Fall beer is here

Tipple what’s on tap (and on shelves) in Tulsa this autumn

By TTV Staff

With Oklahoma’s modernized liquor laws going into effect Oct. 1, and Oktoberfest right around the corner, there’s plenty to celebrate this fall when it comes to booze. We plan on doing it with some cold beer, so here’s a list of seasonal brews on tap and on shelves at breweries and liquor stores around town.

Welltown Brewing

114 W. Archer St.

Oktoberfest, 6% ABV: Clean, crisp, caramel
Caribbean Queen, 7.5% ABV: Fruity, tropical, not-your-typical stout
Saints and Scoundrels, 9.4% ABV: Smoke, scotch, malt

Three fall beers are coming to Welltown this season. Naturally, the brewery will have a Märzen-style Oktoberfest, which is a traditional Oktoberfest lager with a clean and crisp malty caramel flavor.

Co-owner Jeremy Diamond said the Caribbean Queen, a tropical stout, has fruiter notes. “It’s not your typical coffee-like stout,” he said. Head brewer Jordan O’Dell said the fruity notes in the hay stout are due to the larger yeast.

Additionally, Welltown has Saints and Scoundrels, a smoked scotch ale. O’Dell said the wheat-heavy brew’s smoky flavor balances with the sweetness for an autumn delight you won’t want to miss.

Nothing’s Left Brewing Co.

1502 E. 6th St.

Basic Bitch, ~5% ABV: Pumpkin spice, fall in a glass
Pröst!, ~4.5% ABV: malty, crispy

The Bitch is back—Basic Bitch beer, that is. Nothing’s Left will have their sweet, pumpkin spice brew this fall ready for sipping. “People like to try it just for the name,” said taproom and operations manager Lacy Richards.

In addition, they’ll have a chocolate milk stout on tap containing several batches of Hershey’s chocolate syrup. Richards said it’s different than other chocolate stouts because it’s not bitter: “We use milk chocolate rather than dark chocolate.”

Nothing’s Left’s Oktoberfest beer, Pröst!, will be on tap soon as well. Coming in early October, this Märzen-style brew will come just in time for beer’s biggest holiday. “If we have a holiday, it’s Oktoberfest,” Richards said.

American Solera

108 E. 18th St. (SOBO) / 1801 S. 49th W. Ave.

Terpy Wet Hop, 8% ABV: Hoppy, pineapple, candy

Terpy Wet Hop is the newest beer to join American Solera’s Terpy series. The key to this brew is getting the fresh hops from where they’re grown in Michigan to American Solera’s brewery in West Tulsa—all within a 24-hour period. “It takes crazy coordination to get the ingredients to the brewery,” brewmaster Chase Healey said.

The batch was just canned Saturday, Sept. 15, so get it while it’s fresh (and while it lasts). Healey said American Solera will have new hoppy beers every couple of weeks—so there’s not a specific fall brew—but there will be new ones to try throughout the season.

Cabin Boys Brewery

1717 E. 7th St.

Bearded Theologian, 8.4% ABV: Clove, raisins, caramel
Felix Et Tenebris, 8.7% ABV: Chocolate, roasty, crisp

Aromas and flavors of raisins and caramel enrich the Belgium Quad Bearded Theologian at Cabin Boys Brewery. “This ale has beautiful aromas of baking spices and clove that are created by our Belgian house strain of yeast,” brewer Austin McIlroy said.

It’s also becoming stout season, so Cabin Boys’ American-style Felix Et Tenebris will be available at the taproom as well as other places around town. The extensive malt bill balances this complex beer. “We use oranges in the later part of the boil for a crisp robust finish,” McIlroy said.

Marshall Brewing Company

618 S. Wheeling Ave.

This Land Lager, 4.8% ABV: Clean, crisp, easy-drinking

In celebration of their 10-year anniversary and Oklahoma’s evolving liquor laws, This Land Lager is set to debut Oct. 1. For the first time since its inception, Marshall Brewing Company will sell the beer in six- and twelve-pack cans—cold.

Wes Alexander described the German-style Helles brew as “everybody’s drinking beer.” An “everyday” ode to the ancient Augustiner Bräu Edelstoff, this clean and crisp lager will quench your thirst.

Marshall’s fall classic, the Oktoberfest lager, will also be available on draft and in six-packs.

Heirloom Rustic Ales

2113 E. Admiral Blvd.

Winter Warmer, 7.2% ABV: Oatmeal, spice
Morning Devotion, 6.1% ABV: Coffee, cinnamon

Unlike some breweries with a traditional Oktoberfest offering, Heirloom doesn’t exactly brew the same thing twice (except for a few specific beers). One coming soon on tap has roots in Oklahoma. Their currently-unnamed Belgian strong dark beer will include Norton grapes grown in Oklahoma on a vineyard that’s been dry-farmed. “The vines are 13 years old, which is unheard of for Oklahoma grapes,” said Jake Miller, co-owner and brewer.

