The Coachella Valley heat and the allergens are finally starting to wane, and I thought it would be a good time to enjoy one last quick getaway before the busy season arrives. There’s an area, not far away, whose breweries keep crossing my radar: Temecula/Murrieta.
A quick drive over the mountain seemed in order on a warm, clear autumn day, so I set off.
I began my short journey with a name from the past: Black Market Brewing. They’ve been going since 2009, and I found them shortly after they won a gold medal at the Great American Beer Festival in 2010 for their Rye IPA. But outside of a few random taps or cans here and there, I hadn’t been to the brewery in more than a decade.
When last I saw it, they were expanding from a much smaller section of their building into a larger one. In that larger space now sits the brewhouse, a small pizza parlor and some benches with older arcade cabinets (which you know I was all about if you’ve read me before). A lovely bartender named Natalie loaned me a buck so I could play said cabinets.
I ordered a flight. Some stand-outs were the Cucumber Sour, which has been around for many years and is as good as ever; it’s a light-bodied kettle sour with the flavor of the whole cucumber, peel and all. The “In Call” Pils is a hoppy pilsner with floral Waimea hops, and Bad Actor is a tropical IPA with notes of passionfruit and guava. After a tasty pint of an American pilsner called Good Vibrations, I left happy in the knowledge that Black Market’s beers still held up. It’s definitely worth stopping by if you’re in Temecula.
I checked in where I was staying and got a ride to the real reason I was motivated to go to the area: Solaris Beer and Blending. A friend has been bringing some of their beer, and I’ve been very impressed. I mean no disrespect to the other breweries I visited, but Solarisseemed like it might deserve a space on my list of favorite breweries in Southern California. I walked into a stylish, modern-looking taproom with a long, curved bar, and did something predictable: I ordered a full pour of their 8° Czech pale lager, Accent Lighting. Served in the appropriate mug, appropriately light at a 3.2% alcohol by volume, and with a fluffy white head, it was very tasty and refreshing, with plenty of flavor from the malt and Saaz hops.
By the time my mug was empty, I knew I had to have a flight so I could try much more in a shorter period of time. Natural Lighting was the previous beer’s dark lager version, with notes of toast and chocolate. It was crisp and full-flavored at 4.5% ABV, and I would have been just as happy had I ordered a mug of that.
Idle Moments was the most intriguing beer on the menu. It’s a collaboration with Beachwood Blendery and is a blend of lambic-style ale, a pilsner with wild yeast, an aged saison and the 8º Czech pale lager, with osmanthus flowers, Saaz hops and aged hops. I got the funkiness from the sour ales with notes of cherries, citrus, flowers and much more. Skylab Jobs Near You is a West Coast IPA with tons of dank, citrusy and tropical fruit flavors. It was here where I was struck by the mouthfeels of each of these beers: They were all on point. TDH Parallelograms is another West Coast IPA that is similar to the Skylab, but even danker. Both are full of hop flavor and also highly drinkable.
If I had been a more boring columnist, I’d have just stayed at Solaris all night, but a 50-foot walk in the same commercial center brought me to Electric Brewing Co. I’d been here before the COVID-19 times, and I was due for another visit. I struck up a conversation with fellow Certified Cicerone Dustin (whose other job was as brewer at Rincon Reservation Road Brewery in Valley Center) and went about trying some of the many beers on offer.
I began with the Fest Bier 2025 to do my judgy thing—as I’ve stated many times before, it’s difficult to hide flaws in a lager—and they passed with flying colors. It hits all the notes, has a nice and fresh Noble hop flavor, and finishes crisply. New Zealand Riptide is what is now being called a New Zealand pilsner. I’m a simple man: I see NZ hops (Nelson Sauvin, Motueka and Riwaka, in this case), and I order. This beer had the tropical fruits and dankness that these hops impart so well, and the pilsner body supports these flavors and aromas for your enjoyment.
Then I asked for any IPA besides a hazy … and I was given two hazies to try. Juicy Rainbows is the name of the first, and it does something most hazy IPA don’t: It drinks more like a West Coast IPA. That is an indictment of hazy beers, I know, but I just don’t like the milky, murky mess of flavors that are rampant in the style. The second hazy was a Quad IPA brewed in collaboration with the great North Park Beer Co. for NPBC’s recent ninth anniversary. It was quite sweet and fruity, and shockingly smooth for the 12% ABV. Interesting, but no thank you.
Honorable mention goes to 8 Bit Brewing, located near both Solaris and Electric, but since I visited on a Monday, their taproom was closed. I have tried a handful of solid brews from them in the past year, but it was not to be this time. Instead, I took a stroll down the road to enjoy a Mongolian hot pot and contemplate my lovely day in the Temecula Valley, grateful for all of the good beer that had been put in front of me.
Wine country, look out: Temecula’s beer country is making moves.