I made my way into De Steeg brewing again this weekend. I don't know how many of ya'll have been in. It's kind of in an awkward but cool back alley (hence the name), but this place is a hidden gem. They do a lot of big beers with really complex flavors. Their fermenters all sit out at room temp, so the yeast does some crazy things. Just wanted to give ya'll a heads up that this brewery is really knocking it out of the park.. the tap room is pretty damn cool too.
Been meaning to make it over to De Steeg. I met the owner (can't remember his name) at Wit's End back in June, and he's a really nice guy and very enthusiastic and willing to share a lot of information about opening a brewery. Need to get over there as it's not too far from me...
I've enjoyed every stop I've had at De Steeg. While I've had a few beers that had some off-flavors, probably due to the non-cooled fermenters, he also makes a handful of really good big beers.
I'm not sure if "fermenters all sit out at room temp, so the yeast does some crazy things" is a selling point. I stopped by and just tried a couple of their beers a few months back. I remember it being unremarkable. I'd go back again to try them out....if they were ever open.
My experience there a few months ago was unremarkable as well, but I'll give him another shot. The lack of temperature control explains why the Hop Education pale ales all tasted and smelled like yeast, preventing much hop education from taking place.
We've only been once a few months back. He had an Imperial Pumpkin going and it was fantastic. We only haven't gone back based solely on timing. First chance we get, we're there
Agreed pulling a few off flavors in their lower more regular anglo/american/british beers, but with those big beers that they do, the french saison, house, grand cru, etc. just really get everything to pop. Dangerous place haha. That said I have still been pleased with their lower abv beers too.
I have been going since opening night (I live down the street) and Craig is doing some really good stuff. I do agree there was a yeast issue in the beginning but that seems to have that under control. Big fan of both the Grand Cru and the French Saison.
The wife and I finally made it over there. It's in our neighborhood, so we have no excuse other than it's never popped up in the old memory logs at the right time. All breweries have that breaking-in phase, so I guess it's a blessing in disguise that we waited so long to hit it. But, hell... I'm glad we finally did! We sampled everything they had, and the only thing that was even remotely a let-down was the Imperial Stout. And the only reason it was a let-down was because it was an Imperial Stout... which I love... but this was about as by-the-book as it gets. If I had this beer anywhere else up against "normal" pales and IPAs, it would have been the stand-out. But, aside all the other delicious goodies at De Steeg, it was just "good". Favorite was the oak-aged Huis. The regular Huis was freakin' tasty with apricot flavors jumping around, but the oak aging mellowed out the fruit and added something akin to the crispy carmelized top of a creme brulee to it. Outstanding stuff. The Session IPA was great, too, with lots of fruity hops with nice malt balance. The pumpkin, which only has pumpkin and brown sugar in it, and no spice, was a boozy smile-inducing nectar. Bravo, guys. It's rare that I hit a new brewery and like everything they have on tap. It's ultra-rare that I hit one so close to my house. De Steeg's my new(ish) favorite Denver brewery, easily.
I made it over to De Steege on Thursday last week for the 1st time and had the full 8 beers on tasters. Loved their Saison and Pumpkin beers. I even mixed their Stout with the Pumpkin and it was wonderful. The brewhouse may be small, but their beers are built big and I really enjoyed my time there. Well worth the visit.
I had the French Saison at GABF after hearing good things about it from some friends. My palate wasn't exactly great at the time, but it seemed good enough to warrant a visit.
Just went back there about an hour ago to get a sampler to split with a couple friends. We couldn't finish a single taster between the 3 of us. Het Huis, butter. French Saison, so much Belgian phenols, I thought it was more like a tripel. Imperial Pumpkin Ale was probably the most buttery diacetyl bomb I've had in recent memory. Oak aged house had a sour tartness and so much wood flavor, it was like licking a chair. English Mild had way too much chocolate and roast malt yet extremely thin and bland at the same time. I do have to mention that their beers have great clarity and are bright.
Need to go back it seems... Went to opening day and then again a few weeks later and they had some major beer issues then. I don't mind giving peeps a second chance though!
The wife and I stopped there on the way back to Ft. Collins from CO Springs, it was a Saturday afternoon. All the beers were very sweet and very high in alcohol. I thought they were pretty good, but just not what I was looking for on a Saturday afternoon with a hour drive home and it was like 70 degrees outside. They had one beer at 5% and everything else over 8-9%.
This was my experience, and was hoping I wasn't the only one. Everything I had, except the mild, had severe off flavors with a lot of dms, diacetyl, and tartness. I'm hoping it was a fluke (and it looks like it from the responses), but for how expensive it was I won't be going back soon.
