New Beer Friday 3/29/24

This weekend we have not one, but two breweries celebrating 5 years in business. UTOG celebrated yesterday and Level Crossing has an all day bash tomorrow (Saturday). Both breweries are offering special beers to celebrate. 

Beer Nerd Radio welcomes Andrew Valdez From M and M Distributing and Greg Hoffman from Black Sheep Bar stop by later this afternoon for our Purveyor's Show. We'll get into the larger scope of beers from outside of the Utah market. we get it started at 2pm every Friday on 99.9FM KUAA.

UTOG - Happy Hour: Missed this American Light Lager. 5.0% - Available at UTOG

Level Crossing - Helles: Missed this lager, It debuts tomorrow. 5.0% - Only at Level Crossing.

Policy Kings - Palm Tavern Pale: Named after the iconic black owned blues tavern during the Policy Kings and into the millennium. It's brewed with El Dorado and Huell Melon Hops. Perfecting balanced bitterness with notes of stone fruit.

Epic - Utah Margarita: Like Margaritas? Then this will be right up your zip code. Big tart lime rules this beer with a small amount of salt backing it up. Moderate CO2 spritzes it up. It's simple and effect. This will be the perfect pool beer in a few months. Available at Epic starting today. Coming soon to Maverik and grocery stores. 

Shades - Citrus Circus: As with the above mentioned Epic beer, this follows suit with tangerine, orange and grapefruit. It's a citrus lovers dream with added tartness from the beer's Kviek yeast base. No Lactose and quite delicious. 6.5% - Available at both Shades locations.  

Top Of Main - Vienna: Caramel malt aroma. Taste follows with more caramel and some vanilla. There's a minor zap of herbal hops for balance and a slight nuttiness. Nice lager. 5.0% - Available at Top of Main and SL Brewing.

Kiitos - Milkshake Pale: No milk sugars here - made with pomegranate, plum, raspberry, Honey Malt & Lemon Drop hops. The Honey Malt/Lemon Drop combo drive the “milkshake” part of this pale ale. There's a salad of fruit flavors here with citrus from the hops. A nice, guilt free pale ale that will make the non-lactose lovers happy. 5.0% - Available at Kiitos starting today.  

Uinta - Blonde Stout: Missed this one. 5.0% - Only available at Uinta.

Beer Zombies - Hazy Birthday To Me: That foam will last for days. Mostly peach and grapefruit with a good dose of bitterness. There's a nice creaminess to coats the mouth, adding a hint of vanilla. Doesn't taste like there's any lactose here. You like your hazy with some hops? You'll love this. 8.7% - Only at Beer Zombies.

Stone - Enjoy By 4/20/24: Citrus and melon aroma. Notes of peach and orange start it off with resiny pine rounding out the backend. Somewhat dank Finish. 9.4%

Urban Artifact from Ohio, debuted in the market this week with the following beers.

Urban Artifact - Pickle: Vegetable Gose 4.3%

Urban Artifact - Capy Snacks: Fruit Beer 5.0% 

Urban Artifact - Nitro Peaches And Cream: Fruit Beer 7.1% 

Urban Artifact - Rangle: Fruit Beer 8.0% 

Urban Artifact - Astronaut Food: Strawberry Fruit Beer 15.0% 

Urban Artifact - Teak: Sour - Fruited 7.2% 

Urban Artifact - Gadget: Sour - Fruited 8.0%

Cheers!

New Beer Friday 3/22/24

First off: Congrats to Red Rock Brewing Company for 30 damn years of excellent beers. It's one of the state's most awarded breweries and we're so lucky to still have them around. To celebrate they've brewed a special Rum Barrel-aged Baltic Porter. There's a wide array of other new beers  as well, Happy New New Beer Friday.

Today's Beer Nerd Radio features a deep dive on Barrel-aged beers. Six different beer styles in six different barrels. Our Guinea pigs... errr guest annalists, Elle Alva and Craig Folkman will need to have their constitutions in order. The chaos begins at 2pm on 99.9FM KUAA.

