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!