Feb 18

Feb 18 three houston breweries (that aren't saint arnold or karbach)

Don't get me wrong. I'm a huge fan of Saint Arnold and Karbach (even if the latter "sold out" or whatever). They're iconic Houston establishments and they make excellent beer. But because I am me, I need to go to allllll of the Houston breweries, and there are a lot of them. Here are three great choices.

Eureka Heights

This place had been on my list for a while, but it wasn't until my friend Royce informed me that a Parks & Rec trivia night was happening there on a random Wednesday night that I finally went and checked it out. For the record, team "Liz's Back" won first place (the prize was three crowlers of our choice and that fantastic mug). Before I attempt to comment on beer quality, I should tell you that I am in no way qualified to do so. The extent of my craft beer knowledge is essentially "I know I like Staycation a lot..." However. I really enjoyed the beer I had here. My personal favorite was one called "Friend Zone" (on the board the word 'Friend' was written like the TV show logo...get it...?), which sparked a lively debate with my group over whether the "friend zone" is a real thing (consensus: it most definitely is). Apparently this particular beer is not available anymore because I can't find any info about it on the Eureka website. I also appreciated that each beer had a cute little mascot...and stickers! It took a lot of self-restraint not to buy the adorable dolphin sticker (actually, why didn't I buy it!? It was $1). The space is great too - tons of seating, it's mostly indoors, and there are games like cornhole and such. An ideal day drinking spot!

This is my friend Royce, AKA Reezy Does It, AKA the other half of the Parks & Rec trivia dream team.

I was so excited about this pint glass.  It has jorts on it. — I was so excited about this pint glass. It has jorts on it.

Brash Brewing

I drove around in circles for several times looking for this place before I saw the sign clearly pointing towards the slightly questionable alleyway leading to this brewery. When you first walk up, this place looks a little intimidating, and I realize these poorly lit pictures only emphasize that, but this place was a blast. Brash is known for darker beers with interesting names like 'Milk the Venom' and for playing heavy metal music (I'm completely on board with all of this) and the walls are completely lined with arcade games (only the skee-ball is free, so bring quarters if you want to play anything else). Also, foosball! As it turns out, I am very bad at foosball. Verdict: don't let the slightly scary vibe scare you off. This place is awesome, and I desperately need a pint glass with that logo on it for my collection.

Holler Brewing Co.

Holler is in that new area that apparently, according to some random article I found, is called the "Washington Avenue Art District." Just south of Target by the world's most inconveniently located train tracks. While I think that is a fairly stupid name, a ton of new stuff has been going up over there in the past few years, including this brewery. I will reiterate that I am in no way qualified to rate or comment on beer in any kind of critical way, but the first time I was here my group befriended a guy who IS a beer expert (he even has a podcast, I listened to it, it's real!) and he assured us that this brewery is doing great things. Seating was limited, because it was a beautiful Saturday afternoon and everybody wanted to drink beer outside, so we ended up merging several different groups, crowding around one picnic table, and playing What Do You Meme until we literally ran out of cards (side note: if you've never played What Do You Meme, you should go purchase it immediately, grab some friends, and go play it, preferably at a cool brewery). The space has an industrial vibe, and I am very into these light fixtures and the minimalist chalkboard beer listing. There's seating outside, inside, and in the breezeway by the entrance. It's mostly long tables, so bring a bunch of friends or crash another group like we did! Beer and board games bring everybody together.