Two more seasonal swigs include the Winter Warmer, a thick “oatmealy” beer heavy on the oats and rye. Miller said it’s super spicy. “With our darker beers, we try to do esoteric things,” he said.

Another brew coming through the spout soon is Heirloom’s Morning Devotion, which contains Fair Fellow Coffee cold brew and cinnamon.

Renaissance Brewing Co.

1147 S. Lewis Ave.

Deutschican, 5.9% ABV: Light and toasty Pumpkin-spiced milkshake IPA, varied ABV: Pumpkin. Spice. Milkshake.
Black Gold, 5.6% ABV: Chocolate, coffee

Renaissance’s first fall beer is Deutschican, a Vienna Lager. “We brewed this beer especially for the Oktoberfest season,” head brewer Kelsey Schumacher said. The brew is made with a large portion of Vienna malt which provides a smooth, light, toasty beer that is easy to drink. Schumacher said they are releasing it exclusively during the Oktoberfest festival in Tulsa and will have limited quantities at Oktoberfest and the Renaissance tap room only.

Specialty-release beers from the taproom include a pumpkin-spiced milkshake IPA and multiple sour beers, including a cherry and peach gose.

“Last but not least, we are ramping our production of one of our flagship beers—Black Gold—for the fall season,” Schumacher said. “This beer is the perfect stout for fall with its chocolate and coffee notes. Somewhat dangerous, given its high drinkability.”

High Gravity

6808 S. Memorial Dr., Ste. 146

Honey Nut Beerios, 5.7% ABV: Toasted pecans
Sinister Stout, 6.0% ABV: espresso, cream
Chicken Dance, 6.0% ABV: malty, sweet

Tulsa’s home brewing store and taproom has three fall beers on its 11 taps to greet autumn with a hospitable hello. The Honey Nut Beerios, a Northern English Brown Ale, features toasted pecans right here from Oklahoma.

The Sinister Stout is a milk stout. Co-owner Dave Knott explained the beer gets a bit of sweetness from lactose, “Like an espresso with cream.” This dark, full-bodied, slightly roasty ale is perfect for cold winter nights or frosty winter mornings, Knott said. The beer also has a reduced amount of gluten. The Chicken Dance Oktoberfest has a balanced flavor of malt and hops. “Having a rich textured palate with an underlying sweetness—true to tradition,” Knott said.

“On average, you will see two new beers on the board each week,” he said. High Gravity also has an Oktoberfest celebration coming up, with special beers brewed just for the occasion, scheduled for Oct. 27 to avoid conflicting with others.

Last but not least, High Gravity’s collaboration with Dead Armadillo will go on tap Oct. 1 at their taproom and Oct. 5 at Dead Armadillo. It’s a Märzen-style lager on raspberries called Red Oktober.

Dead Armadillo

1004 E. 4th St.

Dunkelweizen, 5.9% ABV: Banana, clove, malty, creamy
Bump in the Road, 7.9% ABV: Sweet, fruity

Dead Armadillo’s autumn specialties include the Dunkelweizen—a dark wheat ale fermented with German Hefeweizen yeast that brings out traditional banana and clove esters. “The sturdy body and malty backbone is lightly hopped, which lends to a creamy, roasted finish,” said taproom manager Brian Welzbacher. It’s currently on draft and in six-pack cans around Oklahoma and at Dead Armadillo’s taproom.

Also on tap is the Bump in the Road, the latest in the brewery’s rotational double IPA series. Welzbacher said the sweet, bread-like malt in this imperial red ale has a bright finish from the dry hopping of fruity Cascade and Citra hops.

Local taprooms aren’t the only place to get your fall beer fix. Pay a visit to your favorite neighborhood bottle shop—like Ranch Acres Wine & Spirits (3234 A E. 31st St.); Modern Spirits (401 E 11th St); or Parkhill’s Warehouse Liquors & Wine (2432 E 51st St.)—and pick up the season’s finest autumn brews in bottles and cans.

Left to right:

Weihenstephaner Festbier, ABV 5.8%: pear, white pepper, herbal hops
COOP Oktoberfest, ABV 5.6%: malty, caramel, fall spices
Marshall Oktoberfest Lager, ABV 6%: honey, lemon, caramel
Anthem Ogletoberfest, ABV 5%: crisp, sweet malt, grassy hops
Shipyard Pumpkinhead, ABV 4.7%: pumpkin, cinnamon, nutmeg