Vanessa House Brewery

[sooner88]

That it might mean Thursday... but that obviously isn't right.

[John Knight]

Jake Beeson just completed a mural for Vanessa House Beer Co.

Photos from VHBC:

[jedicurt]

Jake Beeson just completed a mural for Vanessa House Beer Co.

Photos from VHBC:

love the mural... a good mix of 60's style and comic book love

[John Knight]

I was told by one of the owners that their grand opening is set for Friday, October 26th.

[Ross MacLochness]

For anyone who cares, I was looking at the district map and this property technically lies within the boundaries of Park Plaza district lol

[shawnw]

so odd.

there's talk of renaming Park Plaza to Lower Midtown in BID 3.0, so that would at least make slightly more sense...

[Ross MacLochness]

Park Plaza needs to go. And just be absorbed into CBD/Midtown/AA - whatever makes the most sense for each parcel. I don't see a need to name any of it it "lower Midtown" Don't tell Rick Dowell I said that...

[shawnw]

there are no discussions of that nature in the BID board meetings (contracting or adding districts), just regarding name change.

BID districts exist for the purpose of BID assessments to property owners and also so that DOKC has maintenance boundaries (notice there were no DOKC maintained trash cans in midtown until it became a BID district). There are different BID rates based on access to the amenities in the district (i.e. canal, underground, street frontage, etc). Park Plaza really can't go away because it's needed for these administrative purposes. The fact that it's not a real-world/organic district and essentially just an administrative district (unlike the other BID districts) definitely confuses things.

[Ross MacLochness]

nm

[Bullbear]

Finally got a chance to visit Vanessa house sunday. several of us have been doing little tap room hops on sundays and yesterday got to add Vanessa house to the list. Loved the beer and the space the only thing we all commented on as a negative was the lighting. It is VERY bright in there. I feel like if they turned that lights down and focuses lighting on the cool wall art it would be more inviting. It would also allow the neon to be even a cooler accent than it already is.

[fromdust]

YES! A group of friends and I were brewery hopping as well and when we arrived at Vanessa House that was exactly our complaint. Waaay too bright, and a smaller complaint was the charge for a taster. Other than that it is a cool place.

[Bullbear]

YES! A group of friends and I were brewery hopping as well and when we arrived at Vanessa House that was exactly our complaint. Waaay too bright, and a smaller complaint was the charge for a taster. Other than that it is a cool place.

agreed they do have the highest prices for a small pour..

[aDark]

I really like this spot. The bright lights aren't a turn off for me. One of my buddies did make the comment that the taproom is decorated as if a 14-year-old was never allowed to decorate his bedroom and finally had his own space. Funny, and maybe a bit on point with all the superheros and video games, etc.

Still, I think it's cool and unique in its own way.

The music they were playing when we last went for beers was not to our liking. Music is so personal that it's hard to criticize a place for their unique style. Lots of 90's and early 2000s "alternative pop rock". I think that subset of music really only attracts a small fraction of society but who knows!!

[okclee]

Finally got a chance to visit Vanessa house sunday. several of us have been doing little tap room hops on sundays and yesterday got to add Vanessa house to the list. Loved the beer and the space the only thing we all commented on as a negative was the lighting. It is VERY bright in there. I feel like if they turned that lights down and focuses lighting on the cool wall art it would be more inviting. It would also allow the neon to be even a cooler accent than it already is.

I'm looking to do a Tap Room crawl/hop too. (I have not been to any of the new tap rooms.) What would be the best places to go, while keeping everything relatively close to downtown/midtown? Thanks for any and all suggestions.

[Bullbear]

I'm looking to do a Tap Room crawl/hop too. (I have not been to any of the new tap rooms.) What would be the best places to go, while keeping everything relatively close to downtown/midtown? Thanks for any and all suggestions.

My usuals are Twisted SPike, Prairie and Stone cloud and this last time added Vanessa house.. those are all pretty close with the furthest out being Stone cloud which isn't far. will probably work in Elk Valley when they are open ( are they open now in midtown?). Vanessa house/ Prairie and twisted spike are easy walking or Scooter distance.

[BridgeBurner]

I'm looking to do a Tap Room crawl/hop too. (I have not been to any of the new tap rooms.) What would be the best places to go, while keeping everything relatively close to downtown/midtown? Thanks for any and all suggestions.

