This one hurts. They offered solid beers in a wide range of styles. From their Facebook page: It is incredibly difficult to write this, but after an unforgettable run in East Downtown, the taproom will be closing its doors. Our final day will be April 30th. When we opened True Anomaly, the dream was never to start a brewery. We wanted to create a place where people could gather, share ideas, celebrate milestones, and build something together around great beer. Over the years, this taproom became exactly that. A meeting place for neighbors, artists, astronauts, dog lovers, first dates, birthday parties, and countless late nights that somehow turned into unforgettable memories. As many of you know, the neighborhood around us has been changing rapidly. Over the past year we found ourselves caught in the path of the I-45 expansion while also working to open a second location nearby. Construction delays and shifting timelines pushed that project further and further out. We kept brewing and kept believing it would come together, but eventually the stars just stopped aligning. While this chapter of True Anomaly is coming to an end, what we built here will always be bigger than a building. It lives in the friendships formed at the bar, the events that filled the room, the beers shared across tables, and the community that made this place come alive each day. We've still got some weeks ahead of us and we plan to make the most of them! Over the coming weeks, we'll be sharing some of our favorite memories as we count down to one final celebration with all of you. If you have a favorite memory here, we would love to hear it. Share it in the comments. We will be reading every one. Our Celebration of Life will be April 26th, the anniversary of our grand opening. Until then, we hope you will stop by, share a beer, tell a story, and help us celebrate everything this place has meant to so many people. Thank you for being part of the mission!
Yeah, I heard a few weeks ago unsubstantiated rumors, but I thought they were just that until I heard something official form the brewery. True Anomaly's Saisons, mix fermentation and foeder offerings were unique to Houston, and some of the best in the state. I would take a lot of those over Jester King. Though I noticed over the last couple of years they pulled way back on making those. I wasn't sure if they were waiting for the supposed "new brewery" to open and start ramping that up again, or if they just didn't sell all that well? They were expensive so yeah...They also made really good German Lagers. An English Brown Ale as good as any made in Texas. IPA's, Pale Ales...etc. There is a great restaurant in my neighborhood, Da Gama. They are an Indian/Portuguese fusion place, great curries, seafood, etc. They always only had True Anomaly on tap for a long time...then one day, a few months ago (I think actually before the new year, so even a little longer now) my friends and I go, and they have nothing at all from them. That was my first thought of, oh something might be going on with True Anomaly that we don't know about yet (something else outside of the Freeway expansion anyway). Anyway, this is actually one of the legit better breweries in the Houston area, maybe even Texas. So, unlike other closings, were I'm like, OK that kind of sucks but sign of the times. This is just not good IMO. OK, done with rant. I think they are still going to be open till the end of April, I think? But this sucks.
I've been to True Anomaly a bunch of times over the years, and always enjoyed it. I always appreciated that they pushed styles that were not mainstream (while still making some pretty good mainstream beers). Their space was fun too, especially when it was warm (but not hot) and the garage doors were open. They didn't always have a great crowd, which was never a good sign. Houston is a tough market for craft breweries, especially ones that do things off the beaten path. It's a real credit to them that they survived COVID and lasted as long at they did. Their location definitely didn't do them any favors either. That neighborhood had great potential but never lived up to it. I worry about the viability of all the great spots around there.
I was there not too long ago, it is never very busy when I went. I heard they were not able to get a permit for the new location. I am sure with craft beer demand leveling off didn't help things. They close April 30th. I will visit at least a couple more times.
