Drink a Beer Day 2016

I have some bad news for you. Due to the public demand and an overwhelming need for it, today you must drink at least one beer. I'm sorry, I know it's going to be a burden. I mean it is one of the oldest man made beverages dating back to the neolithic era - not to mention it has sustained the diets of cultures all over the world in many different forms. All while extending the uses of the grains from which it comes from.

With hundreds of new and traditional varieties and styles out there I'm sure there's one out there that'll help you find your "Drink a Beer Day" groove.

Here are some great local options to consider:
Bonneville's Ton Up Nut Brown Ale
Shades of Pale's Forte IPA
Uinta's Piggy Back Peach IPA

Cheers!

2016 Snowbasin Beer Fest

This weekend (10/1 - 10/2 )Sample beers from Bohemian Brewery, Uinta Brewing, Squatters Beers, Wasatch Beers, Red Rock Brewery, Roosters Brewery, 10 Barrel Brewing Company, Payette Brewing Company, Laughing Dog, Melvin Brewing, Mountain West Hard Cider, Selkirk Abbey, Snake River Brewing Company, Talisman Brewing Company, and Moab Brewery!

Where: Earl’s Lodge and Patio at Snowbasin Resort

Price: $2.50 per sampling token
Samples are poured at 6oz.  (2) Tokens Required for Heavy Beer sample.  (2) Tokens to fill Mug and (3) Tokens to fill mug with Heavy Beer.
Tokens purchased Saturday October 1st can be redeemed on October 2nd.

Packages:
Beer Fest Sample Mug with (4) Tokens $30
Beer Fest Sample Mug and (10) Tokens $45
The King of Beer Fest package:  A special Mug with 12 tokens, a special King of Beer Fest crown, a T-shirt, and VIP access to the front of the line from specific breweries.  $125 – limited to the first (50) and after 50 we will sell out!


SUNDAY, OCTOBER 2 - KING OF BEER FEST COSTUME CONTEST
3:30pm – the winner of ‘King of Beer Fest’ will be announced which will include a 16.17 season pass.  Those ‘King of Beer Fest’ participants are encouraged to dress up and play the part.  Sunday at around 2:00pm someone will tap you on the shoulder and invite you to the King of Beer Fest awards at 3:30 at the front of the main stage.  Questions, Dancing, and stories will be told while the crowd picks the True King of Beer Fest which will include your name on a wall in the Cinnabar, and bragging rights for life.  2nd prize gets a $125 Snowbasin Resort Gift Card.

Cheers!

New Beer Friday 9/23/16

This week we have some formidable beers that are guaranteed to put hair on your chest!

Proper Brewing Mavon Weizbock - Weizbocks can be on sweet and cloying side of the beer spectrum, this beer is more balanced. Look for malts that are semi-sweet with a nice pecan-like nuttiness that's transisions into full on banana bread mode. @ Proper

Proper Brewing Salted Caramel Porter - Not as big on the caramel as I had hoped. Starts moderately sweet with caramel malts and finishes with a tiny sodium bite. 4.0% ABV @ Proper

Proper Brewing Hefehafer Oat Weisbier - This is a nice crushable beer. It has a nice crackery doughiness up front with with very subltle caramel backing it up. The oats clean up some of husky flavors some wheat beer have. Carbonation is nice and prickly. 4.0% ABV @ Proper

Proper/Epic Collaboration: Lime Hefe - This one hasn't been tapped yet. It debuts tomorrow at Proper's and Epic's Proptoberfest. 4.0% ABV

Uinta Funk'n Patch Brett Pumpkin Ale - This is Uinta's debut in the wild ale game. It's has a very Bretty nose with the typical pumpkin spices. The taste is subtly sour (not as bracing as some) with a nice malt base backing it up. The spices play well with the caramel sweetness creating a nice balance. Basically it's more funky than sour. If you're a big fan of the funk, this will be right up your zip code. 8.0% ABV @ Uinta starting at 11am.

RedRock Franconian Rauchbier -  This lager is mostly malt driven with an assertive smokiness that will take over the beer mid way on the tongue. It's very complex adding a hint of berry fruitiness beneath the smoke into the finish. If you want to get into traditional German smoke beers, this would be an excellent place to start. This beer tastes like Autumn! ABV. @ RedRock starting at 11am. 

Prost!

RPM Brewing Company

If you live in the south end of  Salt Lake County you may have noticed a new restaurant located in Draper called the Garage - Not to be confused with the bar with the same name located on Beck Street in SLC. This new eatery is owned by the Equiwest Hospitality Group and will begin operating a nano-brewery at the Garage in the coming months.

Not only will there be a nano-brewpub but there will also be a production brewery that will be located in Salt Lake City. The nano operation is ready to begin brewing with a projected weekly production of 6 bbls. The Production facility will be in an 11,000 square foot facility to produce only kegged beers (for now) with a projected initial delivery of 5,000 bbl/year with a good portion to be consumed by the restaurant group.
  
