Hi. My wife and I will be in Oklahoma City for two nights in September starting on Labor Day. My wife really loves cloudy thick 7-8% hazies/NEIPA's. I enjoy them as well, but I also dig strong Imperial Stouts. What are our best bets for breweries in the Oklahoma City area? Thankfully, it looks like many of the breweries are actually open on Mondays and Tuesdays. Oh, does OKC have any good barbeque joints? Steak joints? Mexican joints? Thanks!
Roughtail, Fair-Weather Friend, and The Big Friendly recommended for hazies, especially Roughtail. Don’t know Stouts, but Prairie has lots of fans. Cattlemen’s Steakhouse isn’t fancy, but it’s super-authentic.
Not a fan of the NEIPAs but love the big stouts. Prairie, Stonecloud, Elk Valley, Vanessa House and Big Friendly usually have one or more big stouts on tap (of quality) plus they're relatively close together. Further north in Edmonds is Roughtail and 20 minutes south in Norman is Beer is Great Brewing. Both these guys usually have at least one big stout one tap. All these breweries have websites where they post what they're pouring. When I visit from Tulsa, I hit up the websites and go to whoever has what I'm looking for. Enjoy
Gonna piggyback here to avoid more duplicate threads. Which breweries in the downtown have more to-go options? Also any store suggestions in that area for mixed packs? I love to try new beer when I go places, but would also like to bring back a mixed pack or two for more ticks and experience. Otherwise, plan on reviewing tap lists the morning before my drive and going wherever they're pouring the best stouts. Distinguished Gentleman (don't recall the brewery) caught my eye, and Bourbon Paradise is on at Prairie OKC....
So I never made it to Oklahoma City last September 2022 (staffing problems). But, I'm all set to visit May 8-11 2023. Anything new to add from the last 8 months?? Anyway, thanks for the previous suggestions. Looking forward to my first visit to Oklahoma City.
Prairie, Stonecloud, FairWeather, Skydance Elk Valley, Vanessa House, Big Friendly and the new American Solera tap room although a little out of the way
Two things come to mind. As mentioned above, American Solera has a taproom in Edmonds, not too far away from Roughtail. Probably the best stouts in the state IMO. The other is that Elk Valley closed their taproom which was kind of depressing when it happened. They will be missed. Skydance is near Prairie and is a good substitute.
All the breweries I’d mention have already been mentioned already so I can only second them. In terms of food though, I’d definitely check out Rev Tacos for Mexican. Instead of chips & salsa, they bring you a bowl of seasoned popcorn that’s both spicy and sweet. It’s delicious, and their Al Pastor tacos are killer as well. The other good spot I’d recommend is Hot Chopsticks. It’s in the same building as Prairie Artisan Ales. They’ve got a bowl of pho that comes with a huge short rib on top. Definitely worth a try if you like pho.
Back from Oklahoma City. I enjoyed my three nights / four days there. The weather was great for sitting outside at numerous breweries. Temperatures were in the mid 80's with nice sunshine, just freaking perfect. In order, here are the breweries/drinking establishments that my wife and I visited: Day 1 Lunch at Bedlam BBQ Prairie OKC Skydance Vanessa House Fassler Hall beer hall Fuzzy's Tacos in Bricktown for fast food Mex. Day 2 Big Friendly Fair-Weather Friend Attempted Stonecloud, but closed due to a staff event. Core4 Angry Scotsman Lively Beerworks Dinner at Pearl's Crabtown Day 3 Lunch at Cattleman's Steakhouse Roughtail Brewing Stonecloud (return visit-they were open!) Social Capital, a bar and beer garden with a huge tap list. Now, based on my limited beer consumption at each brewery, I would return to Skydance, Big Friendly, Roughtail, and Stonecloud. And unfortunately I would not return to Fair-Weather Friend, or Lively Beerworks (again, just based on my limited samples at each). I found the outdoor areas at Skydance, Fassler Hall, Big Friendly, and Angry Scotsman to be quite enjoyable. My wife said her crab legs at Pearl's Crabtown were unbearably salty. We won't return there. On the other hand, Cattleman's Steakhouse was very enjoyable. Loved their bread muffins or whatever you'd call them, too. We stayed at the new-ish Renaissance Hotel in Bricktown. My wife is super picky when it comes to hotels and their cleanliness and such, and she gave this hotel rave reviews. We also did a few non-beer activities, such as touring the state capital (a bright and beautiful interior), shopping at the OKC Outlets, walking along the Bricktown river walk, staring at the seemingly out-of-place tall Devon Energy Center, walking through the Myriad Botanical Gardens, and visiting the Oklahoma City National Memorial (my wife wondered how humans can be so evil sometimes). In summary, my very picky wife approved of OKC to the point where she has suggested we return with her 15-year-old son. And I approve, because I have suggested to my beer nut friends to return there with me, and I can be their sort-of tour guide since I am now somewhat familiar with the city and its beer scene. Thanks to all my fellow beer advocate buddies for your suggestions. Cheers!
Yes and I have always told people the same about Tulsa. Those 2 cities in OK are great places. Never been to OK City, but in Tulsa if you stay downtown you can hit most places of interest walking or with a very short uber. Most times when I am in Tulsa I never set foot in a car the whole time I am there.
A little late on my post, but I didn't see this place mentioned. James E. McNellie's Public House is great, old school beer bar and pub. Only been to the downtown Tulsa location though, but know they have a long standing pub in OKC as well. I believe they are the same owners as Fassler Hall, and if you enjoyed that spot, definitely check out McNellie's on another visit if you get a chance.
Curious, what did you not enjoy about Fair Weather Friend? I’ve only been once and I thought it was pretty good for what it was. It was dead when I was there, but it was a Monday afternoon/evening.
I had their Pineapple IPA, Dark Lager, and Weizenbock. All three were not good. I like a good German dark lager, and love most German Weizenbocks. FWF's were simply bad. Maybe they were poured after sitting in the beer lines overnight, but I doubt it. They were just plain bad. So disappointing. But they did have kind of a cool outdoor area.
