Steel & Oak Brewing Co. Opens Their New Westminister Craft Beer Doors June 24th! by by Dustan Sept June 22, 2014

The Steel & Oak Brewing Company has been a work in progress for nearly a year now and the doors are finally ready to open. In the breaking days of Summer, June 24th, 2014 marks the opening day for this New Westminster based brewery.

Opening day is here but if you have your finger on the BC craft beer pulse there is a chance that you may have already sampled one of the three beers in the starting lineup. The first appearance for Steel & Oak on a tap line was the closing event at Vancouver Craft Beer Week. If you were lucky enough to attend this event then you may have just waited in line to sample the crowd favourite Smoked Hefeweizen. Following this event select craft beer focused restaurants and pubs have been pouring the Smoked Hefeweizen along with an ESB and Red Pilsner since the mid-point of June.

Speaking with Steel & Oak partner Jorden Foss, the brewery has kicked things off with a 17 hectolitre brew system and four, 34 hectolitre fermentors. With this relatively small brewing system, prior to opening day expansion is already on its way. Two 51 hectolitre fermentors are in transit and soon to be installed further increasing the New Westminster based brewery’s capacity.

Rather uniquely for a BC brewery, Steel & Oak’s brewmaster Peter Schulz, with a strong German-style brewing history, has opted to brew without the use of a bright tank. While challenging to accomplish Peter sees this as a means of brewing consistent, quality beer, all while reducing the risk of contamination along the way. many brewers may disagree with this philosophy but centuries of brewing tradition swing in Peter’s favour.

June 24th is opening day but that does not mean the the Steel & Oak team can sit back and smell the roses. There is much work to be done and with two new fermentors on the way, a stack of empty casks waiting to be experimented with and the prospect of bottling on the horizon there is much to do for the foreseeable future. This small team of passionate craft beer fanatics have put together a gem tucked away in the depths of New Westminster and are ready for your discerning palate to give their beer a try.

On opening day you will find the Smoked Hefeweizen, Extra Special Bitter (ESB) and their Red Pilsner on tap but with a little bit of patience an English style Pale Ale will be released soon followed by more unique and delicious craft beer endeavors. Keep an eye out at your favorite craft beer tap-house for these brews and if you find yourself in New Westminster stop in for a flight of delicious Steel & Oak craft beer – you are bound to love them!



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Click on the images below for a slideshow of the fantastic New Westminster BC based Steel & Oak Brewing Company