You might think the official drink of Anaheim is beer... to honor the fans that crowd into Angel Stadium and the German immigrants who settled in central Orange County. But historian and author Phil Brigandi says those settlers came to Anaheim to produce a different alcoholic brew.

"Anaheim was started by a group of German immigrants living in San Francisco who decided they were going to go in together in a cooperative effort to start a town to grow grapes and make wine."

Brigandi, who wrote "Orange County Place Names A-Z," says the German winemakers sent a manager down south in 1857 to put in the irrigation ditch and lay out the town.

"And it's very easy to spot the original town site because the streets that surrounded the original Anaheim are named North, South, East, and West Street."

Actually, the streets are tilted a bit to the west, just like the original irrigation ditch that brought the water to town.

(Airdate: 7/13/2008)