Big Shoes to Fill
At the end of May, Focus on the Beer went on indefinite hiatus. It would take something truly epic to bring us out of retirement, and this week we were presented with such an epic opportunity.
At a time when Colorado Springs’ beer scene consisted of Arctic, Phantom Canyon, Bristol, Rock Bottom and Judge Baldwin’s, a small brewpub opened up on Garden of the Gods Road looking to be different. Not satisfied with the status quo of the Springs’ beer scene, Trinity Brewing’s artisanal approach and emphasis on eco-sensitivity aimed to alter how Colorado Springs’ drinkers experienced their beer.
Kill the Pint Glass was an early moniker, synonymous with Trinity and their push to use style-specific glassware in order to enhance the drinking experience. Jason Yester, a local CC grad had spent plenty of hours brewing Laughing Lab and Beehive at Bristol, and was ready to put his microbiology degree to work crafting unique and interesting styles.
One could argue that his brettanomyces beers put Colorado Springs on the map when TPS Report won Gold at GABF in 2009. It didn’t stop there, as you may argue Trinity helped start the fruited sour craze, when Elektrick Cukumbahh, a sour saison with cucumbers, won another Gold in 2013. Trinity never just wanted to be normal, they were different and it didn’t matter if you liked it or not.
Who could forget when they almost broke the internet when they released 7 Day Sour, which pushed the boundaries and conception of what a sour gueuze could really be. Among all the stories, festivals and crazy adventures, one awe-inspiring fact still remains— there’s not that many breweries that keep winning awards with a Sour IPA. Red Swingline kept the medals flowing and even led to a legal agreement with the Swingline stapler company.
No matter what your personal opinions are on Jason or Trinity, you can’t deny the impact that Trinity Brewing has had on our community and our local beer scene.
And this brings us to our truly epic reason for coming out of retirement:
Jason Yester has left the building.
Over the past three months, despite the coronavirus shutdown altering how breweries could even be open, a deal was hammered out and Trinity Brewing officially changed hands on July 1, 2020.
The new guy in charge is Matt Dettmann, who is hoping to continue Yester’s level of brewing excellence, while exploring opportunities for expansion and improvement, especially in the restaurant and pub.
He’s got brewing in his blood, thanks to a childhood in Wisconsin, where his father worked at Pabst, and after a decade brewing at home, he’ll fit right in at Trinity. He’s got a soft demeanor, yet his eyes twinkle when you ask him about his favorite beer or his plans for Trinity’s future. I had only known him for a few moments before I noticed his exuberant positivity and eagerness to learn.
Along with his business acumen, Matt plans to use his experience in the restaurant industry to streamline things in the food side of Trinity, an area where previous efforts sometimes seemed to be based on blindly throwing anything at the menu to see what stuck. For Trinity, it was original partner Todd Walton who had pushed hard for the restaurant side of things, and it’s been a constant hurdle ever since his departure.
It’s an opportunity for Matt’s version of Trinity to experience what some might call a rebirth here in Colorado Springs. If all goes to plan, no one will notice any change in the beer, mostly thanks to brewer Dustin who’s already put in the necessary time to learn Trinity’s unique brewhouse. It’s the rest of Trinity that may get a fresh coat of paint, from the food menu to even some TV’s during football season. There’s a lot of room for growth in that department, and Matt is excited to see where things go. The Coronavirus and potential shutdowns present a challenge for any brewery right now, but business is still good and Trinity seems to be taking it in stride.
Matt Dettmann, the new owner/operator of Trinity Brewing
It’s a steep learning curve, coming into a brewery like Trinity and filling the shoes of someone like Jason. There’s recipes to learn, terminology and brewing steps to memorize in order to be able to educate customers, and Matt is soaking it all in, though I can tell it’s like drinking from a firehose. Where Yester sometimes came across as an abrasive educator, Matt has the opportunity to mend some ties in the community and push Trinity to new heights locally.
When asked what’s next, Yester just shrugs “I’ve got something in the works, but I can’t say anything yet…” he says, adding “it’s not in beer, though.” Don’t expect a Yester-helmed brewery popping up in the near future.
I asked Matt what he’s most scared of with this new venture: “August 1st, because that’s the first day that this guy [Jason] isn’t clocking in and I’m on my own.”