Red Rock - Swan Lake: This rum barrel-aged Baltic Porter was brewed to celebrate Red Rock's 30th Anniversary. Nose of deeply roasted malts, light coffee, dark bakers chocolate, light vanilla, and sweet dark brown sugars. Flavors exceed the nose with rich deeply roasted malts on all sides, subtle char, dark bakers chocolate, and hints of raisins. Middle to rear of the palate features dark coffee and light vanilla blending nicely with brown sugars and very light rum notes that are easily taken for brown sugars. Finish is deeply roasted bitter malts with a lightly carbonated and lightly slick mouth feel that goes down very nicely. 7.8% - Available Saturday at all RR locations.

Shades - Razstachio Sour: This is Shades' Kveik base enhanced with raspberries and pistachios. There's a medium amount of raspberry jam with a complimentary nuttiness. It comes across as a raspberries and pistachio ice cream or sorbet. Good stuff. 6.5% - Available at Shades.

Bewilder - Big Crispy: A transparent pale golden body with faintly tropical, grassy, and mildly spicy hops aroma. Mildly sweet, crackery malt backdrop. Taste is pretty nice too, with a bit more malt mid-palate before yielding to moderate bitterness. Heavy on the lemon and grapefruit, with a bit of grass in there too. Crisp, clean, dry, lager. Higher carbonation, with lingering hop oils and resins on the palate. No obvious alcohol. A really solid, drinkable, hoppy lager. 6.0% - Available at Bewilder today.

RoHa - The Great White Buffalo: This new White Stout has a moderate body with the help of lactose sugar. This light colored stout gets its flavor from resting on coffee beans, cacao nibs and vanilla. The additions of these flavors give the perceived roasty flavor while keeping the beer light in color. 5.0% - Available at RoHa today.

Beer Zombies - Dead Balls: Aroma was a bit pappery with some mosaic hops mixed in. Nothing like that flavor-wise: stone fruit big-time with citrus and mango. Sweet-ish (not Swedish) finish. Solid. Glad Beer Zombies hasn’t forgotten about SLC. 8.5% - Only at Beer Zombies

Beer Zombies - Crowns, Hammers and Zombies: Smells like It’s on the edge of its, best by date. Flavor has a nice hop profile with a good dose of bittering hops combined with citrus zest, herbal hops spruce & berries. Like this one better than Dead Balls. It’s got some hop bite for balance. 8.5% - Only at Beer Zombies

Beer Zombies - Return of the Living Haze: Two of my fav hops in one IPA (Citra Mosaic). It’s simple and reliable. It has the tangerine peel, mango, melon that I like. Tasty stuff. 8.5% - Only at Beer Zombies.

Here are this week's Small Batch Beers from Hopkins Brewing.

Cheers!

New Beer Friday 3/15/24

Why does Saint Patrick get a whole beer drinking holiday and Saint Arnold, the Patron Saint of Beer and Brewers gets nada, zero, zip, bupkis? We should start a movement... by "we" I mean "you". I've got enough beer stuff on my plate. Anyway, you're going to find a shload of Irish themed beers and styles this weekend - on top of all the other new stuff.

Beer Nerd radio welcomes back Tanner Lenart, Utah's Liquor Lawyer. She'll walk us through all of the new changes (good and bad) that are coming our way soon. The best beer hour of you week starts at 2pm, Fridays on 99.9FM KUAA. 

Salt Flats -  Open Road Series - Barrel-aged Single Bock: Bourbon forward aroma. The taste is very similar with a punch of big toffee to start it off. Some fruitiness from the malt and yeast as well. The bourbon from their own barrels is potent, but not overwhelming. You definitely get the whiskey character along with the great tobacco, dates & figs. Mikey Likey. 8.7% - Available at Salt Flats.

2 Row - Irish Porter: Chocolate and char dominate this session Porter. It’s not as round as a stout. This takes on more assertive roasty flavors with some bakers chocolate. I can see it working well either way Irish or yankee whiskeys. 5.0% - Only at 2 Row.

