Jason Yester of Trinity Brewing with his dog, Bunny. (Photo courtesy of Trinity Brewing).
As 2015 comes to a close, we’re once again asking leading figures on the Colorado beer scene to reflect on the past year and look ahead to next.
This next installment in our 5th annual Beer In Review features Jason Yester of in Colorado Springs. Trinity has been a force in Colorado brewing for years. This year, the brewery won a silver medal in the Great American Beer Festival in the tough Brett Beer category for its Red Swingline IPA.
Jason has looked at around 30 sites in Denver for a potential new location, but none of them have been “ideal,” he said. “I do have a location outside of Colorado Springs that looks very promising, and the city with the location is offering some very tempting urban renewal incentives,” he said. “I’ll be more public about the direction for Trinity after contracts are in place, but we aim to have a new operating production facility by winter of 2016… location is currently undecided. However, I will personally be coming to Denver to establish a small boutique brewery in the future if the 2016 production facility does not land there.”
Jason, the owner and head brewer, is inventive, outspoken and a damn good beer maker.
Here are his picks:
Favorite beer of the year: (from anywhere, need not be Colorado) out of Enola, Penn., was the most shocking introduction I experienced this year. Everyone knows I love Saisons/Farmhouse ales, and I also love sours that are brewed with fruity American hops. JuXTaPoSe was born out of the ‘Intangible Ales’ project at Pizza Boy, and I think they made this beer specifically for me! It’s a Farmhouse fermented with Brett, hopped with loads of American hops, and soured just enough to lift all those fruity flavors from the hops for a juicy lightly funky masterpiece. ISO if anyone has bottles to trade! 🙂
Colorado brewery of the year: and are the two standouts for me.
New Colorado brewery of the year:is at the top of my list for new Colorado brewers. Opening in downtown Denver in the historic jazz-driven Five Points District, this brewery garnered its name from a jazz drum beat pattern. Denver’s light rail system continues to evolve/grow and as that transit system continues to reaches new neighborhoods, I see Spanglang becoming a permanent fixture. The light rail literally drops passengers off 10 feet from the front door to the brewery. In their inaugural appearance at GABF, they walked away with a gold medal for their Belgian table beer, an accomplishment only a handful of Colorado brewers have achieved. Everything these folks are doing is smart, and they’ve got a very bright future.
Colorado brewery to watch in 2016: , everything Bill Eye has touched has always turned to gold. It’s going to be a treat to have his beers back on the table in 2016. Brian Strumke is bringing the contract for from his “gypsy brewing project” to a facility in Denver, having access to his touted Saisons in Colorado is going to shake things up a bit.
Most notable craft beer news or trend of 2015: I’ll focus on what’s been positive here in Colorado for this response, I don’t want to beat the “buy outs/acquisitions” dead horse. Colorado is amid its most punctual craft beer transition since the establishment of the movement in the ’80s and ’90s. “Second Generation Brewers” came on to the scene strong in 2015. ,, , , , and Spanglang are a few of the breweries that come to mind that feature a group of new owners who has worked up through the business. This class of owners is taking more risks, bringing beer to new neighborhoods (or even towns) and using years of experience for fresh and experimental ideas. Considering a steering committee with these chops, I don’t think Colorado will be known as the “amber state” for much longer.
Craft beer trend to watch for in 2016: An increase in small boutique brewers making a social impact by creating beers that are an experience instead of volume-based marketing ploys. More dry Oregon style IPA designs and yummy hop bursting.
Here are previous entries:
