The Quest for the Holy Grain - Best Beer Bars
Oklahoma

 

 

 

 

James E. McNellie's Public House
409 E 1st St
Tulsa, OK 74120
Phone: (918) 382-PINT

Well, I used to be asleep you know with blankets on my bed. I stayed there for awhile 'till they discovered I was dead.
That is how I knew I had to find a decent beer in Tulsa. And find it I did at James E. McNellie's along with a collection of personal mugs.
McNellies Public House.
Everywhere in Tulsa is 15 minutes from everywhere else, so if you are in Tulsa, you're 15 minutes from McNellie's; It is a big inviting Irish Pub in Indian country.
The walls are big old brick.
Its ceiling is a series of rafters holding up the floor above, The HVAC is exposed.
True to the Irish pub style you will find a canoe hanging from the ceiling and some upside down bikes along with a collection of personal mugs sprinkled in to emphasize that you are not a regular.
I visited on a Wednesday and the bar and dining room were full. Fortunately, there was a Loner's bar island that separated the tables from a bar that seated a couple of dozen people.
The bar was big, wooden and plain. It's centerpiece was a chalkboard that announced the beer geek's choices, quite unique on this trip.
McNellie's stocks 350 bottles they do not even bother to list (download the list from their website if you want one).
They also had about 60 taps.
The barmaids were young and perky...all eclectically clad in casual clothes.
Our server was helpfully attentive. Feeling in a Euro mood I went for a Belgian-style beer, the Prairie Ape Snake.
Prairie, the locals are quick to point out, was named one of the 100 best breweries in the world. No one knew who named it so, but what the hell. So I had one of the smoothest quads I have ever had. You could have told me it was a porter and I would have believed it.
Now I was in a Belgian mood.
No, it's not a case of being lonely we have here, It was a desire for a good beer, so I asked for a St. Barnardus Abt 12 and my server told me that La Fin Du Monde was currently free.
Say what? Yes, I will have one and so I did.
As I drank I noticed the crowd was young and quite loud.
There was an Indian in the corner tryin' on my clothes.
So I decided to have one more beer before going. I ordered a COOP Alpha Hive but it just tapped out so I switched to the COOP F5, a nice IPA.
Oklahoma's home beers had come a long way. They used to be few and far between.
That was on my last trip to Tulsa
Just before the snow.
If you ever need a ride there, be sure to let me know.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Albert G's Bar & Q
421 E 1st St
Tulsa, OK 74120
Phone: (918) 728-3650

There's never been a better time to start in life- it ain't too early and it ain't too late!
Albert G's Bar & Q is the place to eat in Tulsa.
Make no mistake this place is about food. But the Quest for the Holy Grain is about beer, so how does a place that serves a three meat combo for $15.99 make it to beerquestk.com?
Five words explain it:
pickle bar and Okie beers.
Let's start with the free pickles bar.
Belly on up to it and find sliced sweet pickles, dill slices, dill spears, extra dill spears, sweet spears, onions and more. Grab a pewter plate and pile them up.
No limit.
We gotta do this back East.
The place is huge.
Plen'y of air and plen'y of room, plen'y of room to swing a rope!
Plen'y of heart and plen'y of hope.
Now why would a Questor care?
Seventeen taps, all but two of them Oklahoma beers...that's why!
That's OOOOk-lahoma, where the wind comes sweepin' down the plain,and the wavin' wheat can sure smell sweet, when the wind comes right behind the rain.
Marshall and Prairie beer from Tulsa, Dead Armadillo and Roughtail take most of the taps.
I had a Prairie Rugby Ale, a nice APA although at $7 it was appreciably more than McNellie's $5-6 beers.
But McNellie's can't put ribs, pulled pork and chopped tenderloin with two sides in front of you for $16 and that is reason enough to visit Albert G's on your next trip to Tulsa.