Axelrad tap wall
About a week ago, I wanted to do something unique for my birthday. Since I’m not much of a night owl anymore, I chose to do lunch and drinks in my old stomping grounds in Houston.
Before we moved down to Galveston, away from what most people call “civilization”, we lived smack dab in the heart of Midtown Houston. Of course, over the last few years, it’s become barely recognizable as many of the great craft beer bars that are now readily available were sparse. However, there are a few recognizable places, so I tried to mix a little of the “old guard” with the “new blood”.
To start out, we had lunch at an old favorite, Hay Merchant in Montrose. This craft beer bar and restaurant has been open the longest out of all of my choices as they are now in their fifth year of operation. I mean, how many places can you order a full pig’s head and get a Belgian sour to balance it out? Of course, I’m not going to eat the pig’s head by myself, so I stuck with the chicken wrap and a Hops & Grain Greenhouse #50. You really can’t beat the food and beer selection they have, so make sure to visit for food (or if you’re feeling fancier, visit the sister restaurant next door, Underbelly). I’ve had many nights of fun here, so you can also stay until 2 AM and just drink if that’s more your speed.
Drink of Ages Pub
After lunch, both Kerri and I were still seeking to quench our thirst, therefore we decided to make a second stop. Drink of Ages Pub on Waugh in Montrose was stop #2. Now, I was a frequent visitor to the old occupant of the spot, Growlers Montrose, so I wanted to see if Jon Denman’s new place was as good as the place I remembered and loved. Well, it turns out he improved on everything that made Growlers great by keeping the multitude of taps and coolers for cans and bottles while adding a more inviting atmosphere and the DigitalPour system for the beers that were available. Spindletap’s Hop Gusher was my choice here and poured in a 16 ounce snifter. In fact, I didn’t see a single traditional pint glass, which was very refreshing.
Axelrad outdoor courtyard
The final stop for us allowed for us to return mere blocks from our old home to Axelrad on Alabama. This place didn’t exist when we lived in Midtown, but we wish it did since we were frequent visitors to Luigi’s Pizza, which now shares a back courtyard with Axelrad. This place probably has one of the single greatest outdoor areas in all of Houston with so many hammocks and insanely comfortable seating. The weather only allowed us to be outside for a short time, but even the inside was quaint. The two beers I had here were Eureka Heights Buckle Bunny cream ale, which was less than stellar, and Huff Brewing’s Orange Blossom Saison, which is underrated and should be on your must-drink list. The thing we loved most about Axelrad was the bartender, who was incredibly friendly and helpful. He encouraged us to try different things, especially after hearing I wasn’t impressed with my first beer.
The Houston craft beer scene inside the loop is top notch. While we only had a chance to visit three spots, we made a commitment to do this more often to enjoy all of the places that we’ve only visited a couple times or not at all. Hopefully we’ll have another day out to enjoy the city in the near future.