Steamworks Brewing Co. is a cool little joint in the southern part Colorado, located in the town of Durango. Unfortunately, I didn’t have the opportunity to actually go to this place, but my fiancé was in Durango and knew I’d been looking at some of the local breweries so she picked up somethin’ tasty (lucky me!). I read up on them and was impressed to find that all their servers and bartenders are Cicerone Certified beer servers. If you’re not familiar with Cicerone, it’s a program that offers testing and certification for people working in the beer industry. If you happen to catch a Cicerone Certified server or bartender at whatever watering hole your at, try picking their brain. I’m sure they know their shit.
The beer I had the pleasure of trying was a celebration ale called Quince Anos Barleywine Ale, brewed in celebration of Steamworks’ 15th anniversary. Rebekah (my fiancé) brought back a beer menu along with the bottle in question. You get a feel for the brewery’s style from the way the beers are organized on the menu. In true Colorado fashion, they are all categorized by whitewater rapid classes. Class I would be the most mellow, and includes beers like the Colorado Kolsch, while class V represents the more adventurous ales, including this barleywine.  Based on the class V rating, I knew it would be tasty. The Quince Anos is aged for over five months before they serve it. Sometimes I’m not a huge fan of barleywines, but this one is different. It’s not as fruit forward. You still get a nice fruity flavor, but they balanced it really nicely with malts and hops to create a very full-bodied beer filled with sweet, malty goodness. I was wishing I had more when I finished it. It’s too bad Durango is 7 hours away, otherwise I’d be in there all the time. Happy birthday Steamworks!
-Robin