Oddwood Ales Brewing | Texas Craft Brewery Profile
Location: 3108 Manor Road, Austin, TX 78723
Open: Wednesday – Saturday 12pm – 10pm, Sunday 12pm – 9pm
If you find yourself keeping it weird in funky East Austin a must-stop is Oddwood Ales. This cozy neighborhood bar has provided fantastic beer, food, atmosphere, and service for coming up on 2 years now. Pre pandemic Oddwood hosted weekly video game competitions, live jazz happy hours, wine down Wednesdays, offered a stellar arcade, and so much more!
The People
Oddwood is the creation of brother duo Taylor & Brett Ziebarth. According to Taylor, the name “Oddwood” was what dreams were made of…literally. He had a dream that inspired the name which went along swimmingly with their original focus on barrel-fermented exposure beers, similar to what they were creating previously at Adelbert’s Brewery. Taylor elaborated, “We also thought it captured some of the weirdness and whimsy we were putting into the beer at the time, it’s kind of carried over to our personality as we operate our brewpub.”
The people behind the scenes of Oddwood bring so much of the charm. Their topnotch friendly staff will truly make you feel a part of their welcoming family. It is apparent that they operate like a well-oiled dream team machine. Taylor, the self-proclaimed pizza nerd, even stepped up to make his Grandma Style pies when round 3 of shutdowns hit leading to staff furloughs. Food is a large piece of the puzzle at Oddwood and talented chef Ryan Dunn, longtime friend of the Ziebarths, has been able to start up to-go orders again.
Brewer extraordinaire Cory Hebert brings a wealth of previous experience as Head Brewer at Adelbert’s, and prior to moving to Austin, Ranger Creek Brewing & Distilling in San Antonio where he worked his way up through the ranks. Hebert is joined by Zachary “ZZ” Lazarine as Assistant Brewer helping create the continuously delicious tap wall. Taylor notes how wonderfully the brewing team fits their ethos. “They do a bang-up job. Dirty lager nerds,” Taylor lovingly jokes. Clearly Oddwood reflects a passion for lagers, “it’s been really fun to cut him loose on the lagers and let him do his thing,” Taylor adds. Considering lagers will soon make up roughly 50% of what they are creating, changing their original sign of “Oddwood Ales” to “Oddwood Brewing” seemed like a no brainer.
Photo credit to Oddwood Ales Brewing
You may notice their artwork is incredibly original, and even cooler tidbit?… Everything is created by Co-Founder, Co-Brother, Brett Ziebarth. With the surge in to-go sales due to the pandemic, he has been extra busy conceiving the necessary designs for the various releases. Taylor jokes that Brett stole all of his artistic abilities as a kid to make for one really talented family artist. Brett has a film background, is a comic book illustrator, painter, sculptor, photographer…he seems to have a knack for just about every medium.
The Beer, The Food
According to Taylor, they like to keep their tap wall constantly rotating; however, you can often find some of their familiar, well-known favorites. “In the end, we’re still curious about different ingredients and different styles so we like to just make whatever we’re feeling at the time or whatever we think we’re going to want,” he stated. Their goal is to be releasing a different beer every week. “We’ve been able to carry that over a little bit into the canning and to go stuff, but it’s been a bit of a challenge. Part of our issue is capacity, especially brewing so many lagers,” he noted. Due to the length of time, they need in the tanks, they are only able to make space for a few at a time. Each lager spends about 8 weeks working its magic, so we can all enjoy their mastery.
What is better than a really good beer? How about enjoying it paired with a tasty pizza? Pizza and beer are a match made in heaven, right? Oddwood specializes in delicious 10-inch pizzas, but also offer strombolis, salads, and more. Lucky for us, they have started to go sales again and you can also enjoy them on-site at one of their outdoor patio tables. Definitely something to celebrate!
Photo credit to Oddwood Ales Brewing
The Space
Oddwood operates on a very simple direct fire 10 barrel brewhouse. Two horizontal lager tanks are their pride and joy babies.
Initially, Oddwood Ales’ concept was to be a boutique brewery focusing on sour beers. Overall, the vision concentrated specifically on becoming a cozy neighborhood spot, taking inspiration from their favorite hole in the wall local dive bars like Draught House & Gourmands. Taylor added that the brothers were, “always kind of enamored with that idea of becoming a really intimate neighborhood club that pushes really high-quality beer. Just to be accessible, affordable, and cozy is what we strive for.”
Their beautiful taproom is currently unavailable to the public; however, they have expanded their patio space to accommodate the ability to purchase beer & food on site.
You will find decent parking onsite, but if the lot is full, feel free to park across the street on Theo, in the neighborhood behind them on Manorwood. The shopping center East of Oddwood is available to park in after 7 pm. Other perks of hanging out at Oddwood include free Wifi as well as providing both a dog & family-friendly patio. They are planning on expanding their outdoor seating area in the coming months since social distancing might be around longer than we all initially expected. They’re operating at 40% capacity and have gone to great lengths to ensure the safety of their employees and patrons. The bathroom is one in, one out, ordering is all done through their Toast account, the staff will bring out ordered items and place them on the stool next to your table. This all ensures contactless handling of all items purchased. If you order for pickup, you can text them when you pull into a labeled space and they’ll bring it out to you.
Below are some handy tips & reminders to know before you dine with Oddwood per their website:
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Parties must be 6 people or fewer.
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You must be seated to be served. I.E. No milling about.
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When you arrive, please wait for a staff member to seat you. Unless signage says otherwise
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If no table is available, you can add your name to a waitlist we will text you when a table opens up.
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When moving about the patio, wear a mask until you’ve been seated.
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All orders will be placed through toasttab.com/oddwoodales. (Or, download the app Toast Takeout for a more streamlined experience)
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They will drop your food off on the stool beside your table.
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They currently do not accept cash.
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Restrooms are one in one out, please wear a mask when you enter the building.
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When you are finished eating, place your items back on the stool next to your table.
As always, Austin, continue to Support Your Local Breweries! Now I am craving a pizza…
Feature photo credit to CraftBeerAustin.com
