During our time in Deep Ellum, one of the main attractions I was looking forward to was Deep Ellum Brewing Company. During my time away from the DFW area, I heard many good things about this brewery. It had become popular for many reasons: they are in the trendy Deep Ellum area, they serve craft beer, and they have been around for a little while; but most of all, I’d heard how good their beer was. So, I knew this is where I wanted to go.
Deep Ellum Brewing is a wonderful brewery that proudly celebrates the Deep Ellum neighborhood. They are not without their controversy over their popular Dallas Blonde beer and the logo, but this brewery has grown to be one of the biggest and most well respected in North Texas.
After we enjoyed some amazing BBQ at Pecan Lodge, we headed over to the brewery to see what all the fuss is about. Here is what we found:
Logistics: 3 Upon arriving at the brewery, parking was a little tough to manage. There were cars parked along the street, and some even had to park in a grass field across the street . Thankfully, when we arrived, there was a parking attendant directing people where to go. They do try to squeeze many people in their parking lot so be prepared. We tried to enter the brewery through the taproom but it was filled beyond capacity! There were also no signs as to where to get tickets or go for the “tour”. Because David had been there once before, we went around the brewery to the patio and found the ticket counter. Tickets are offered at the door for $15 or $10 online. If you are able to, go with the online option. This also made the logistics much easier. Every square inch of the brewery seemed full even for a day in the high temperature range. The tour takes place behind the taproom and patio in the warehouse. They will pack that in for those that want to listen but there is a bar inside to get your drinks refilled which was very convenient. But because there were so many people, and it was where the tour takes place, many people stand in front of the bar and it is difficult to tell if they are in line. If they aren’t in line, they’re in the way making it difficult for people to get to the beer. There are water stations in several places that are helpful for those that cannot drink.
Atmosphere: 3 The atmosphere reminded me much of the newer type atmosphere of Rahr. Really, it seemed like it was more of a place to go or be seen. It wasn’t about the beer or the love of craft beer, it was about being in a cool place. Like I mentioned previously, it was packed so this made things difficult. It was hard to look or walk around to really see the brewery. We saw only a few families there, but the crowd was primarily young twenty somethings. So, if you are in the singles scene or want to go hang out with friends, this is a great place to go to. There is a food truck just in case you are craving something to eat.
Value: 3 If you can pre-order your tickets online for $10, this is the way to go and provides a much better value. If you don’t pre-order, it will cost $15 at the door. The brewery offers three full size pints and a logo pint glass if you do the tour, so this is a great bargain if you can do that. Otherwise, the $15 price tag is still cheaper than most Dallas area bars.
Beer-Taste: 4 I thoroughly enjoyed every one of my beers, although I wasn’t blown away by them. I noticed they were a little more hoppy than most Texas breweries so if you are opposed to hop flavor, you may not enjoy their offerings. Even though there was some hoppiness to the beers, they were still smooth. One of my favorites was the Oak Cliff Coffee Ale; it may be one of the best coffee beers I have had. The coffee taste is amazingly paired with the brown ale. I also tried the Cherry Chocolate Double Brown Stout and it was pretty good. The cherry flavor was overpowering as it is paired with organic/fair trade cacao nibs and the Double Brown Stout. It almost tasted like Cherry Dr. Pepper after a while. It would have been good for a few sips but not a full pint. The Neato Bandito was also very good. It is a Mexican style lager that is light in color, but has a nice smooth flavor.
Beer-Variety: 5 Deep Ellum Brewing offered practically their entire available line including the normal year-round offerings mixed with the seasonal and several small batch varieties. Whatever you are in the mood for, it is offered. I was very surprised and impressed with the amount of beer offerings that were available.
Tour: 1 The tour is done in typical Texas open house fashion. Patrons make their way to the warehouse around an hour before close and gather round the tanks. The “tour guide” gets on the stairway next to the tanks and gives a twenty minute talk over the history of the brewery and a little bit about beer. The typical how beer is made is given with a few notes about the flavors that go into the beer. If you are looking to tour the facility or look at the tanks or bottling/canning line, you are out of luck. The guide was funny and engaging but I wouldn’t actually call this a tour. The patrons somewhat listen to the presentation but lose interest after a while. It felt that the tour concept was more of an afterthought and almost done because they feel they have to. But to each their own and obviously with the popularity of the brewery, no one is complaining. The whole “brewery tour” experience of Deep Ellum Brewing Co. is about come and hang out, have some beer, and have fun.
Deep Ellum Brewing Co. is a wonderful brewery in the North Texas area and a place to visit. It offers a cool and unique Deep Ellum vibe with wonderful tasting and a wide variety of beers.
Don’t forget to check out the Texas Brewery List!
Leave a Reply