2 Row - Vienna: Caramel malts with toasty crust, mix with floral hops that lean into spicy hop territory. Not too nutty, but it’s there to keep it to style. 5.0% - Only at 2 Row.

Desert Edge - Orange Sienna Sour: Missed this one. 5.0% - Only at Desert Edge.

SaltFire - Serafina - Brianna (SPON Beer): Nice vinegary/balsamic notes from the base beer. Vague grapes are all over. They’re enhanced by the base beer but there is some unfermented grape justice flavors that you will love… or not. It's worth checking out. 8.0% - Only at Saltfire 

Saltfire - Vanilla Bean and Amburana Stout: Spicy wood a cocoa aroma. The Ambruana wood comes off as cinnamon, but there ain’t none here. Cocoa comes in next with light vanilla rounding it out. This is a VERY cool wood aged beer, that seems like a spiced beer. A great education one pint at a time. 5.0% - Only at Saltfire.

Bewilder - Irish Red: This is a collaboration with the Northrop Grumman HomeBrew Club and will be available Saturday. 5.0% - Only at Bewilder. 

Chappell - Liquid Lunch: Missed this one. Described as an old school NW red IPA brewed with a hint of caramel rye and aggressively hopped with Mosaic. 5.0% - Available at Chappell.

RoHa - The Raven: This Blackberry Wheat Ale pours a cloudy gold color with a pretty nice big white head. Aromas of berries and wheat. Taste is a bit spicy, with a yeasty, and creamy malt sweetness. Beer then settles into tart light berry flavors, and finishes with a crisp wheat flavor. Drinkability is good,  this one is put together pretty well, it's refreshing and not overly berry flavored. 5.0% - Available at Roha - Soon everywhere.

Salt Lake Brewing - Spank Dank: Plenty of citrus in the aroma; matching but not overwhelming the tropical fruit. As in the aroma, the focus is on the citrus while a lighter fruity touch balances the flavor. A bit of the herbal hops break through near the finish. Clean, dry, well carbonated, medium bodied mouthfeel. Easy to recommend. 5.0% - Available at SL Brewing.

Lumberbeard - Pray For Sun: missed this dry hopped Pilsner dosed with Vista, Motueka and Citra hops. 4.9% - Found at Handle Bar. 

Returning Irish-styles & Other Favorites

TF - Wavy Boi: Available Friday.

Uinta - Jack Rabbit Gin Barrel-aged Saison: Available Now.

Kiitos - Green Glitter Ale: Available now.

Bewilder - Irish lager: Available Saturday. 

Bewilder - Dry Irish Stout: Available Saturday.  

Bewilder - Leprechaun Tears: Available Sunday. 

Hopkins - Dry Irish Stout:  Available now.

Salt Lake Brewing - McGrueh's Dry Irish Stout: Available now.

Desert Edge - Latter Day Stout: Available now.

2 Row - St. Pats Day Firkins: Available Saturday. 

Strap Tank - Comic Fog: Available now.

Fisher Coffee Stout:  Available now.

Here's This week's Small Batch Beers from Hopkins Brewing.

Cheers!

New Beer Friday 3/8/24

Happy International Women's Day and New Beer Friday. Over the next month or so you will start seeing breweries releasing their individual beer based around the 2024 Pink Boots hop blend. Pink Boots aims to raise awareness of women, LGBTQ and non- binary working in the adult beverage industry. Pink Boots also brings opportunities for women interested in the fermentation and distilling industry to network with one another. This year's blend consists of Ahtanum, El Dorado, HBC 638 and Idaho 7 – it seems to be much more fruity and round that last year's more herbal profile. Here's a list of some of the individual brewery entries along with the main collaborative Pink Boots beer. 

On Beer Nerd Radio we welcome back James "Jimmy" Weed from Solstice Malts to talk about the new local grins available to you. It starts at 2pm every Friday on 99.9FM KUAA.

