Utah Beer

Ready to Fly Amber Ale

2012-02-01T05:55:00.001-07:00

On February 10th, Documentarian Bill Kerig, the producer of “The Edge of Never" will have the Utah debut of his newest documentary film "Ready to Fly". Kerig's latest doc follows the struggle of Women’s Ski jumping acceptance as a recognized international event in the Winter Olympics and stars Park City's own Lindsey Vonn along with her team mates, as they do battle on the international circuit of public opinion.

Last Friday Shades of Pale brewed a limited edition American Amber Ale to help promote “Ready to Fly” and to help raise awareness and support for Women’s Ski jumping.

Ready to fly ale is a deep American Amber with enough bitterness to mellow the truck load of crystal malt used in the recipe. Trent and Matt selected Cascade and Warrior hops to provide citrus undertones to complement the caramel flavors of the malt bill.

You will have 2 chances to get your hands on this tasty limited edition treat. First at the premier on Feb 10th, at the Megaplpex theater at the Gateway Mall (Believe it or not they are going to allow Shades of Pale to serve it in the theater), the second changes will be at the Egyptian Theater in Park City February 18th and 19th. Trent says, they'll only be releasing about a thousand bombers, so when it is gone it is gone.

Also, Shades of Pale has a new map on their website to help guide you to the nearest SOP store, bar or restaurant.

Cheers!

Radio from Hell Ale

2012-01-31T07:06:00.000-07:00

There are a lot of podcasts and radio shows out there that are dedicated to - or feature beer. But as far as I know, there's never been a beer made specifically to honor a radio show.

Well, Squatters has done it. In conjunction with X96's Radio from Hell Show the Utah Brewers Cooperative has developed a new beer that is described by hosts Kerry Jackson, Bill Allred & Gina Barberi as "Utah's first breakfast beer" (Radio from Hell is a morning show).

Red as Hell Ale, is coincidentally an American Red Ale. If your not real familiar with the style, these beers tends to focus on the malts, but hop character can range from low to high. They're mostly balanced ales, with toasted malt characters and a light fruitiness.

This brand new release will debut on February 7th, at 8am at The Beer Store (1763 s. 300 w.) The Radio from Hell Show will be broadcasting there show from there all morning.

The beer has an ABV of 5.5% and comes in a capped 750ml bottles. The price is a very affordable $3.99 per bottle and will be available at all Squatters location, The Beer Store and select liquor stores.

I for one, am very fond of the Radio from Hell Show. The fact that they're partnering with Squatters, shows that craft beer in Utah is officially in the mainstream and not just some foody anomaly. Can't wait to try it!

Cheers!

Low Carb Beers You May Have Never Considered

2012-01-30T06:17:00.000-07:00

A year ago I decided that it was time to getting my fat ass back in to shape. For the last decade my body had been expanding like bloated dough under a heat lamp. The cause was the same that many Americans are faced with, high chloric diets and little to no exercise.

For a craft beer lover loosing the LBS's is not an easy thing. Beer is the antithesis for trying to loose weight. It is a very nutritious beverage, high in calories and carbohydrates. I never sought out the "low carb beers" over the last year because.... Well, that's not beer, at least the beer I know and love. But it got me to thinking, what is the lowest carb beer option for a beer snob like myself?

After minutes of research I found that there is no real data on the beer style that I found to be the least naturally made carbohydrate laden ale. The Lambic.

There are many styles of Lambic. The basic lambic is a cloudy, uncarbonated, bracingly sour beer that is generally about two to three years old. Unlike conventional ales and lagers, which are fermented by carefully cultivated strains of brewer's yeasts, Lambic beers are produced by spontaneous fermentation and are exposed to wild yeasts and bacteria such as Brettanomyces bruxellensis (brett) and B. lambicus.

These "wild yeasts" used in the fermentation of these products eats sugars that regular beer yeasts can't. There are a lot of sweet lambics out there - Lindemans for example - that are loaded with sugar. The unfruited versions (gueuze) from Hanssens, Cantillon, Oud Beersel and Drie Fonteinen will have the lowest sugars.

These aren't a practical every day option for the Utah beer lover. Unless you have an iron pallet. The high tartness and acidity will wear on the stoutest of tongues, but when your in need of beer that's full on flavor, that won't shit all over your diet, you have a friend in the "Brett based beer".

