Utah Brewery Map

Friday, February 26, 2021

New Beer Friday 2/26/21

Take a peek at this week's New Beer Friday selection. This is why I love craft beer; the wide array of flavors available along the Wasatch Front are guaranteed to satisfy any beer nerd palate.

Uinta - Caravan IIPA: This is a new Imperial IPA that has a mostly clear appearance with a nose full of berries and citrus. Flavor-wise this os full of berries and citrus. It's quite juicy and full of varied citrus fruit flavors. It comes off as a low bitterness IPA at first, but wait 10 seconds and you'll get a nice lingering bitter smack. 8.5% - Available at Uinta starting today.


Level Crossing - Eternal Pursuit: This is a Belgian style Dark Strong Ale.  Poured a darkish brown color with some red and purple highlights. The aroma is composed of dark fruits, candy sugar, chocolate, peppered cloves. The palate starts with candy covered dark fruits. Some chocolate and a little bit of spiciness comes out and some does a bubble gum like note with more chocolate. The finish is a bit sweet, plenty of heat but not overly sweet and tends to dry out a bit. 8.8% - Also on sale starting today.


SaltFire - Serafina: Offered in a clear bottle too showcase the beer's dark plum-like appearance. The nose is vinious with some balsamic vinegar notes. The taste follows with a light balsamic twang. Syrah grapes are prominent but there are also some vague dark fruits as well. There's some pepperiness as well towards the finish. This beer/wine hybrid underwent spontaneous fermentation, so it has a bit of that old-world funk factor. It's defiantly a unique beer for our market that has rarely (if ever) been done. 8.0% - Available now at Saltfire.  


Toasted Barrel - Blue Butterfly: This beer is brilliantly blue due to the addition of Butterfly Pea Flowers. Look for flavors that are a bit like green tea with subtle flavors of dried lemongrass. Some citrus as well. 5.0% - Only at Toasted Barrel.


Shades - Raspberry Cheesecake: This has a nice raspberry aroma with slight sweet cream cheese notes. I spent a lot of time searching for the cream cheese part of this beer, which was difficult to find. Then I realized I was ignoring some really nice flavors. There is lactose in here but it comes off slightly different than Shades' other "pie" beers. The cream cheese element, though not immediately identifiable really makes a tasty raspberry beer. 6.5% - At Shades. Not vegan friendly


2Row - ????:  As of this writing, no name has been given to this new NEIPA from 2 Row. It has deep golden peach color with notes of citrus and passion fruit and tropical happiness. Damn, this is one of the better 'hazys' I’ve had in awhile. Sweet citrus and tropical fruit shine upfront. Passion fruit, pineapple, tangerine pop in next. It's all quite balanced and delicious. A bit of resinous pine rounds out the back end. Keep an eye on 2 Row's social media the name of this new beer. It should be out later today.


Bewilder - Barley Joe Stout: The aroma has a slightly espresso-like, dark chocolate smell. The taste was mainly dry and roasty with a nice dry roasted cocoa flavor. the same aftertaste and finish. Light body with high drinkability. Overall, this was a pretty good Irish Dry Stout that I would have again. 5.0% - Only at Bewilder.


Talisman - Czechmate: This one gets the award this week for best name. Missed this one. It's an amber lager with that classic toasted cracker graininess balanced with herbal and floral Euro hops. 5.0% - Only at Talisman.


Squatters - Smooth Operator: This is an Imperial Cream Ale made with cocoa & cherry. This has a pale amber color with an unfiltered clarity. There's a light aroma of cocoa nibs are present in the nose along with hints of cherry. The taste follows the smell, but has stronger notes of cherry and nuttiness with hints of vanilla cocoa, the latter of which becomes a bit stronger as the beer begins to warm up. It feels light- to medium-bodied on the palate with some smoothness from the cocoa nibs. This beer is a nice change from the typical chocolate/cherry stout and seems to hit all the right notes. 8.0% - A very limited, small batch series that only available at Squatters downtown.  


Epic - Super Epic Lager: Aromas of bread and grass clippings are evident, along with a subtler hint of lemon. This beer packs a lot of flavor - nice acidic notes balance out the noble hops and bread yeast. The taste lingers impressively after taking a sip. It’s a light feeling beer, maybe a touch thin, but at under 4.8%, how could it not be? A really nice lager, flavorful and easy drinking.


Here are this week's Small Batch beers, available only at Hopkins Brewing.



Cheers!

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