Ogden Beer/Pink Boots - Look What You Made Me Brew: This is the big collaboration beer that dozens of Utah's finest women, LGBTQ and non- binary adult beverage worker contributed on. This is an American interpretation on a Belgian blonde. It has the typical unfiltered blonde appearance with okay head retention. There's a big spiced bubblegum aroma that is nice and assertive. The taste is more subdued and dry. It's not too malt and mostly relies on the hops and yeast. The hops are more citrus peel with some berries that finishes slightly dry. This beer will be served at participating and non participating breweries and brew pubs around the Wasatch Front, with a portion of the proceeds going to the Pink Boots scholarship fund.

Epic - (Pink Boots) We Can Brew It 2024: Pours a nice  herbal berries and citrus aroma. Sweet berries start it off with some earthy hops that transition into melon. Citrus peel rolls in next with more vague berries. it's a damn tasty American Red Ale. 6.5% - Available at Epic today.

RoHa - (Pink Boots) Pink Boots IPA 2024: Citrus peel and berries here. The hibiscus here adds some implied fruitiness with malt and the pink boots hop blend. Medium bitterness that doesn't linger. Tasty stuff. 

Uinta - (Pink Boots) Girl Dinner: The fruit is really fresh tasting, full of peach and raspberry. The base sour is fairly subtle but you lose the hops in this one. A tiny bit of lactose added here to balance out the tartness. This very limited batch is Not vegan friendly. 5.0% - Available at Uinta starting today.

Proper - (Pink Boots) Fräu Kolsch: Missed this one. Available today. 5.0%

Mountain West (Pink Boots) Pomme Paloma Cider: Missed this one. Look for flavors of grapefruit with floral notes from the hops to create a semi-dry feel. Available today. 6.8%

TF - Interlodge IPA: A woody and dank aroma starts it off. TF is keeping the specifics on this DIPA under wraps, but I’d say look towards old school IPAs that are enhanced with new hop tech. It’s sooo big & chewy with dank herbs, citrus. As it warms, the hops begin to linger in the best way. Have fun with this one, 9.1% - Available at TF starting today. 

Top of Main - Top of Main - Hoppy Beginnings: This is the first "high point" beer from Salt Lake Brewing/Top Of Main Brewing and boy did they start out strong. This new IPA starts with big stone-fruit flavors coupled with juicy citrus. Melon drops next adding some sweet balance. Berries pop next creating a welcome male depth. 7.1% - This is supposed to be out today, call Top of Main, Salt Lake Brewing or Wasatch (Sugar House) before making the trip. 

Ogden Beer Wasatch Coffee - But First… Coffee: This White Stout isn't too malty which means the coffee does most of the work. Which is great for a coffee lover like me. Sometimes this style can come in a bit malty which takes away from the more stout-like roasty qualities. This is not one of those. Recommended.  5.0% - Available at Ogden Beer.

Saltfire - Mobius Trip (Apricot): Tart apicots are fore-front for flavor. Yeastiness funk, tart citrus-fruit, nice puckering level of sourness that is very respectable. Dank greenery and briary notes are very clean with some sour lemon and dank grains. Wildflowers and oranges, (most likely from the apricots rather yeastiness) has a nice presence. The oak influence is fresh wood, rather than aged, and is more subtle. The apricots are the main focus here, with a nice sour twang delivering throughout. 8.0% - Available at Saltfire now. 

Grid City - Monogamy Imperial Porter: This beer is big, rich and boozy, but deceptively smooth and creamy. It has a beautiful english yeast ester profile and an intense chocolatey, roasty finish.  9.6% - Available now at Grid City.

Here are this week's Small Batch Beers from Hopkins Brewing.

Cheers!

New Beer Friday 3/1/24

Can you tell that I'm looking forward to Dune Part 2 This weekend? Anyway, welcome to the first New Beer Friday of March 2024. There are some excellent options for you to enjoy this weekend - regardless your activity. Stay dry this weekend! 