Some "brett beer" recommendations available in Utah are Squatters 529, Epic's Elder Brett, Lindeman's Gueuze and Lindeman's Cuvée René.

Some other more traditional low carb craft brands include, Full Sail's Session Premium Lager and New Belgium's Skinny Dip.

As I pointed out earlier, there is no hard data on the carbohydrate levels in sour beers (that I could find), theses observations are based on the known functions of the the yeast strains discussed.

Cheers!

New Beer Friday 1/27/12

2012-01-27T06:10:00.000-07:00

Please thank avid beer lover Douglas for todays, New Beer Friday. For he selfishly did the the legwork on the following beers.... By the way. When I say "legwork", I mean he walked his ass across the street to the liquor store, bought some and called me. So... Thanks, Dougie!

Deschutes Abyss '11: One of my favorite Imperial Stouts. I haven't had the 2011 yet, but I have had the 2009. The nose is of vanilla, dark fruits, prune, chocolate and licorice. The taste stars with notes of bourbon, oak and vanilla. Roasted malts, dark fruits, dark chocolate, and molasses round out the end. Extremely layered and complex, exceptionally well-balanced. Its quite a treat!

Pyramid's Discord Dark IPA: Pours black like a porter but the nose is all IPA. Citrus and piney hops with roasted malt and coffee. The flavor starts with a fair dose of roasted malt, caramel, toffee, and chocolate. Grapefruit and pine come next to round it out. The finish is tangy with peachy citrus that carries through to the finish. The best Pyramid beer to come along in quite some time.

While I have your attention there are some new beers coming soon to a liquor store near you... Maybe. This is the DABC we're talking about.

PRIMATORE - MAIBOCK, DOPPLEBOCK & DARK LAGER: These beers hail from the Náchod brewery, one of the oldest in the Czech Republic.

CORONA FAMILIAR: This is apparently a repackaged version of Corona Extra.

GUINNESS BLACK LAGER: I understand it's a basic black lager. Nothing like the tradition Guinness that your used to.

As always, if you come across any of these let the rest of us know what store you found them at.

Cheers!

My Companion is Elder Brett

2012-01-24T05:52:00.002-07:00

I'm on a mission, a mission to spread the gospel of beer. Over the years, I've had many companions - from all over the world - to help proselytized to the yellow fizzy Gentiles.

Some have been American, British, Czech, German and even a few Danes. But the "companions" that tend to really "bear their testimonies" are the Belgians. These guys will eventually convert the most agnostic of beer lovers.

Last June, a missionary from the Church of the Crooked Stave in Colorado made a pilgrimage to the High Desert Epic Cathedral in Salt Lake to create a new super missionary to spread the holy word. His name? Elder Brett.

Okay, enough of all the religious parables, let's talk Collaboration Beer!

When Crooked Stave's Brewmaster/Owner Chad Yakobson met the guys at Epic Brewing they found that they had a lot in common, a collaboration was in their future.

Elder Brett was brewed at Epic by Kevin Crompton, Epic’s Brewmaster and Yakobson. After several weeks working on the recipe and selecting the proper Brett strains and barrels for the beer to morph from a golden Sasion into a Saison-Brett Golden Ale.

Elder Brett's sour/tart profile comes from a Saison yeast, the young beer was moved to French oak white wine casks retired after the production of Epic’s 2011 Great American Beer Festival (GABF), Silver Medal winner, Brainless on Peaches.

The barrels were inoculated with a blend of four different types of Brettanomyces. Aging for over nine months in the barrels allows the character of the unique wild yeast to fully express itself in the beer. The result combines all the elements for a truly sublime complexity.

The aroma is rich with the musty, barnyard-like character that “Brett” is famous for as well as some remnants of the white wine. The flavor also has wonderful amounts of fruity notes both from the yeast and hints of the peach fermentation that took place previously in the barrel, all rounded out with a pleasant and refreshing acidity and incredible drinkability for an 8.8% ABV beverage. The beer has a round body, is dominated by yeast character, but is tart enough to leave the palette refreshed and wanting more.

There aren't many "Brett" beers made in Utah, this one is only the fifth one made here and more are coming! If your a fan of sours, you life is about to get a Hell of a lot better. Available at Epic Brewing on January 26 (Thurs) and should hit other states sometime in February.

Cheers!

Pelican Comes to Town

2012-01-20T05:56:00.003-07:00

There's a great little brewery that literally sits right on the Oregon coast that makes some of greatest beers I've had the pleasure to sample.

