8th Wonder Brewery

 

 

 

 

The place was built out of local repurposed items transformed into art, interesting/hipster artwork and old pro sports memorabilia. It definitely has a unique feel to the place. It won't feel 'new' or trendy, so the quality takes a hit, but it's a descent place none the less. On the day I was there, there weren't many people so I can't speak to the crows vibe. Service was fine. There are no waiters and waitresses so everything is ordered the at the bar. There was a good selection of beers (maybe 20 or so) of varying styles, so that was nice to explore.

Interesting spot to swing bye, but I wouldn't necessarily make it a must stop because I wasn't the biggest fan of the beers I tried. I'll probably swing bye again to give it a second chance next time I'm in Houston.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Huge space with plenty of outdoor space. Great food trucks. Perfect spot to grab beers before an Astros, Rockets or Dynamo game. Can get crowded with a line for beer.

 

WOW! This place is really great! The new taproom is amazing and the beer is even better!

I visited 8th Wonder a couple of times this past week and really enjoyed each visit. It is located near downtown and BBVA Stadium.

The taproom is very nice and has a great design, especially behind the bar. It is clear they draw much inspiration from the Houston sports teams of the 80's and 90's.The classic ketchup and mustard of the Rockets, as well as, the "Rainbow" Astros' colors are present and vibrant. These brewers clearly grew up in the heyday of Houston sports.

That brings me to the beer. They had a good selection of styles to choose from, so there is a taste for every palette. I personally enjoyed the Premium Goods, a Belgian Dubbel, which was nice and smooth and I could see myself drinking many of these on a nice day. Aside from Premium Goods, they had a flavorful IPA (Hopston) and an interesting Vietnamese Coffee Porter (Rocket Fuel).

I think their best overall beer is the Dome Faux'm (pronounced "Foam"). It has the crispness and drinkability of a light beer, with a refreshing flavor that you would expect from a craft beer. I could definitely throw back a few of these on a warm summer day/night.

I look forward to trying even more of their beer in the future.

Seating is somewhat limited inside the taproom, but they have a makeshift patio in front of the tap room which offers plenty of space to enjoy good weather.

 

This place is a hoot-and is huge! South of the Dynamo stadium-just few minuets walk. Be forewarned no cash, only cards. They only sell you tokens which you use to pay for beers-weird. But it seems to work for them. Place is large and there is an outside in back-but it was too bloody hot to be out there. There were at least 12 beers on tap plus soda and kombucha. I tried several over two visits. Standouts were the Dry Hoped Cream Ale, Texas IPA, and their Coffee Stout. Vibe is youthful, and plenty of pretty boys and girls. Some old folks like myself-there were having a pre-wedding party there and a birthday party. Service was good and efficient. I could spend hours here drinking and enjoying sitting around. Nicer weather outside would have been nice.

 

 

Went in the afternoon before a show at Toyota center. Beers are good but nothing really jumps out. Not many people in the place and still took a while to get served.

A must stop place while in Houston. If Andrea is waiting on you, in very good hands you are in. These people get it. The only drawback is that they don't serve food, just have food trucks from time to time, but you'll get over it. Great place.

8th Wonder has grown to have a large following around town over the years. Their mix of kitschy Houston names that brings back all sorts of nostalgia has really helped to grow their brand. The expanded brewery is a testament to that.

Now with a huge outdoor area, basically a playground. A sprawled out area with tables everywhere, room for multiple stages for bands and food trucks, lots of pub games to play. Lots of different shaded areas as well. Even some hollowed out Tiger Tanks (people that have worked offshore know what I am talking about). The Eatsie Boys food truck is always there as well, on the weekend there might be several others to choose from.

The inside has a long bar with about 15 taps. A few more tables of coarse, several TV's and more pub games.

All good, but I have never been a big fan of the beers. Just about as by the books as you can get, except for Rocket Fuel. and maybe Dream Shake. They do lots of gimmicky things as well that I am not the biggest fan of. Like Kombucha Wits, or pineapple wheats. That just tells me they have a wheat recipe that won't fly on its own and the additions are needed to distract from that.

They also use that token system, which I am never a fan of, and is now completely outdated. I just want to give the bartender money, and then I get beer in return. Instead, $15 gets you three tokens and a glass. They just keep using the same glass over and over. Which I don't have an issue with when the brewery is packed. Anybody that has been to Saint Arnold on the weekend, or here before a Dynamo game will understand that is needed at times. During a slow weekday however, I should be able to get a new clean glass with each pour. I digress...

Anyway, an OK brewery that is not the best in Houston. Certainly not the worst, and one that has garnered a large and devout following from a lot of non BA folks. So who am I to say they are wrong?

 

Finally made it over to the new set up at 8th Wonder, and wow! Just a couple years ago all they had was a bar with four or five taps and a little room to mill around in the warehouse that holds their tanks. What they have now is impressive. The bar is stocked with 15-plus taps, all 8th Wonder beer from their everyday lineup to specialty beers that may be one-offs. There's room everywhere -- inside the main room, outside on picnic tables and it looked like a few smaller rooms with old Astrodome seats. 8th Wonder doesn't cook itself, but they bring in food trucks, and the one we got some food from Monday (Feb. 6, 2017) cooked up some serious Mexican street corn.

I love the set up and plan on going back often.

 

 

 

Visited June 23rd on SEC mixer night. Great selection of beer. I liked the setup with indoor and outdoor areas. Had a band playing that brought the funk! Employees were friendly, not overly friendly, but friendly. They had a food truck on the grounds. A good demographic mix. Definitely worth a visit if your in town.

I know this is located in a part of town that sees many many drunk idiots, and I assume the employees have to deal with them on a regular basis. However, it doesn't mean you have to be rude to your non-drunk patrons. Out of the four bartenders, two of them were nice and two of them were rude as fuck. Disappointing.

 

 

 

 

Went by on the 23rd of January, before seeing a Mike Gordon show in Houston. Parking was confusing, took me way too long to find their parking lot going down weird one ways streets and alleys, but thankfully they had plenty of empty spots in the big side lot on an adjacent road out back. Walked on up to a very busy concrete garage turned drinking hole, not bad, man. Lots of TV's and a big sign with their in-house brews, probably 15 at a given time, and a few options on the (joke?) "non-beer menu". Not very many places to sit. A huge back yard filled with a food truck, pallets, a few simple games, and a ton of standing space. I purchased an 8th Wonder sandblasted, colored glass, and 3 "beer tokens" for $15 total, which you then exchange 1 each per beer fill in your glass. Tried Hopston, Intellectuale, and AstroTurf. Hopston and AstroTurf were very enjoyable, all were above average. Would absolutely love to see them in the cans that I spotted back home in Beaumont, but you don't really see 8th Wonder anywhere outside of Houston as far as my experience goes. Place could use a few more seats out in the big yard so ya don't have to stand, and the food truck (ran by a Houston company, can't recall) was extremely slow, we waited 30 minutes or more with a lot of annoying folks in front of us, for nothing. Line didn't budge so gave up, kinda disappointed. Options were tempting I have to admit. Will return.

 

It's apparently very popular, plenty of room to stand, limited space to sit.