New Beer Friday 9/22/17

Shades of Pale - Peach Berliner Weisse: This debuts tomorrow [9/23]. Look for a lemony tartness with a bit of peach sweetness for balance. 4.0% ABV. Available at Shades of Pale.

Baja - Cabotella Mexican Ale: I haven't had this yet. It's an American Blonde Ale, so look for a taste similar to subtly hopped Frosted Flakes. 5.5% ABV. Available at DABC locations.

Green Flash - GFB Blonde: I haven't had this yet. It's an American Blonde Ale as well. Described as having more citrus-like hops. 4.8% ABV. Available at DABC locations.

New Belgium Fat Tire Belgian White: I guess Fat Tire is no longer just an Amber Ale, it is now a rotating series of beers from New Belgium Brewing. This newest version is a Belgian Witbier. I haven't had it yet. Look for wheat base with orange peel and spices. 5.2% ABV. Available at DABC locations.

Proper - My Name is a Killing Wheat Red Hefeweizen: In this tribute to David Lynch's Dune, Proper Brewing brings you a Hefe with lots of wheat crackers with a good amount of floral hops. minimal yeast phenolics. 4.0% ABV.

Proper - Grow Wild Gruit: Sage dominates the nose. Mint on the palate and yarrow for bitterness. 4.0% ABV. Available at Proper.

Fisher - Spud Suds: Knowing Fisher's innovative style, you'd think this beer has potatoes in it for sure. Nope. It's called Spud Suds because it's made with malt and hops from our neighbors to the north in Idaho. It's a simple American Pale Ale caramel malts with citrusy and floral hops. Tasty stuff. 4.0% ABV. Available at Fisher Brewing.

Cheers!

Hop Rising for Breast Cancer Awareness Month

This October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Squatters Craft Beers is producing a special limited edition pink Hop Rising can to not only draw awareness to breast cancer but it's a opportunity for you to contribute to breast cancer research while enjoying a damn tasty Double IPA.

Look, you're going to be enjoying beer anyway, why not do it for a good cause. The cans will start appearing in the next week or so - at Squatters/Wasatch locations and DABC stores. Now you have an extra reason to feel good about drinking craft beer!

Speaking of feeling good about drinking beer, Bonneville Brewing Company would love to have you join their team in the brewhouse. All of the info on the gig is here.  http://discussions.probrewer.com/showthread.php?70703-Bonneville-Brewery-Assistant-brewer-Tooele-UT&p=213957#post213957

Cheers!

Hoppers' The First Sno Ale Returns

The Holidays have come early this year and there are presents already under the tree. After a seven year hiatus, Hoppers Brewing Company is bringing back their First SnoAle. Part of Hoppers' Storehouse Series, this beer was designed to merge the malt flavor and complexity of a French Bier de Garde Noel and accent it with purely yeast driven spiciness similar to a Saison.

Head Brewer and Secret Agent, Donovan Steele says, by using a special blend of French Ale yeast strains, this ale will produced some rich malt flavors and a soft drying finish. From experience, as this ale warms it becomes more peppery in flavor with the complexity of the more prominent grains. Then comes citrus, fig and a fruitiness. It also has a good dosing of Belgian candy sugar to fortify the brew. Wheat and raw oats lend a dry crisp finish.

The First SnoAle has an ABV of 8.1% and will be available in 25 oz bottles. It is for sale right now.
Only 1100 bottles were produced this year. If you missed this phenomenal ale its first time around, you owe it to yourself to get on this one asap. Only available at the brewpub and don't forget to stash a few away for the real holidays.

Cheers!

New Beer Friday 9/15/17

Two very different local beers from three breweries to help get your weekend started. Confused? Don't be. It's just another New Beer Friday.
 
Epic - Barrel Aged Imperial Pumpkin Porter: If you're not a fan of pumpkin beers or are just over them already, I have a beer that may just change your mind. This new barrel aged version of Epic's pumpkin porter takes an already tasty beer and and gives it more depth with the addition of bourbon. The whiskey enhances the pie spices present and softens the cocoa and roasty notes of the base porter. The result is a highly drinkable and complex beer that is much more than a pumpkin beer. You can snag this beer only at Epic's Sugar House Brewpub. It's available to-go, or you can enjoy it there, via sample, 5 ounce pour of the full bottle. 10.3% ABV

Fisher/RoHa Collaboration - RoFish Wet-hopped IPA: This is the first collaboration between these two new 2017 breweries. Chris Haas of RoHa and Colby Frazier of Fisher have had a long friendship that dates back to their time brewing togther at Desert Edge. This Wet-hop beer has a great hoppy nose that reminds me of citrus zest and pine. The flavor is the same, nice hop profile... Perhaps a little grassy as it warms. There's just enough pale malt to balance it all out. Very drinkable session IPA. 4.0% ABV. Available at Fisher Brewing and the  RoHa Brewing Project today.

Is there something you found that I may have missed? Please share!

Cheers!

