Yet another brewery in Downtown Tulsa: Welltown

[Tulsasaurus Rex]

There's so many craft breweries/brewpubs opening around downtown/Pearl/Kendall areas that I think they deserve a thread for that. This thread works for that purpose if the title could change to "New Breweries/Brewpubs in midtown". With each brewpub, they aren't big projects like the Gathering Place or Santa Fe Square so we won't get many updates except for when they announce it and when it is finished so a thread for each would just clog up this board.

I tend to agree. Mods, can y'all change the name of this thread?

[dbacksfan 2.0]

No such thing as too many micro brews. There are 230 here in Beervana, sorry I meant Oregon, and they account for almost 25% of all the beer consumed in the state and there are not that many more here than in Oklahoma, maybe 100k people more.

http://oregoncraftbeer.org/facts/

[Conan71]

There are 52 member breweries of the New Mexico Brewer's Guild.  Within a 50 mile radius of our place, there are 7 or 8, expand that to 100 miles and it becomes 20+ breweries.

Santa Fe has a population of 70,000, they have 10 breweries or brewpubs

Taos has a population of less than 6000, they have five breweries or brewpubs in the immediate vicinity though four of those are owned by Taos Mesa Brewing and I suspect the ones in the village proper and the ski valley are merely tap rooms supplied by their primary brewery out near the gorge.

Granted, these are touristy areas so you do have more additional income coming in from other areas to try the craft beers.  It could be easy to call craft beer a fad, but it really has become more of a cultural thing which does go back to pre-prohibition when breweries were a neighborhood or regional attraction.  When Tulsa Brewing Company and Cherry St. Brewery opened in Tulsa in the 1990's craft brewing was somewhat of a novelty.  The industry is on solid footing now. 

I keep thinking we've reached a saturation point with breweries, yet more keep opening.  So long as a brewery makes a good product and develops a loyal following, it's a license to print money.  Without on-site distribution, I doubt we'd see the current expansion of breweries in the Tulsa area.  A brewery can make a lot of money with a 10bbl or less system if the majority of their sales are from their brewery rather than wholesaling.  The mark up in a pint of beer is pretty astounding considering most session beers can be brewed at +/- .50 a pint.

[Tulsasaurus Rex]

For those of us who weren't old enough to notice, can someone provide a bit of background on Tulsa Brewing Company and Cherry St. Brewery? Where were they located? Why did they close? I wonder if there's any chance of someone buying the name and reviving the concept.

[dbacksfan 2.0]

For those of us who weren't old enough to notice, can someone provide a bit of background on Tulsa Brewing Company and Cherry St. Brewery? Where were they located? Why did they close? I wonder if there's any chance of someone buying the name and reviving the concept.

Tulsa Brewing Company was at 73rd & Memorial where Lanna Thai is. IIRC it was only open about three years. The food was pretty good but my favorite was the Tornado Alley Porter. They had a rotation of I think 6 or 8 beers depending on the time of year, and all of them were named for something in the area. They had a fall beer named after the state fair, can't remember the others.

Cherry Street was at 15th & Peoria in Lincoln Plaza and I think it was where Jason's Deli is now. Never went there when it was open, some friends did and found it to be too yuppie/preppie drink with your pinky in the air type place. (Can't vouch for that as true, was just a rumor I heard) 

[Conan71]

The Cherry Street Brewery was the crown jewell of the Lincoln Plaza development.  It was in the same building Jason's Deli occupies now and, IIRC, it took up the entire building.

I believe their issues mainly surrounded the food service, based on the company overhauling its kitchen six months in (first link), that's pretty telling.  I don't recall anything remarkable about any of their beers but I wasn't really much of a craft beer snob at the time.

They did have a novel idea in marketing the place.  They sold shares at $5 apiece with the goal of raising $1 million.  The idea was with shareholders they would have built in clientele and they couldn't fail.  I was still ad director at Urban Tulsa at that time so I was usually pretty in the know about most anything happening in the restaurant and bar scene at the time.  I went to a reception at Patterson-Icenogle which was doing the stock offering and was amazed at how well attended it was.  I do recall one person I was chatting with at the reception saying he thought the stock offering idea wasn't so sound as you would have the potential for thousands of "pains in the as$" if their food or beer wasn't just right.

I don't recall how long CSB lasted but I don't believe it made it a full two years trying several management changes along the way, it was a disaster from day 1.

http://www.tulsaworld.com/archives/cherry-street-brewery-gets-new-operator/article_023f3ca9-fe75-5365-b49e-f38e9b5bedc8.html

http://www.tulsaworld.com/archives/the-aging-process-cherry-st-brewery-survives-delays-to-opening/article_a1fbbabf-21e4-5c23-9840-d19f469953e1.html

Well look at that, here's what I wrote about it in 2009:

http://www.tulsanow.org/forum/index.php?topic=13706.65;wap2

Still no idea why Tulsa Brewing Co. went out.  It's main principle had been a successful restaurateur having owned the Hoffbrau House previously.  It may have simply been time for him to get out.  As I recall, the food and beer were better received at TBC.

