In just two years , brother-in-laws Ryan Hopkins and Ryan Rasmussen have gone from brewing beer in their garage to opening a tasting room and craft beer supply store in a strip mall on the corner of Warner Avenue and PCH in Huntington Beach. Along the way, they’ve won awards for their beers and began a daily beer delivery service for Surf City residents using a vintage Helms bakery delivery truck. Here’s the number: (714) 248- 6710—BEER ME.
For everyone else, visit their Riip Beer Co. Tasting Room, tucked between a Super Mex restaurant and Tsunami Sushi (you’re welcome to bring in food from the neighboring establishments). Riip Beer Co. has always been about Hopkins and Rasmussen’s passion and love of beer, and that’s exactly what every pint possesses. It seems everyone this winter is doing a Mexican chocolate stout, but Riip’s Xoconela Mex Chocolate stout is BOOM—the best I’ve tasted. Riip does brew quite a few IPA’s and their double IPA, Raider Bob, is a smooth enjoyable DIPA with no aftertaste or bitterness. But my Beer of the Week goes to their flagship IPA, the Dan K.
Crisp, citrusy, with slight grapefruit notes, this is the beer that won Riip first place at Taste of Huntington last year. Riip Beer Co. describes itself as a nanobrewery but with their continued passion for beer, they might end up the biggest brewery north of Ballast Point.
Riip Beer Company Tasting Room, 17212 Pacific Coast Hwy., Huntington Beach, (714) 248-6710; riipbeer.com
