden stout when the weather cools down.

Common Space is a Hawthorne craft beer staple (one of several), turning out straightforward, delicious brews for consumption at bars and restaurants all over town, as well as on the company’s ample warehouse patio space.

Longtime South Bay label Smog Brewing is consistently ranked as among the best places for beer anywhere in town. Not content to just own a chunk of the South Bay beer scene, this group has continued to push into new locations and taproom spaces across greater Los Angeles of late.

This cult-favorite craft brewer has been cultivating long lines and deep fandom for years, and since the pandemic began has turned its Torrance brewery space into a semi-shaded outdoor hangout for drinkers to enjoy.

Beachwood Blendery has been pushing boundaries in Southern California craft beer for years, thanks to its prodigious barrel-aging program and funky, often fruity finished styles. This is the spot to take craft beer nerds after a day at the beach — or, really, anyone who enjoys a little sour, tartness, and funk in their brews.

San Pedro’s own Brouwerij West is a modern-day craft success story, going from itinerant brewing to one of the area’s coolest places to hang out and sip beer. This massive warehouse can seat endless drinkers, and on weekends it bustles with food and lots of San Pedro and Long Beach locals.