[joiei]

Some facebook sites to check out concerning Tulsa and Oklahoma and beer

https://www.facebook.com/events/1729671924029195/

https://www.facebook.com/TulsaCraftBeerWeek/

https://www.facebook.com/groups/OKLTCB/

https://www.facebook.com/groups/386289678225544/

https://www.facebook.com/groups/1591022124459858/

https://www.facebook.com/groups/craftbarrel/?multi_permalinks=1308841212497272&notif_t=group_activity&notif_id=1493159798780213

When any of the breweries have a release at the brewery only; like Prairie in Krebs people show up from as far as Dallas, especially if it is a Bomb! or derivation of Bomb! especially Pirate Bomb!  Back when Prairie was here in Tulsa, it was not unusual to meet brewers from other craft beers who had made the trip just to go to the brewery.  I have met people from all over the USA at Prairie, now American Solera, who were in Tulsa just for the beer. 

Prairie is best known for their stouts,  American Solera for their sours and fruits, over in Midwest City, Roughtail is blowing out the IPAs

There are breweries opening in Tahlequah, Ponca City, Norman, Lawton and other places in Oklahoma.

Put down the Fat Tire and go support our locals. 

[TulsaGoldenHurriCAN]

Crazy that now there are 13 breweries/taprooms planned or open within a couple miles of downtown. All in an easily bicyclable-path. In the Pearl District, there will be 3 or 4 you can walk to.

Here is an updated list of all breweries/brewpubs existing or planned in midtown/downtown:

1. Marshall (618 S Wheeling Ave) - currently open with potential expansion at 1742 E 6th st

2. Dead Armadillo (1004 E 4th St) - currently open

2.a Dead Armadillo taproom & restaurant at Tulsa International Airport - currently open

3. Prairie Brew Pub (223 N Main St) - currently open

4. Elgin Park Brewpub (325 E Mathew B. Brady St) - currently open

5. High Gravity Homebrewing & Winemaking Supplies & Taproom (6808 S. Memorial) - currently open

6. Renaissance (1147 S Lewis Ave) - under construction - to open soon

7. Taproom for American Solera (108 E 18 ST S) - Chase Healey who founded Prairie Artisan Ales - potentially with small-batch brewing (Existing brewery open on west 21st)

8. Willow Family Ales (418 S Peoria Ave) - at former Park in the Pearl - under construction

9. Cabin Boys (1717 E 7th St) - Pearl District

10. Welltown Brewery (114 W Archer St) - corner of Cheyenne & Archer

11. Heirloom Rustic Ales (2113 E. Admiral Blvd.) - Kendall-Whittier - under construction - plan to open fall 2017

12. Nothing's Left Brewing (1501 E. Sixth St.) - plan to open March 2018

13. Hanson (302 N Boston Ave) - brewery across from Prairie brewpub - last heard it was in planning with pretty far out date (2018)

I ordered them by opening date (or by estimated open date) as best as I could.

Other breweries planning to open in Tulsa area: FAIK (Far As I Know), Kolibri and Indian Brewing Company at 333 W Dallas St Broken Arrow

Other brewpubs in Tulsa area: Bricktown Brewery (Owasso, Brookside & South Tulsa)

Excluding the Bricktown Brewery locations, that's a total of 17 places built or planned where you can buy beer straight from the source in the Tulsa area. 4 years ago there were zero.


Also related, Red Fork Distillery is going to open at 3310 Southwest Blvd.

[Tulsasaurus Rex]

Also related, Red Fork Distillery is going to open at 3310 Southwest Blvd.

And the winery in the East Village

[BKDotCom]

[TeeDub]

You can add the Indian brewing company in downtown BA.

Nevemind, missed that on the list...

[rebound]

Glad it made the list, but High Gravity is at 71 & Memorial,  not exactly "within a couple of miles of downtown".

Great list though.  I may have to do a beer tour this weekend.   

[Conan71]

Glad it made the list, but High Gravity is at 71 & Memorial,  not exactly "within a couple of miles of downtown".

Great list though.  I may have to do a beer tour this weekend.   

I may be in town by then, might have to join you.

[rebound]

I may be in town by then, might have to join you.

Text me.  Would be great if it works out.

[TulsaGoldenHurriCAN]

Glad it made the list, but High Gravity is at 71 & Memorial,  not exactly "within a couple of miles of downtown".

Great list though.  I may have to do a beer tour this weekend.   

Oh yeah, I added High Gravity after the fact and took out Bricktown Brewery because it doesn't really count because they don't brew on site or in town. Also, Tulsa Airport isn't that close either.

So, 11 places to be serving their own beer within a couple miles of downtown.