Orange County Brew Fest - Irvine Lake, May 2012
This beerfest is always an interesting event. Unfortunately it's starting to get littered with hipsters and drunks. These events are for several beer companies to get together and introduce their beer to the public. They give you a meager 8oz plastic cup at the entrance for you to hold your beer. Now the point of this event is to try the beer and not drink it all. Unfortunately nobody knows that rule and the drunks come out of the woodwork.
Beerfests that I would recommend are
Noble Ale Works Anniversary in February
Bootleggers Brewery Anniversary in April
Brew Ha Ha in September
Brew Ho Ho in December
Another great one I went to was the airshow at the Riverside Airport. Packinghouse Brew Co held an event at their brewery, right across the street, where you could watch the airshow for free.
Enjoy your beer. Cheers!