The first time I heard of Vanessa House Brewing Company was at work about a year ago. My work had just got one of their beers on tap and I heard that they were pretty good. The beer was the 401k Cream Ale and I had asked my bartender about what the name meant. She said, “Basically 5 college friends went off after graduation to their new jobs and lives, and decided that they would rather make beer and spent their 401k’s on the making of Vanessa House!” Rough description, but I think it’s pretty spot on.
Justin Wright, Zac Smith, Andrew Carrales, Nick White, and Evan Smith were all childhood friends or had met at Oklahoma University in Norman. These guys were first exposed to their love of craft brews and built their lifelong bond in the house on Vanessa Drive, which was close to the campus. This is where they found their name.
Like most breweries in Oklahoma, their brewing started with a beer kit. These 5 guys began their brewing in Zac Smith’s kitchen and ended up putting a lot of time, money, and energy into their new hobby. They knew they wanted to open a brewery from the beginning, but they wanted to be responsible and wait until their name got around before opening their own.
As soon as the idea started coming to life, the five guys started looking for a place to call home. Vanessa House recently found their new home off of 8th street in Midtown, near Automobile Alley. This move was planned long beforehand and has been long awaited. Vanessa House now features 4 core beers with one on the way. The 4 core beers include; The 401k Cream Ale, Broken Tile IPA, Garage Fire Pale Ale, and 11:09 Blackberry Berliner Weisse Ale.
Written by Samantha Ackerman
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