The Bruery
Regional Brewery
in
Placentia,
California,
United States 🇺🇸
Associated with 2 Venues
Established in 2007
Contact
Subsidiaries
Description
The Bruery® is a boutique craft brewery based in Orange County, CA, specializing in experimental and barrel-aged beers since 2008. Founded as a small, friend & family run business, The Bruery takes it’s unique moniker from founder Patrick Rue’s family surname.
Patrick picked up homebrewing as a hobby, later to become an obsession, as a distraction to the banality of law school. Soon he was winning numerous awards for his beers and driving his wife, Rachel, mad with the messes that he would leave on the kitchen stove. Upon finishing school, he took it upon himself to draw up a business plan rather than study for the California Bar exam – a risky endeavor that shows through still today in the creative, genre-tilting beers that The Bruery prides itself on.
The Bruery is founded on the excitement that Patrick felt in those first years of homebrewing and we continue to strive for that same passion in every aspect of our business today. We never stop challenging ourselves to develop distinctive & imaginative beers, constantly pursuing improvement in all that we do. We brew dozens of original beers each year with our list of ingredients and inspirations growing perpetually. Our collection of oak barrels has also become a primary element of our brewery. Nearly half of our beer is aged in wine or spirit barrels bringing forth flavors reminiscent of the Belgian countryside or classic American distillers.
Patrick picked up homebrewing as a hobby, later to become an obsession, as a distraction to the banality of law school. Soon he was winning numerous awards for his beers and driving his wife, Rachel, mad with the messes that he would leave on the kitchen stove. Upon finishing school, he took it upon himself to draw up a business plan rather than study for the California Bar exam – a risky endeavor that shows through still today in the creative, genre-tilting beers that The Bruery prides itself on.
The Bruery is founded on the excitement that Patrick felt in those first years of homebrewing and we continue to strive for that same passion in every aspect of our business today. We never stop challenging ourselves to develop distinctive & imaginative beers, constantly pursuing improvement in all that we do. We brew dozens of original beers each year with our list of ingredients and inspirations growing perpetually. Our collection of oak barrels has also become a primary element of our brewery. Nearly half of our beer is aged in wine or spirit barrels bringing forth flavors reminiscent of the Belgian countryside or classic American distillers.
8.5/10
Tried
from Bottle
on 31 Dec 2025
at 15:48
6.9/10
—
Appearance 6
Aroma 7
Flavor 7
Texture 7
Overall 7
Served at a good temperature in the low 50s. Small head that soon dissipates and lightly carbonated. Lots of dark ripe fruit and oranges with a touch of roast and maybe cocoa. Quite sweet.
Tried
from Bottle
at
Bodega Brew Pub, Inc.
on 31 Dec 2025
at 01:47
6.6/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 6
Flavor 7
Texture 6
Overall 6.5
Stewed apple, stewed tomato aroma. Brown, medium tan head. Date, tart fig. Medium body, easy carbonation. Unwelcome umami.
Tried
on 31 Dec 2025
at 00:43
8/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 8
Flavor 8
Texture 8
Overall 8
Thanks fonefan! (2024 vintage). Pitch black colour, small off-white head. Aroma is chocolate, toffee, some roasted tones with some mild barrel and alcohol tones. Flavour is chocolaty, syrupy and some alcohol and mild wooden tones too.
Tried
from Bottle
on 28 Dec 2025
at 00:18
8.1/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 8
Flavor 8
Texture 8
Overall 8.5
Bottle at home, picked up from Craft Beer Central.ie, 25/12/2025.
Pitch black topped with a khaki head that thins to the edge.
Nose is rich malts, chocolate shavings, dried red berries, brandy barrel, vinous, booze, cherry pipe tobacco.
Taste comprises dark malts, molasses, dried red berries, vinous, booze o'clock, brandy barrel, heat.
Full bodied and have some fucken more, light prickly carbonation, semi drying close with a big rising boost.
Solid ballsy BA impy, if not the most expressive, but on the money and what I expected.
Pitch black topped with a khaki head that thins to the edge.
Nose is rich malts, chocolate shavings, dried red berries, brandy barrel, vinous, booze, cherry pipe tobacco.
Taste comprises dark malts, molasses, dried red berries, vinous, booze o'clock, brandy barrel, heat.
Full bodied and have some fucken more, light prickly carbonation, semi drying close with a big rising boost.
Solid ballsy BA impy, if not the most expressive, but on the money and what I expected.
Tried
on 25 Dec 2025
at 23:01
8.6/10
Tried
from Bottle
on 25 Dec 2025
at 14:26
8.8/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 8.5
Flavor 9
Texture 9
Overall 9
a: dark brown coloured body | thinnish, relatively fast-dying tan head
a: tobacco | bourbon (big!) | pitted fruits
f: raisins | earthy malts | nutty finish
t: figs | alcohol warmth | rich caramelised sugars
o: deep & robust | rustic throughout | polished & complex (aged well, most likely!)
75 cL bottle | Balducci's (grocery): Alexandria (Old Town), Virginia | 28-November-2020 | US$34,99 | no bottling date | sampled: 21 & 22 December 2025 in conjunction with my 2025 Advent Calendar
a: tobacco | bourbon (big!) | pitted fruits
f: raisins | earthy malts | nutty finish
t: figs | alcohol warmth | rich caramelised sugars
o: deep & robust | rustic throughout | polished & complex (aged well, most likely!)
75 cL bottle | Balducci's (grocery): Alexandria (Old Town), Virginia | 28-November-2020 | US$34,99 | no bottling date | sampled: 21 & 22 December 2025 in conjunction with my 2025 Advent Calendar
Tried
from Bottle
from
Balducci's
on 22 Dec 2025
at 23:06
6.1/10
—
Appearance 6
Aroma 7
Flavor 7
Texture 5
Overall 5
Bottle pour at the DCBeer December 2025 share. Poured a hazy, kind of deep orange color with a medium sized off-white head. Aroma was toffee, vanilla, maple. Actually the small amount I had was quite tasty, but it's way too much, as usual. Boozy, a bit cloying. Something like this at the high single digits could be really interesting.
Tried
from Bottle
on 21 Dec 2025
at 20:58
Tried
from Bottle
on 20 Dec 2025
at 23:06
8.2/10
Tried
from Bottle
on 20 Dec 2025
at 22:00