Something Sour in the Springs
It seems something sour is brewing in Colorado Springs. In a part of the country literally overflowing with small and creative breweries, there lurks a subset of friendly funkmasters getting wild with the Brett.
One such sourpuss is Jason Yester at Trinity Brewing, interviewed by USABeerTrends for 5 Questions with the Brewer in February. Jason digs messing with the microbes to craft some extremely yummy concoctions. He’s no stranger to the yeast dance. Honing his brewing skills since before he was even legal to sample what he was making, Jason – like most craft brewers – loves to experiment. One of his latest examples include Old Growth (very limited supply), “a Flemmish Inspired Wild Brown. Aging this beer on oak for any where between 6-18 months on wild bacterial/yeast spiked oaken barrels creates a heavily malic and tart brown ale. Inspired by the original Flemmish beers of ancient Belgium this extremely rare bottle has notes of green apple, lemon bar, kiwi, leather, and wet wool. 5.8% ABV.” Another is Farmhouse Saison, a “farmhouse ale brewed and dictated by seasonally available herbs, spices, fruits and vegetables.” He says his goal is to do an ongoing series of limited release seasonal bottlings of some of these special beers. A trend that USABeerTrends had noted of late. Currently, Trinity does five to six different 750ml bottles throughout the year that are either Imperials or Wilds. The direction they take with their bottling project is to only put highly cellarable beers in bottles!
Not that Jason and his talented Trinity brewer, Darren Baze (who, by the way, cut his brewing chops at Bristol Brewing in Colorado Springs) are the only wild men in the Springs. Enter John Schneider who, along with his wife Nicole, run Black Fox Brewing — again, in Colorado Springs. Seeing a trend here?
Welcome to Belgian Ale-ville.
Black Fox contract brews saisons (but they also have Brett barrel aged ales) at Bristol when he’s not holding down his regular brewer slot – at Bristol. And packaging is right around the corner. OK, it’s right here that I have to give kudos to Bristol owner Mike Bristol for fostering such a brew-friendly atmosphere. Not only did Jason, Darren and John all once brew for Bristol (actually John still does), Mike mentored these boys along and helped the craft beer industry at the same time. You gotta love it.
So, John didn’t just one day think, “I’ll start a brewery … now.” He first learned his craft brewing under Jason at Bristol. Next, he spent some time at a brewpub in Arizona. While at the Arizona brewpub, John, not under the production gun of a bigger brewery, was able to spend a little more time experimenting. Trying new things is a little easier in the small batch, brewpub environment.
Colorado was always tugging at his heart, though, and he made his way back to the Springs – and Bristol, about the time Jason left to get Trinity rolling. And, while away, he had been brewing up the plan for Black Fox. Mike at Bristol was supportive of the idea and, so, that’s how it got going. Regular gig brewing for Bristol, side gig contract brewing his own Black Fox recipes. Saisons and sours, baby.
Saison is an “open style” according to John. A brewer can get very creative and, yet, remain within the style. Currently, Black Fox designs it’s beers around the seasons and holidays. They distribute to about 20 accounts in and around the Colorado Springs area. Production is small right now. They did 171 barrels in 2009 and are on target for 200-225 in ’10. Available only in kegs for now, he’d like to get some 750 ml bottles going soon. If you are in the Colorado Springs area, you might give Hiver or Samhain or Siempre Loco a try. If you’re a fan of the style, you will not be disappointed.
John says he doesn’t want it to grow too fast. He’d rather it go slow and focus on the quality. As far as awards go, he may enter 3 or 4 brews in this year’s GABF – where, by the way, Mr. Yester has been a judge in the past.
Trinity Brewing is located at 1466 Garden of the Gods Road in Colorado Springs. You can sample some of the Black Fox creations there, as well. Bristol Brewing is at 1647 South Tejon, also in Colorado Springs.
Cheers!
Your All-Puckered-up, Sour Beer Loving USABeerTrends Traveling Beer Freaks