The 5th Annual Boho Fest

Join the Bohemian Crew for their 5th Annual BohoFest, September 30th from 2-8pm. The party happens at the brewery (94 e. 7200 s.) in the back parking lot. There will be a ton of food, fun and games for the entire family and of course a shload of brilliant Bohemian Beers for adults over 21. Bad Brad Wheeler will be spinning an eclectic mix of Polka and Party Tunes as y'all get jiggy in your Dirndls and Lederhosen! I hope to see you there.

Prost!

New Beer Friday 9/8/17

By now School is in full swing, if you're a student of drinking age your probably gunna need some New Beer Friday suds to help you in your end of the week decompression. Go Utes!

 

Shades of Pale - Sweet Dreams: I haven't had this yet. Debuts today at SOP. 8% ABV.

Talisman - Udder Chaos:  The nose has roasted malt and cocoa powder. The taste has deep roasted chocolate malt flavor, nicely bitter and isn't overly sweet. There is some sweetness in the middle before a lingering bitter finish that is part black coffee and roasted malt. Made with Park City's Ritual Chocolate. 4.0% ABV. Available at Talisman Brewery, Soon to Grocery and C-stores.
 

Brewery Ommegang - Pale Sour Ale:  The nose is tart with minerals and lemon. The flavor starts with malt, not quite grainy, maybe more cereal-like. The beer itself is more tart than sour. Cherry and lemon notes appear and there's some grassiness as well. Not super complex but very drinkable. 6.9% ABV. Available at select DABC Stores, Kimball Junction for sure.

Ballast Point - Bonito: The nose is malty sweet, lightly citrus and grassy. The flavor follows with more depth. It's subtly sweet with a touch of fruity lime-like citrus upfront. Median bitterness across the middle, and then followed by a dry grassy finish. 4.5% ABV. Available at select DABC Stores, Kimball Junction for sure.

Stone - 21st Anniversary Hail To the Hop Thief: A nice aroma of light citrus fruit, malt, and pine. The taste is kinda old school IPA meets West Coast IPA. There's a bit of malt with a good dose of pine, citrus fruit and a bit of lemon as well. A nice, well-balanced DIPA. 9.8% ABV. Available at the Beerhive, Slackwater. 

Beavertown / Garage Project / Stone - Fruitallica: The nose here has vague hops and fruit. No habanero notes at all. The same goes for the taste. No spice, heat or peppers. It relies on the the tropical fruits (yuzu and kiwi) to carry it. It's not a bad fruited IPA, but I was expecting a little more pepper snap. 8.0% ABV. Available at the Beerhive, Slackwater.

Fisher - Oyster Stout: This is much like their standard stout. Don't worry, it doesn't have "the worlds first great taste of fish"! ~ Monty Python. 4.0% ABV. At Fisher Brewing.

Great Divide - Hoss: This is a typical Märzen style lager. It's full of vanilla like caramel malts but it's more aggressively bittered with spicy and floral hops. 6.2% ABV. At the Beer Bar. 

Sierra Nevada - Ovila White Ale: A great example of the style. A good dose of wheat and coriander with spicy notes from the yeast. Very nice. 5.3% ABV.  At Beer Bar. 

Goose Island - Sofie: Soft malts, clove and Belgian yeast. There's a slight peachy tartness in the back end. Quite nice. 6.5% ABV At Beer Bar, BeerHive. 

What did I miss? Please share!  

Cheers!

Jennifer Talley's Session Beers: Brewing for Flavor and Balance

When  I started out on my beer nerd adventure many moons ago, one of my favorite mentors was Jennifer Talley. She was the former head brewer at Squatters during an important time in my beer life. She taught me a lot about beer while providing an ocean of well crafted pints to learn from. Jennifer's knowledge of session beers earned she and Squatters a lot of praise during her time in Salt Lake City. Even though she's no longer in Utah and shackled with restrictions here commitment to brewing session strength beers remains strong.

Jennifer has penned a new book, about a subject we in Utah know all too well. In her new book, Session Beers: Brewing for Flavor and Balance Jennifer lays out the history and techniques of some of the most comfortable beers on the planet that adhere to high quality standards and are dedicated to balance and drinkability above all.

In Jennifer's words, beers were “sessionable” long before that word was coined, but brewers have reinvented traditionally stronger classic beer styles to make them, too, well-suited to casual drinking sessions. Responsible consumption of these high-quality, easy-drinking beers gives beer lovers the freedom to celebrate community and friendship while consuming less alcohol.

Such beers can be challenging to brew, but they present many opportunities to showcase skill, flavor, and refreshment. Session Beers explores the history behind some of the world’s greatest session beers, past and present. Learn about the brewing processes and ingredients to master recipe development. Explore popular craft session beer recipes from some of the best brewmasters in America, and discover why beer drinkers enjoy exploring and drinking session beers.

Jennifer is currently the Head of Brewery Development at Auburn Alehouse and has also brewed at Redhook and Russian River.

Her book is available now from these Online Retailers: Amazon / Indiebound / Barnes & Noble

Cheers!