The start of our Winter 2022 Tour! As the ice and snow storms started to blow into the home base of Cincinnati after our short hiatus through the holidays, we hit the road and headed south to Texas for the warmer weather. Our first destination point: Deep Ellum Brewing Company, which is in the neighborhood of Deep Ellum, just east of the Main Street District of downtown Dallas.
The night before arriving in Deep Ellum, we stopped to camp at Atlanta State Park on the banks of Wright Patman Lake. The park is about 35 minutes south west of Texarkana. We arrived late at night on whim, which took us on some dark curvy backroads that go deep into the forests. Going into a park that late can be a gamble on finding open campsites, and we were very relieved to find one and be able to pay for it the next morning before our departure. While we were paying our dues the next morning in the front office and speaking with the lady who was working the desk, we had mentioned that we experienced a creepy drive into the park.. Once she became familiar with the way we chose to come in she said “oh man… good thing you didn’t have to pull over. Those people living around there can be scary. It can be dangerous.” Yikes...Tip of advice, don’t let the GPS create shortcuts through neighborhoods and dark rural residential drives in the middle of the night, in the middle of nowhere. Especially when you're in Texas Chainsaw country. Stick to the main roads! At least we knew that for the way out.
The neighborhood of Deep Ellum has been an on and off hotspot for live music and counterculture arts since the 1920s. it started out as a popular jazz and blues area, home to some music legends such as Lead Belly, Henry “Blind Lemon” Jefferson, etc. It later died off as some of the major highway development took place nearby. In the 80’s the nightlife and arts culture picked back up and fluctuated through the early 2000s. It is currently on the rise again! Deep Ellum Brewing Co. describe themselves how people like to describe the neighborhood: “Bold, Fearless, and Unapologetic. Rough edges. Deep roots”.
Song quote: “Once I knew a preacher, he preached the bible through and through, he went down to Deep Ellum. Now his preachin’ days are through”. - (Deep Elem Blues).
Deep Ellum Brewing Company opened its doors in 2011 and is proud to be the first craft brewery in Dallas. Through the years they have become known for quality and innovation. We seemed to notice that you can find their beer almost anywhere in Texas. We saw them at just about every convenience store/grocery store that we had stopped at along the way. We may have cheated a little bit and enjoyed their Dallas Blondes and Deep Ellum IPAs before we actually went to play at the brewery.. I love how their website claims “We never blend in- At the bar or on the shelf. So, help us annihilate bland corporate beer, and share a little bit of the bigger, bolder beer from Deep Ellum, Texas”. From what we saw, they are doing a really good job at being the stand-out above and beyond beer. Not only in Dallas, but all over Texas. Their taproom has a really good layout, with tons of cool decorating. It has a rustic, edgy vibe in a warm and cozy kind of way. Almost like your buddies' awesome man-cave garage. We played on their rather large back patio with a proper stage and good view of the brewing facility indoors. (See pictures below).
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Deep Ellum Brewing Co. - Dallas, TX
Beers are available all over Texas!
Played : 1/13/2022
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This was our first time playing Deep Ellum Brewing Company’s taproom, and we enjoyed everything about it.
We certainly got to taste most of their beers, and we were treated with a FANTASTIC meal from their kitchen after the show. They are proud of their IPAs and they have every right to be!
We started with the Deep Ellum IPA. Like I mentioned before, we cheated and had this one out of a can before trying it on tap at the brewery. It was equally as tasty either way. It is well hopped giving it that bitter edge and then smoothed over with a fruity and floral finish. It has hints of pine and citrus and is truly delicious. We continued to drink this beer throughout our two weeks in Texas, if that says anything about how enjoyable it really is. The Dallas Blonde is the other beer we were enjoying outside of the brewery, and I do not believe we tried it in the taproom, but it was a very easy going beer that is suitable for those warmer days. From what we saw, these seem to be the two beers you can find on the shelves at most locations, and they are both a good find.
The other great IPA we had was the Easy Peasy IPA that was also one that is suitable for warmer weather. It is an easy drinker made with tangerine and lemon peel, and it was my (Brad) favorite beer of the night. I think after the gig I quoted Gump with “I musta had about 15 Easy Peasies”. Obviously I could never actually drink 15 IPAs, but if I were to try, I really wouldn’t mind trying it out with this one. This was definitely my thirst quencher during the show!
The last beer of the night that really stood out was their Deep Winter which is a golden porter made with cocoa nibs and coffee. I was entertained by their description of this beer where they said “enjoy all of the cozy flavors of wintertime without any of the cold weather B.S. like numb toes and frozen windshields'' which is true most of the time; however, this is our second January trip to texas in a row where we experienced some snow. So you certainly do in fact get to enjoy the best of both worlds with this one from time to time i'm sure. Who knows though, maybe it’s just us that bring the cold everywhere we go. We enjoyed this beer with our dinner after the show. We got to try their Baja Fish Tacos which were served with 3 different sauces to put on them, which was top notch. We also tried the Birria Grilled Cheese that had 8 different kinds of cheeses, lamb and wagyu birria with cilantro and onion, and Au Jus for dipping that was also to die for. We really loved everything we had, and this beer was almost like a nice dessert to finish everything off with.
The rest of their menu is well rounded with several different types of beer including a few different flavors of Seltzers. Their kitchen also offers a wide variety of grub between pizzas, tacos, sandwiches, salads and a whole list of appetizers. It was overall a great evening at the taproom.
We had a blast playing out back, in an area where some of the blues greats that we admire came from. We had to pull out a cover of Deep Elem Blues for the audience and had fun writing our own verses to the song in an attempt to keep it interesting for the neighborhood locals that might hear that song a little too much. We would love to be back here when we get the chance and we recommend checking this place out when you are in Dallas, Texas!
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