The Pelican Pub & Brewery opened in May of 1996. From the start Pelican's brewmaster, Darron Welch's goal was to create beers that were stylistically distinctive from anything else around.

Although he favors highly aromatic beers with hops and malts that seem to jump right out you, Darron always seems to find a way to produce assertive yet balanced beers with clean, snappy finishes that demand your attention.

Luckily for us, Del Vance over at the Beerhive has been working on acquiring Pelican's beer - they're due to arrive sometime next week?

The first beers to arrive will be:

India Pelican Ale - The nose has a great citrus hoppiness to it. Mango, peach, pineapple and grapefruit all come out. The taste shows more of the grapefruit flavors throughout. A dry, fruity, herbal, bitterness coming through in the finish. An outstanding IPA.

Stormwatchers Winterfest - The nose is a rich aroma of caramel, fig, dates, leather and is slightly nutty. The Tast starts with a caramel and dark fruit flavor, that adds an earthy hop element by mid-palate; nuts and toffee smoothness come next, with a bit of booziness in the finish. A Warming and creamy winter beer.

Kiwanda Cream Ale - The nose is malty with some floral hoppiness. The taste started with a mild maltiness next comes moderate floral and citrus hops. Finishes clean and dry. Nicely balanced beer. Fruity and refreshing.

The Pelican's are only available at the Beerhive. We'll let you know exactly when they arrive.

Cheers!

Santa Cruz Brown Ale

2012-01-18T06:04:00.000-07:00

There have been a lot of trends developing in the beer universe over the last decade from IPA's to Sours to Barrel Aging, brewers have been pushing the beer envelope in every possible direction.

Lately the newest trend has been "The Hybrid Beer". These are beers that are not technically correct or brewed to an exact style. They take from one brewing discipline and add something from another.

Black IPA's/Cascadian Black Ale are an example. Crossing a porter with a pale ale shouldn't work but it does (for some it doesn't) if done properly.

Epic Brewing's newest beer is an interpret of the recent Black IPA trend. The Santa Cruz Brown Ale is a true hybrid. For this beer Epic combined the rich malty backbone and color of an American brown ale with piney, resinous American hops, creating a completely new and unique type of beer.

Santa Cruz will debut tomorrow (January 19th) at Slackwater Pub and Pizzeria in Ogden, Utah. Everywhere else on Friday.

Cheers!

New Beer Friday 1/13/12

2012-01-13T06:03:00.001-07:00

Today's new beer has been around for a few years, but has only been available at the source, Sierra Nevada's Taproom/Restaurant. Luckily for us SN has decided this beer is ready for the masses and it's their first new beer of 2012.

Ruthless Rye IPA: The nose is earthy and malty with piney resins. The flavor starts piney with a complex grainy malt character. Next comes hints of cocoa and a mild rye spiciness. The finish is dry and piney.

This is very much like a spicy SN Celebration in that it’s got good hop character, its solidly built and very dense for the 6.6% ABV. Very clean and balanced. @Beerhive & various socialized liquor outlets.

If you spot some, tell us where!

Cheers!

DABC Meeting Highlights

2012-01-11T06:06:00.000-07:00

It was a somewhat strange meeting full of laughter and gasps. It was like listening to room full of war veterans sharing their stories of combat. Ranging from the bizzar to the heart breaking.

I'm talking about yesterday's meeting of the DABC Review committee. It was a bigger than expected crowd that showed up at the Main SLC Library. The attendees were a wide array of bar owners, restauranteurs, brewers, vintners and consumers. Many offering up their stories of the insane, stupid and bizarre situations that they currently deal with on a weekly if not daily basis. Here are a few examples.

In 1879, the Shooting Star, Utah's oldest operating bar was established. You'd think a bar with such longevity would have a grandfather clause a mile long. Not so. Every year the owner has to get permission from a church, school, park and a library; all of which never existed when the bar opened in the 19th century.

A restaurant owner in Park City pointed out the difference between pouring wine or beer at a table versus pouring the same bottles at the bar behind the Beer Burka. Obviously a keen tactic designed to save the souls of children and the other "saved".

The Brewvies debacle. In case you don't remember, a few month ago Brewvies Cinema Pub was fined a few thousand bucks for serving alcohol during a movie (the Hangover 2) that featured nudity. Because of the nudity Brewvies was charged as operating a sexual oriented business. It was a fucking R rated movie!!!

