While Tulsa Tough enthusiasts celebrate cycling on Cry Baby Hill by imbibing in excess, many of Tulsa’s cyclists prefer to pace themselves with a weekly post-ride stop at American Solera, one of Tulsa’s newest watering holes.
The latest project from brewer Chase Healey, AS opened to the public last August and quickly took RateBeer’s 2017 title of Best New Brewery in the United States and the 2nd Best New Brewery in the World against 26,000 competitors.
The brewery’s metal facade in West Tulsa would blend in with the surrounding industrial structures if it weren’t for the patio seating and large wooden foeder out front. The taproom is inviting, with natural light spilling in from floor-to-ceiling windows and warm tungsten filament accents hanging from the ceiling. As accommodating as it is, it’s clear from the dozens of stacked wooden barrels patiently aging beer that this is a functional workspace, too.
I’d set out to intercept a few cyclists participating in the loosely organized Wednesday Night Ride to chat about their post-ride ritual. I was nursing my way through a flight of barrel-aged ales, sours, and imperial IPAs when cyclists began to sprinkle in.
The members of Team Tom’s Bicycles were among the first to arrive. Joining them on a patio picnic table, I felt I was part of an intimate gathering of friends and family in a backyard as opposed to sitting with strangers on the patio of a brewery.
“On our training rides, we go fast and we go hard, but our goal is to always finish together,” said Justin Davis, who has been a part of Team Tom’s for four years. “Stopping and having a great beer allows us to relax, tell stories, and laugh. It’s the best cool down there is.”
American Solera rotates a selection of 10 beers on tap every three weeks (check their Facebook page for updates), with the option of taking many of them home in a growler or crowler (can growler). Several bottled beers are also available. AS’s second taproom will open in August at 18th and Boston. In the meantime, you may have to get to West Tulsa quicker than the cyclists to enjoy limited releases.
(This article was originally published in the June 2017 A Issue of The Tulsa Voice.)