Big brewery guy so I'll give you my personal recommendation for an OKC tour:
Any OKC brewery tour should start at Prairie, even though it is not technically their flagship brewery, we still get tons of OKC-exclusive releases and should count ourselves very fortunate to have one of the 100 Top Rated Breweries in the world establish a presence right here in OKC https://www.ratebeer.com/ratebeerbes...-World2018.asp Prairie's taplist is constantly rotating, it is fairly common to see 2-3 different beers swapped out after a one week absence. Prairie is on NE 8th and Oklahoma making it the eastern-most point of the downtown breweries.

From Prairie it is only about a 4 minute walk to either Twisted Spike (NW 10th in between Broadway and Oklahoma) or Vanessa House (NW 8th and Robinson)
Depending on how much of your day you are looking to spend brewery-hopping you could skip one or the other and honestly not be missing much.
Vanessa house has a cooler location and "safer" beer choices (their flagship beer 401k Cream Ale would compete in the same category as Natty Ice, Old Style, or Ranier in the GABF https://www.americancraftbeer.com/th...award-winners/ ) Beers are fine, but I definitely agree with other posters saying they can't charge what they are charging for the product they put out, especially that close to prairie.
Twisted Spike is dark inside with a really weird layout, service is definitely better than at Vanessa and I think their beers are a little more interesting. The owner (Bruce) and his family/son's friends comprise most of the staff and all seem very knowledgeable about the beers and happy to be there.

(Coming Soon) Elk Valley will be opening its doors on NW 11th and Hudson, I don't know much about their new location but they make excellent beer (Magic Juice and the Elk Valley pale if you like PAs). I am excited to go to the early streetcar opening this Friday and check it out.

From Elk Valley head South to Stonecloud Brewery at NW 1st and Classen. It's extremely easy to spot by the giant neon "Sunshine Cleaners" sign. Really cool building and a good range of beers that most anybody should be able to find something they like, some of their more elaborate beers can get pricey but there are plenty of beers in the $5-$6/pint range. Only word of warning is that they do not have TV's at Stonecloud, so don't plan on catching the end of a big game.

From Stonecloud go south down Classen to either Angry Scottsman (Reno and S Lee) or Anthem Brewing (SW 4th and Classen)
Anthem is cool because it feels like the bar is situated in the middle of the actual brewing operations and you can walk around and look at stuff which is cool to see since you can find Anthem beer on tap almost anywhere in OKC. It also holds a special place in my heart as the first brewery in downtown OKC open to the public before any of the laws started changing.
Planning to try Angry Scotsman this weekend, I haven't exactly been blown away by what I've had at various beer festivals but it is mainly due to my personal beer style preferences vs actual quality (if you don't like fish, don't review a sushi restaurant, right?).

Long story short: Your downtown brewery priorities should be: #1 Prairie, #2 Stonecloud, #3 Elk Valley (probably), and then back-fill due to location convenience from there.
If you are willing to go outside the direct downtown area and are looking to make an entire afternoon out of it you should try and hit COOP in SW OKC by the Airport and/or Roughtail in Midwest City. COOP's brewery is a great experience with tons of beers they don't distribute anywhere else and a bar similar to Anthem's where you are right in the middle of the action. Roughtail's brewery isn't much to write home about besides the taproom-exclusive beers; the space is very small and the regular bartender acts like it's a personal affront to ask her to try a sample of a new beer before paying $8 for a pint.

[BoulderSooner]

Big brewery guy so I'll give you my personal recommendation for an OKC tour:
Any OKC brewery tour should start at Prairie, even though it is not technically their flagship brewery, we still get tons of OKC-exclusive releases and should count ourselves very fortunate to have one of the 100 Top Rated Breweries in the world establish a presence right here in OKC https://www.ratebeer.com/ratebeerbes...-World2018.asp Prairie's taplist is constantly rotating, it is fairly common to see 2-3 different beers swapped out after a one week absence. Prairie is on NE 8th and Oklahoma making it the eastern-most point of the downtown breweries.