A restauranteur in Park City received and payed for her alcohol license on one day, the very next day it expired and it needed to be renewed. Because apparently all liquor licenses expire on the same day in Utah. I guess it was going to be to much of a hassle for the DABC to say, "let's hold off a day, it expires tomorrow".

One restaurant owner said he had to shut down his beer taps three weeks in to the month because he had exceeded his alcohol/food percentage for the month because the high tax on beer was bringing in more money from beer than food. Remember, a restaurant must sell more food than liquor to stay in compliance. I believe it's 70/30?

No "sales" on alcoholic beverages in bars (happy hour), yet the DABC has "sales" in liquor stores.

The commission will take what they learned from this meeting an present it to the legislature's leadership on January 23rd.

I have a feeling those who will make the final decisions have already decided what they will and won't do in regards to the DABC. This whole thing that I've just told you about, is just a show to make you feel like your "part of the process". In my opinion of course.

The public can also relay their comments to the committee by emailing them at ReviewDABC@Gmail.com.

Cheers!

Your Input is Needed!

2012-01-09T06:03:00.000-07:00

2012 is still in it's wee infancy and we here at Utah Beer wanna make sure you get your "outrage on" early so that your nice and primed for the annual liquor circle jerk on the hill known as the Utah Legislative Session.

One of the things I hope this... this thing that we've all created manages to accomplish is to get you, the outraged beer lov'n Utahan - into the game and try to take charge of your own destiny.

Tomorrow, you may get an opportunity to be heard. The DABC Review Committee is having a public hearing on how to solve the problems at the DABC.

The DABC Review Committee isn't part of the Department of Alcohol Beverage Control. It was created by legislators to seek out broader public input into the debate over how to address the problems that exist in the current system for alcohol regulation in Utah.

Your input is needed. This meeting isn't going to be about, "how to get Utah out of the liquor business" or "fridges in Liquor Stores" it's about getting input from the adult Utah drinker to the people who will be making the decisions on how to improve the states biggest money making department.

The meeting is tomorrow Jan 10, 2012 from 2pm-4pm at the Salt Lake City Main Library. 4th floor conference room. There will likely be media of types there. A huge presence could go a long way in showing lawmakers the we're serious about getting Utah into the post prohibition Twentieth Century and beyond.

Cheers!

New Beer Friday 1/6/12

2012-01-06T06:23:00.000-07:00

For the first New Beer Friday of 2012 we get to enjoy a beer that's long overdue.

Our Special Ale 2011 (Anchor Christmas Ale) has been released annually since 1983. Every year is unique in some way. It's one beer I always look forward to every year. I've been drinking it since 2002. Sadly I don't love it every year. This year is one of those "meh" years.

The 2011 has a nice soapy, herbal nose with prune and raisins. The taste starts malty up front with cocoa, spices and dark fruits hit the tongue strong. Semi-sweet cola rounds out the back end. Hints of spices & prune make for a rather dry finish.

This one of those beers that won't "wow" you, but will make you glad you had it.

I had it at the Beerhive, but it usually shows up in various liquor store that normally sell Anchor Beer.

Also, there's a new poll!

Cheers!

Where's Your Beer Tax Money Going?

2012-01-02T08:25:00.001-07:00

This story has been floating around for the last week or so, and even though it's beer related it seemed to be more about the lack of spending prowess by some individuals to use the money that's allocated to them rather than beer itself. So, I guess we'll talk about it and you can decide if it's worth discussing.

If you aren't aware of what I'm talking about, let me back up. There's statute on the books that gives cities and counties some of the taxes collected on the sale of beer. This statute also says that "revenue must be spent on programs and procedures designed to prevent or reduce the abuse of alcohol by minors and adults". Not a bad way to use the taxes, right? Seems like an appropriate use for beer tax money to me.

Apparently 26 municipalities around the state have come up with some creative ways to use this money - by diverting hundreds of thousands of dollars of beer tax money into everyday city or county activities. Here are some stellar examples. To combat drunken driving and other alcohol-related problems, the city of Riverton bought an inflatable arch. The Utah County Sheriff’s Office bought a dog. Delta helped pay for crossing guards. Not exactly beer related, eh?

