The Big Friendly | Oklahoma City, OK
Beer Trip: The Big Friendly in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
One place that was continually listed amongst Oklahoma City’s top breweries was The Big Friendly. After our visit, it was clear why this is the case. They have great staff, a family-friendly atmosphere, and it was clearly a popular hangout for the surrounding local community.
Views of The Big Friendly & Taco Nation’s playground!
The Brewery
Outdoor space featuring the Taco Nation bus
It’s not often that you find a brewery that feels like it’s the heart of a neighborhood, but that’s exactly what you’ll find in the vibe at The Big Friendly. The entire area is newly developed within the last ten years, with the brewery in the middle and shopping, restaurants, apartments, and townhomes surrounding it just a short walk away.
Warren really enjoyed the loft area
Although it’s newly constructed, you’d actually think that The Big Friendly has been here a long time, as it possesses a rustic, barn-like feel. Whether it be the bar, stairs, table, upper loft, or ceiling beams, you see beautiful wooden oak elements throughout. The place is long and fairly narrow, with a bar running about half the length and indoor seating towards the back and along the windows. We brought our 3-year-old with us, and he loved the kids’ cave featuring books and a fun illustration of the brewing process. Luckily for us, the weather was nice, s so we spent a good chunk of our time outside on their large gravel lot. Half the space is covered, while the other half is open to the elements with plenty of picnic tables spread about.
Lots of live plants
Warren enjoying the kids’ hideaway
Views of the loft from below
Views from the loft
The Beer
You will find 15 different beers on tap at The Big Friendly, with 4 - 5 of them serving as flagships. We were informed that several other choices are also repeat recipes, with the brewer altering one or two ingredients, such as a hop or a flavor additive, to provide a new variety. It might have been a coincidence, but their beer menu on this visit was broken into 3 distinct categories: 1) German/European style, 2) Pale Ales, and 3) Other. This provided nice diversity, including some more unique options that we don’t typically see, like a Czech Pale Lager, a German Leichtbier, and a farmhouse ale. With this nice variety, we were both able to find beers we enjoyed.
Since we spent a few hours here, we were able to sample a good portion of the menu, with a few that need to be mentioned. One of those was the farmhouse ale called Goodbye Bread. This brew is a gold medal award-winner from the Great American Beer Festival, and actually is a bit sour with a faint, grainy, bready taste that we love. Staying along that same flavor profile, their German pilsner, Inner Flight, is a must-try. We aren’t typically pilsner fans, but this one is likely our all-time favorite of this style, with a rich bread taste and the perfect bitterness. We also wanted to note their two fruit beers, Joe’s Tropical Preserves and Joe’s Jammy Jams. Joe’s lineup is one that gets continually altered, but both were top-notch offerings during our visit.
Food, Merch, & More
The Big Friendly doesn’t have any food in-house, but there are both pizza and taco joints within walking distance (we highly recommend Taco Nation). In addition to beer, they have a local cider or hop water, along with local wine offerings available to-go. The merchandise section is robust for a place of this size, with lots of t-shirts, sweatshirts, hats, stockings, blankets, and coffee mugs. We were also able to load up on a few 6-packs of their beer to take back home.
Merch and to-go brews
Gretchen got tuckered out after an afternoon here
Views of Taco Nation from the loft
Fun artwork in the family restroom!
Warren enjoyed the playground next door while we enjoyed our brews!