Remember, the Garage is open right now, it's located at 1122 e. Draper Parkway in Draper. They are current pouring beers on their house tap handles made by Moab Brewing - until they've hired their head brewer. Think you're up to the job? Then here's the info on that position. There are also taps, bottles and cans from other local and national breweries being served right now.

As more details come in regarding the nano and production brewery, I'll fill you in. I love it when I can add another new brewery to the Utah list.

Cheers!

The 4th West Oktoberfest

Starting Friday, September 30^th, 2016, Mountain West Hard Cider and Red Rock Brewing start their own tradition of 4^th West Oktoberfest. Mountain West Hard Cider will be pouring their full line of locally made cider and Red Rock Brewing is currently brewing up a half dozen award winning German and Autumn specialty beers designed around Oktoberfest.

You can buy tickets online here!** And, they will also be available at the door if the festival hasn't reached it's capacity!

4^th West Oktoberfest brings live bands, DJ Justin Godina, food trucks, games, and family-friendly fun so that revelers of all ages may join the party! Don’t miss out on giant Jenga, Cornhole, ring toss, giant beer pong, a children’s craft tent, etc. etc.

Remember, this is a three day event. There's defiantly an option out there that'll work for you.

Participating Food Trucks include:
Poutine Your Mouth
Tacos Don Rafa
Spuds
Bumblebee’s BBQ and Grill (Saturday only)
Shylo’s Mobile Cafe (Saturday and Sunday only)

Performance Schedule of Bands:
Friday, Sept. 30th, 7:00pm – 10:00pm: Candy’s River House
Saturday, Oct. 1st, 1:00pm – 4:00pm: Tony Holiday and the Velvetones
Saturday, Oct. 1st: 7:00pm – 10:00pm: Hectic Hobo
Sunday, Oct. 2nd, 12:00pm – 2:30pm: Talia Keys
Sunday, Oct. 2nd, 2:30pm – 5:00pm: Michelle Moonshine
Plus DJ Justin Godina will be spinning tunes there all weekend!

See you there at 4th West Oktoberfest! Prost!

Proptoberfest

The First Annual Proptoberfest is coming up this weekend. The two day, all-ages outdoor event will feature a beer garden, German food, live music, games, activities for the whole family. Also, look for a special collaborative beer between Proper and their pals from around the block at Epic Brewing Company. The beer will be exclusive to this festival - a Lime Hefeweizen from what I understand. 

So here's what we have:
Saturday, September 24 3pm-11pm
band lineup TBA!

Sunday, September 25 12pm-10pm
featuring bands Hound Mystic and Color Animal (more TBA)

Admission is $5 for adults


Prost!

New Beer Friday 9/16/16

Oh baby! Everything is local this week - less one beer from Green Flash Brewing.

Talisman Bourbon Barrel Oatmeal Stout - Talisman continues with the very limited releases. This new brew is an Oatmeal stout aged in Sugar House Whiskey Barrels. Only 100 bottles produced - one per person. Available at the brewery. SOLD OUT ALREADY 6.3% ABV

Epic Tropical Imperial IPA - Whoa! this is one damn juicy IPA. Mango, pineapple and lotsa grapefruit. Has a bit of a Creamsicle thing going on in the finish. The 10.3% ABV is well hidden. Go get some! @ Epic locations

Uinta 801 Coffee Pilsner -  If your expecting a dark color from the coffee addition you can forget it. This beer has all that filtered out leaving a nice yellow straw color behind. The nose is cappuccino-esque with a taste that is similar and subdued. Surprising drinkable. 4.0% ABV @ Uinta's Brewhouse Pub - Everywhere in the coming days.

Green Flash Sea to Sea Zwikel Bier - Dry crackers and a touch of pilsner malts. Nice grassy and peppery hops balance it all out. Clean and crisp finish. Very crushable. 4.0% ABV @ Grocery/C-stores.

Wasatch 30th Anniversary Extra Special Pale Ale - Brewed with Cascade hops and four types of Australian hops. The hop flavor is massive. It comes across with a strong tropical fruit character the combines well with the sweet malt and deceptively high ABV, 7.3%. @ The Beer Store and better beer bars around town.

Returning Favorites

Desert Edge Radius - D.E.'s new Brewmaster, Chad Krusell is keeping the Radius tradition alive with this locally sourced ale that's hopped with wild Utah hops. Because the hops are wild you never know what you're going to get bitterness-wise. Don't wait too long, it goes fast. 4.0% ABV. @ Desert Edge.

Epic Big Bad Baptist - This newest batch of this Utah original has a spicy coffee blend combined with fruity cocoa - it's all backed up with with roasted toffee, vanilla and Bourbon. Damn! 12.1% ABV. @ Epic Locations

Cheers!