Beer Nerd Radio is back with a new brewery collaboration episode. We get it started every Friday at 2pm on 99.9FM KUAA

Uinta - Trop Nosh: Re-formulated with L3 and dry hopped with Sabro, Bru-1 and El Dorado. Wow, west coast leaning for sure. Sweet citrus up front that bleeds into peach, coconut and melon. Firm bitterness for sure, but it doesn’t linger too much. The 8.0% abv is pretty well hidden. Tasty stuff! 8.0%

Uinta-Chile Limón: This looks to be a take on Uinta’s Lime Pilsner with addition of salt and chile spices. Nice lime aroma. Lime starts it off with a medium to light amount of scratchy pepper. It’s not too intense, but if you’re not a fan of chile peppers at all,  this may be too much for you. 5.0%  - Available at Uinta

Level Crossing - Eternal Pursuit: This new barrel-aged Belgian dark strong ale  Dark Fruits dominate here. Not in a Holiday or winter warmer fashion, but in bold blend of barrel meets opulence. As expected the flavors are an incredible blend- raisins, toffee, tawny port, dates, caramel, oak, vanilla, leather and semi-hot but balanced alcohol. The port comes through beautifully and serves to really highlight the dark fruit notes of the base beer. Outstanding. 8.8% - Available at both Level Crossing locations.

Level Crossing - Day Tripper: This new pale ale features Strata, Citra, Azaka and Chinook hops. Aroma is bright papaya, tangerine, guava, and orange zest with lighter notes of grass. Flavor profile is more bright tropical fruits, bringing in notes of papaya, tangerine, guava, mango, and orange. It's ripe and juicy. 5.0% - Available West Temple Brewery. 

Fisher - Stairway to 7: Another anniversary brew for Fisher's 7th year, features and all Idaho 7 hopped ale. The hop profile generates big flavor and modest bitterness, with significant tropical and summer fruit character, lemongrass and herbal tea. Bitterness is light and the malt profile is fairly transparent with simple pale malt base. 5.0% - Available at Fisher.

RoHa - Depths of Helles: Lagered for 7 weeks, this cereal/grainy malt forward Helles throws out toasty crackers and a traditional hop profile, p Is there? Did was Of the old beers from the previous owner Hooker blonde So that turned out really well and that keeps the whole package in balance. Some light floral hops in the finish that are not lingering. 5.0% - Available at RoHa

Heber Valley - Volution (Strata and Simcoe): Missed this one. look for a flavor profile of citrus that plays out like pink grapefruit, orange peel and a slight lime bite. 6.8% - Available at Heber Valley Brewing.

Park City - Hooker Blonde: To help celebrate Park City Brewing's 2nd Anniversary (under its new ownership) PC Brewing is looking into the past and re-releasing Hooker Blonde (from the previous owners). I haven't had this version yet, but I trust head brewer, Troy Higgins has put is own spin on this blonde ale. 5.0% - Available at PC Brewing.

Moab - Moab Bulleit Bourbon & Brown Ale: Malty and toasty nose - not much whiskey. It’s a 5.0% Brown Ale, so you’re not going to get a lot of whiskey character - and there’s not a lot of the Bulleit happening here. It is a damn delicious beer regardless. Some oak, but there’s not much whiskey. 5.0% - Available at Moab Brewing - I found it at The Tap Room.

Salt Lake Brewing - O'Caden's Irish Red Ale: Looks sexy! Toasty, not too malty or hoppy. The whole beer is fairly tame and doesn’t push you towards Irish or American styles. Clean malt profile with mostly floral hops. No lingering bitterness. I hope it last til St Pat’s Day. 5.0% -Available at SL Brewing.

Chappell - MeSoGosa!: This refreshing tart ale starts with a base of pilsner malt and rice, Chappell brewed this beer with a hint of white miso for a pop of salt and umami. Then Yuzu and crisp ginger was added to bring out more citrus qualities. 5.0% - Available at Chappell.

Bewilder/Lauter Day Homebrewers - Malt Lab Baltic Porter: Aroma is almost raisin-like, kinda like it but not expected. Taste is an excellent baltic porter, malty and some fruit, kinda raisin/date like the smell. Light to medium bodied with very little carbonation. Simple but tasty! 6.5% -Available at Bewilder. 

Returning Favorites

Shades - Spaghetti Dinner

Kiitos - Glitter Green Ale

Cheers!