If it’s determined any of the 26 municipalities misspent the money, a portion or all of what they would have received from the beer tax in fiscal 2012 will be withheld.

As long as Utah's beer consumers are getting raped by taxes, the very least lawmakers could do is craft language that's specific about where our taxes are going and appropriately punish those who can't mange their beer tax money better.

Cheers!

Source: Salt Lake Tribune

A New Concept for Utah

2011-12-28T04:00:00.000-07:00

There is a very interesting concept that is slowly taking hold here in Utah, a concept that has been around since commerce itself. It's the radical idea of selling what you make where you made it.

Now stay with me... I know I'm talking about stuff that makes String Theory sound like nursery rhymes here, but believe it or not there are places in this world where people can sell the things that they make, when they want to - where they're made (within reason of course).

If you'll recall a few years back your favorite brewery could not sell it's customers all the products they made, especially if it was over 4.0% ABV. Now thanks to a little bit of rational thought from some lawmakers most breweries can now sell every beer in their portfolio from the very place their made.

Sundays and Holidays were a big bone of contention for many in the adult beverage industry. Utah is a tourism driven state and it was maddening for many to have to shut their doors during profitable times.

The High West Distillery was the first to convince our liquor overlords that Sundays & Holiday sales were beneficial to patrons and sellers alike. All they had to do was do one thing. Sell food.

Within months nearly every class five packaging agency had gotten on board. And recently Epic Brewing came into compliance when they completed their own restaurant area at the brewery. So now you can buy Epic's beer 365 days a year (if they choose) and get a tasty sandwich. So come this Sunday January, 1st it looks like you'll be able to buy a beer at Epic - on a Sunday and a Holiday. What a concept Even for Utah.

Cheers!

New Beer Friday 12/23/11

2011-12-23T01:41:00.000-07:00

Let's begin with Epic's second new release this week, Utah Sage Saison. The taste starts out bitter and peppery right up front. Herbal notes of sage come next with a hint of Rosemary. Underneath it all There are light malts with that unique Saison funk. I think it could use a little more balance. The herbal/hoppy character tends to dominate for the most part. The timing for this beer is perfect. It has a holiday feel without the intention of being a holiday beer.

Next up is Boulevard Brewing's Bourbon Barrel Quad (B.B.Q). Tart cherries and a balanced bourbon flavor dominate up front, underneath there is more of what you'd expect from a quad - candi sugar, belgian yeast, and a big booziness. Hints of vanilla linger in the finish. Beautifully complex, this beer is a real joy to sip. It seems like the flavors that are present wouldn't work too well together but for some reason it comes together nicely.

Happy Holidays!

Dark Beers for a Dark Day

2011-12-21T00:44:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow is the Winter Solstice. Whether you refer to it as Midwinter, The Longest Night or The First Day of Winter one thing is certain this one dark day.

On this day before the darkest day of the year, it seems appropriate that two unique dark beers should debut to warm our inner beer geek.

Today's first beer was born from Outer Darkness, an Imperial Stout that was first released two years ago today. Brewed over five months ago, Barrel of Russians Imperial Stout (B.O.R.I.S) takes that same beloved recipe and combines it with Utah's own High West Rye Whiskey barrels. The result is a complex blend of toffee, bourbon, oak, hazelnut, vanilla, caramel, milk chocolate, and alcohol.

The Winter Solstice lasts only a moment in time, the same goes for this beer. Only available at Squatters Brewpubs.

Our second release comes from what may be one of the most prolific breweries in the nation. Utah's Epic Brewing.

Epic seems to release a new beer every month, their newest release dates it's heritage back many centuries to Germanic monasteries who called this specially made beer" liquid bread", due to it's high caloric nature. When your mother told you, "don't fill up on bread"! This is NOT the type of bread she was talking about.

Epic's Double Skull is full of solid malt, dark fruit and fruitcake that fades very nicely into slight char and chocolates. There is a special release party for Double Skull, tonight at the Poplar Street Pub. It will subsequent be available everywhere Epic Exponential Series is sold.

Even though it's looking to be a dreary day, I have a feeling many beer lovers may not notice.

Cheers!

New Beer Friday 12/16/11

2011-12-16T10:49:00.000-07:00

One new beer for you today. Urthel's Samaranth Quadrinium is a beer that's dusky, light brown in color with a slightly off-white foam. In the nose, it's sweet and faintly spicy with notes of dried fruit, nuts, chocolate and marzipan.