From Prairie it is only about a 4 minute walk to either Twisted Spike (NW 10th in between Broadway and Oklahoma) or Vanessa House (NW 8th and Robinson)
Depending on how much of your day you are looking to spend brewery-hopping you could skip one or the other and honestly not be missing much.
Vanessa house has a cooler location and "safer" beer choices (their flagship beer 401k Cream Ale would compete in the same category as Natty Ice, Old Style, or Ranier in the GABF https://www.americancraftbeer.com/th...award-winners/ ) Beers are fine, but I definitely agree with other posters saying they can't charge what they are charging for the product they put out, especially that close to prairie.
Twisted Spike is dark inside with a really weird layout, service is definitely better than at Vanessa and I think their beers are a little more interesting.

(Coming Soon) Elk Valley will be opening its doors on NW 11th and Hudson, I don't know much about their new location but they make excellent beer (Magic Juice and the Elk Valley pale if you like PAs). I am excited to go to the early streetcar opening this Friday and check it out.

From Elk Valley head South to Stonecloud Brewery at NW 1st and Classen. It's extremely easy to spot by the giant neon "Sunshine Cleaners" sign. Really cool building and a good range of beers that most anybody should be able to find something they like, some of their more elaborate beers can get pricey but there are plenty of beers in the $5-$6/pint range. Only word of warning is that they do not have TV's at Stonecloud, so don't plan on catching the end of a big game.

From Stonecloud go south down Classen to either Angry Scottsman (Reno and S Lee) or Anthem Brewing (SW 4th and Classen)
Anthem is cool because it feels like the bar is situated in the middle of the actual brewing operations and you can walk around and look at stuff which is cool to see since you can find Anthem beer on tap almost anywhere in OKC. It also holds a special place in my heart as the first brewery in downtown OKC open to the public before any of the laws started changing.
Planning to try Angry Scotsman this weekend, I haven't exactly been blown away by what I've had at various beer festivals but it is mainly due to my personal beer style preferences vs actual quality (if you don't like fish, don't review a sushi restaurant, right?).

Long story short: Your downtown brewery priorities should be: #1 Prairie, #2 Stonecloud, #3 Elk Valley (probably), and then back-fill due to location convenience from there.
If you are willing to go outside the direct downtown area and are looking to make an entire afternoon out of it you should try and hit COOP in Yukon and/or Roughtail in Midwest City. COOP's brewery is a great experience with tons of beers they don't distribute anywhere else and a bar similar to Anthem's where you are right in the middle of the action. Roughtail's brewery isn't much to write home about besides the taproom-exclusive beers; the space is very small and the regular bartender acts like it's a personal affront to ask her to try a sample of a new beer before paying $8 for a pint.

This is great. I would just add that coop is in Oklahoma City. Just past the airport (just north of airport road off of council)

[BridgeBurner]

This is great. I would just add that coop is in Oklahoma City. Just past the airport (just north of airport road off of council)

Good point, I meant to say Mustang instead of Yukon but it looks like both were wrong haha- I'll edit my post.

[aDark]

To celebrate my birthday we did a Brewery Bike/Scooter Crawl this past August. Me and ~15 friends rode or "scootered" to every brewery near downtown OKC. We went from Anthem to Stonecloud to Twisted Spike to Prairie. It was a huge hit and we plan to do it again next year and make it a yearly thing. I'm very excited to throw Angry Scotsman, Elk Valley, and Vanessa House into the lineup.

[Thomas Vu]

*Click for full gif*

To celebrate my birthday we did a Brewery Bike/Scooter Crawl this past August. Me and ~15 friends rode or "scootered" to every brewery near downtown OKC. We went from Anthem to Stonecloud to Twisted Spike to Prairie. It was a huge hit and we plan to do it again next year and make it a yearly thing. I'm very excited to throw Angry Scotsman, Elk Valley, and Vanessa House into the lineup.

[Johnb911]

aDark....You just got jammed

[shadfar]

aDark....You just got jammed

this had me rolling! thank you for that!

[okclee]

Thanks for the suggestions!

[Easy180]

We hit up Vanessa House and Twisted Spike last weekend. Before going in I told my group that Vanessa was supposed to be bright and Twisted was dark and it turned out to be true lol.

Enjoyed both but we liked the beers and vibes at Twisted plus they have onsite food. The co-owner talked to us for 10-15 minutes so that was a nice touch. Vanessa also lost points for not having 401k on tap. The horror!

[soonerguru]

Is Elk Valley open yet?