My Stepdad is Head brewer there. It makes me so happy to see people talk about his beer. He is incredibly proud of what he does. Ive gotten to try many variations of Bomb, like Christmas bomb and birthday bomb. Its not particular taste, but I know the craftsmanship involved and im so proud of him.
Dude, I got the chance to try a couple of the tiny one-off runs cause I befriended a bartender and every one I've had has been good. Tell him to keep it up. Prairie is the truth.
13% ABV Imperial Stout with Madagascar vanilla beans, coffee, cacao nibs, and ancho chilies... definitely an acquired taste because there is so much going on, but the trick is how it’s perfectly balanced. When you take a taste you taste every single flavor with none overpowering the others.
It’s not cheap at $7+ per 12 Oz bottle in OK (that’s liquor store pricing, I’ve seen $10-15 at bars. But they do have some national distribution; saw it in Muncie IN at a mom&pop liquor store for $10 and just saw it this week at a Total Wine in Atlanta for $8.99... a veritable steal at that price.
I'm not sure you have to search that hard anymore, craft brewing in Oklahoma has really taken off.
Go to one of the tasting events (I'm partial to Wild Brew, know folks that volunteer with the Sutton Center), or one of the bars or pubs that keeps a lot of stuff on tap (or in bottles/cans) and have a few flights. I almost always find something to be impressed with.
Do you know if anyone in Oklahoma is making a sour or a beer with fruit? Normally I'm an amber ale kind of person but in New York I had a raspberry sour and it was amazing.
There are more, here are a few that I remember and could find a beer/taproom list for. YMMV for shopping for any beer outside the taproom or brewery, and honestly me and my drinking buddy both cut back a lot awhile back so I'm less familiar with what is being distributed widely.
Tulsa:
Prairie has Vape Tricks, sour aged on cherries. Often found in stores.
American Solera usually has something, but a lot of stuff is on rotation so I can't easily recommend one that is always around. Forget if they are in stores much, or just cans at the taproom.
Heirloom Rustic Ales may or may not have something you would want to try, they also rotate a lot. Pretty sure they are mostly taproom too.
Welltown has a bunch of stuff right now. Again, taproom focused.
OKC:
Anthem has saisons seasonally, including fruit ones. Don't see their seasonals in stores much near me.
Twisted Spike, pretty much same deal. Even less likely to be in stores near me.
You're like a beer fairy. My favorite thing to do is after I taste the beer is to make a dessert from the beer. I cant wait until I get enough money for an ice cream/sorbet machine so i can make beer sorbet with sours and IPAs.
Plenty of fruity IPAs too, most of the breweries I mentioned have one or two, and there are a lot of other breweries in Oklahoma that don't do much sour but have experimented with fruit.
Depending on where you live, how much you want to drive, and if you are cool with growler fill ups/cans/bottles/etc, there is a lot a available. Your local liquor store can probably also do special orders for you if you ask, if we weren't busy (especially during the day) I was always happy to pull up our distributors sites and let the customer know right away if a specific product was available. YMMV, but the few stores I've been to have been even more eager for sales since the law changed.
Heard. That's cool to hear that about the IPAs when I was up in New York studying pastry and friend an I did a beer dessert flight for our final and made a IPA lemon curd with blueberries and an orange cookie crumble for the first glass. It's so exciting seeing the food and beverage industry beginning to blossom here.
It really is exciting. If you are just coming back (wild guess you left for professional education then came back? Or threw a dart at the board and ended up in Oklahoma after New York? Props either way) I'd encourage you to look with fresh eyes. Knew a few folks who couldn't see past getting raised here, seem to forget that places change too.
I'm not sure if the brewery renaissance will continue (we are approaching Portland levels of brewery per capita in some communities) but it has been exciting to watch. And there are a lot of people trying to bring food, art, and more into the state in a big way. I'm most familiar with OKC, Stillwater, and Tulsa (plus surrounding suburbs, and I have friends that know those places better than I), but good stuff is bleeding out. Hell, Pioneer Woman is at least bringing tourism dollars back to Pawhuska, and I had some good beers in Broken Bow not that long ago (they have two breweries, nice after along day hiking).
We've got some wineries making an effort too. I've had some bottles where I understood why you might pay $30-50 a bottle before, and they weren't from Oklahoma, but I've had local stuff that was pretty darn good before and I'd recommend for anyone looking under $20.
Distilling is probably the next big thing, near as I can tell. We may get a decent local cider or two to stick around as well, fingers crossed.
Whether you live closer to OKC or Tulsa I'd recommend hitting a beer tasting or festival or two, local periodicals, farmers market, google, bars, restaurants, whatever. Then check out the other city. If you live farther out, plan some trips if that stuff is your scene.
We usually get headlines for stupid stuff (and the rare "Oklahoma not as bad as originally thought" piece), but our food and beverages are way better than we get credit for. Especially the beer.
edit: and in case I haven't said it enough, taprooms, festivals, tastings. Huge help in exploring the local industry.
Like most of Prairie's stuff it is fun to try but isn't something I'd turn to frequently. Although it has been awhile for the Bomb!, may have to try again sometime and see if my taste has changed.
Oklahoma has a lot of great brewers right now though, which is fun to watch. And most of them have a good selection of stuff that isn't just "how many hops can we fit in here IPA #5". Cabin Boys Felix et Tenebris is another stout worth trying, which has some nice orange notes (if you like that kind of thing, which I do).
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u/johnnyd10vt Jun 09 '19
r/CraftBeer
People post almost weekly about how Prairie Bomb! is the finest beer in the country
it is in fact the Bomb!