On the palate, it's big and bold, massively malty and slightly warming from the 11.5% alcohol by volume. It is long and shockingly dry in the finish. Available at the Bayou.

Cheers!

Double Skull Dopplebock

2011-12-13T05:56:00.001-07:00

First brewed by the Paulaner monks, Dopple Bock beers were born from a need to sustain the monks during times of fasting, particularly during the Lenten season, when solid food is not permitted.

Today's Dopplebocks have changed very little in the last four hundred years, they're still some of the strongest beers made—ranging from 7%–12% or more by volume.

Epic Brewing is carrying on the Paulaners traditions, producing it's own take on "liquid bread". The latest beer in the “Exponential Series” is Double Skull Doppelbock brewed from only four traditional ingredients: malt, hops, water and true lager yeast. The beer is malt driven and true to style with a dark brown color and packs a nice wallop for a lager, coming in at around 7.5%

Double Skull will debut on December 21st at the Poplar Street Pub in S.L.C.
This beer was designed for lent, but I think you'll find it hits the mark during the Holidays as well.

Cheers!

The New Moab Brewery

2011-12-12T05:51:00.002-07:00

It was around this time last year that Moab Brewing announced that they were expanding their operations and changing their packaging from bottles to cans. Today it's all come to fruition, the expanded brewery is on line and cans of new Moab beer are hitting store shelves.

Moab's new packing revolves around 16 oz cans that come in 4-paks. The first two new offerings are Johnny's American IPA and Rocket Bike Lager. Johnny's IPA is described as a golden colored session-able IPA with four types of hops used and the Rocket Bike is a Steam style lager with roasted barley and Cascade hops.

In the near future Moab will start producing these brands in higher alcohol versions. The IPA will be 7% and the Steam Lager will be 5.5% abv.

And that's not all. In the coming months look for two new Desert Select styles a Rye beer called Hopped Rye and an Export Stout both will be upwards of 8% and bottle conditioned.

The 4-paks are said to be going for around $5.99 and are for sale now in select areas.

On a personal note, I'd like to thank everyone for coming out to the Holiday Tasting last Saturday. It was our largest event so far and the quality of the beer and the company was second to none. I'll post some pics from the party on the Utah Beer Facebook page today or tomorrow.

Cheers!

A Barrel full of Russians

2011-12-09T00:59:00.001-07:00

Back in 2009 Squatters did something that the loyal beer gnerds of Utah had been pining for... Well, for years. A Russian Imperial Stout. Believe it or not, an Impy Stout had never been produced by a Utah brewery until that day. Today there are many. Uinta's Labrynth, Epic's Imperial Stout and a fourth and a fifth are due to be released soon from two other local breweries that I'm not at liberty to name... yet.

Interestingly enough this beer style that bears the Russian name isn't "Russian" at all. It was brewed in the 18th century by Thrale's brewery in London, England for export to the court of Catherine II of Russia.

5 months ago, former brewer Jen Talley and current Brewmaster Jason Stock (by the way.. Congratulations Jason!!!) layed down a fresh batch of Outer Darkness into High West Wiskey barrels creating an Anglo-Russian-Utah-Kentucky hybrid, called Barrel of Russians.

As is tradition, these the darkest of all Squatters beers is due to be released on the darkest day of the year. December 21st.

This is a limited release of approximately 1200 - 750ml bottles. It has a potent abv of 10.5%. It's perfect (and recomended) for cellering and celebrating the holidays for years to come.

Don't forget the 3rd Annual Utah Beer Holiday Tasting is tomorrow night. Those of you who managed to get in before the cut-off need to get your game faces on. It's gunna get biblical. Any questions or cancellations? Hit us up - utahbeer@gmail.com.

Cheers!!!

No More Sunday Beer in Pleasant Grove?

2011-12-06T05:59:00.000-07:00

The city of Pleasant Grove, Utah is about to get a lot less pleasant if a new proposed ordinance to ban Sunday beer sales is adopted.

Tonight at P.G's city council meeting, the topic is scheduled to be brought up. Pleasant Grove Mayor Bruce Call says although Sunday beer sales are allowed now, a prior ordinance did prohibit beer sales on Sunday countywide. He says Tuesday’s vote is an option to return things to the way they once were.

“I like the idea of keeping things the way they’ve been in the county for years and years, ” Call said. “You know, that’s a tricky thing, some people say why ban anything? Leave it to the choice of the voters…and that’s fine. But, every community is different. Every community has its own unique personality, its own unique culture. I think a continuation of the ban on beer sales is true to our culture.”

Councilman Val Danklef says Sunday beer sales go against the city’s values, but worries what effect the ban could have on local businesses.

“I know that small business owners would be affected by it,” he said. ” I am leaning towards not allowing it to happen.”

The city council will also vote on a separate proposal to put a complete ban on alcohol sales at drive-through windows.

If you live in Pleasant Grove and you don't want your rights shit upon, I urge you to attend the meeting tonight.

Source: KCPW

New Beer Friday 12/2/11

2011-12-02T10:03:00.001-07:00

Two new beers for you today!

First there's Desert Edge's Holiday Raspberry Stout. This beer comes on once a year for the holidays. It is a nice chocolatey malt stout with 165 pounds of fresh raspberries added in the fermenter. The fresh raspberries impart a nice tartness to the beer. The raspberries are subtle rather than strong and up front. A great beer to celebrate the holidays.

Sierra Nevada's Tumbler is a brown ale that has a faint, clean nose with touches of caramel, light chocolate and a little nuttiness. The taste starts with a roasted malt sweetness and a dark toasty breadiness. Next comes an earthy, nutty bitterness. While The finish starts in the sweetness of the malt, it gradually turns into a nicely bittered ending that leaves a nice dryness. Not overly complex, but the flavor blend and balance is quite pleasant. 5.5% ABV @ Beerhive and some liquor stores. I have seen it at 300 e. Wine Store.

Cheers!

Holiday Traditions in a Glass

2011-11-29T05:54:00.000-07:00

Holiday beers, also known as Winter Warmers, are a tradition that stretch back over two Millenia, with the ancients making highly intoxicating brews to celebrate winter festivals.

As far back as 217 BC when the Roman's celebrated Saturnalia, an Ancient Roman festival held in honour of Saturn. Beer makers have been saving their finest ingredients for these special winter occasions.

With the advent of the Catholic church, this brewmaking evolved into what many considered the main staple of the winter solstice and other holiday celebrations. When medieval monasteries from all over Europe and the Middle East would combined best their fruits, spices and vegetables to produce soul-warming styles for the occasions.

If you've never given Holiday beers a shot, your likely missing out on a big part of European and Western Asian culinary culture. Now is the best time to get out and experience them. Most Liquor stores should have a few labels in by now. But the state's best and most diverse selection is at the Bayou in downtown SLC.

We've provided a new poll to find out which basic type of winter warmer makes your tongue the the happiest.

Cheers!

The Vernal Brewing Company

2011-11-25T00:15:00.001-07:00

Yup that's right, Utah may be seeing it's 16th brewery pop up sometime in 2012. The Vernal Brewing Company is the brainchild of Vernal entrepreneurs Bill Zimmerman, his daughter Ginger and son-in-law Eric Bowden.

The whole idea came about after the Bowdens opened up a brand new home brew shop called The Bucket in Vernal, Utah last September. All three are avid home brewers who had always dreamed of starting their own brewery.

The Bucket located at 510 East Main Street in Vernal, is the beginning of a three part plan to bring locally made craft beers to the Uintah Basin. The second part is to construct a 5,000-square-foot brewery (with a tap room) on the property directly adjacent to the Home Brew shop that will be large enough for 20 or 30 visitors. The third part will include a kitchen and garden area for the brewpub.

They will brew four flagship beers available year-round along with specialty beers only available seasonally.

Architectural plans have been drawn up already and groundbreaking scheduled for sometime this spring.

Both the city and county recently passed ordinances for a brewery. Local ordinances for a brewery were written specifically for their venture, because none previously existed in Vernal or Uintah County. The best of luck to Zimmerman and the Bowdens on getting Utah's newest brewery up and running!

And if that's not enough, I have more great news for you. Today is New beer Beer Friday as well and we have some new beers to tell you about.

First up is North Coast Brewing's Grand Cru. This a Belgian pale ale aged in bourbon barrels with agave nectar. The nose is faint with fruity notes, booze and yeast. The taste starts with estery apples, oranges and faint hint of pear. Hint's of Bourbon come next, then a blast of boozy agave in the finish. It's a big full bodied beer. Very nice. 12.90% ABV. @Beerhive.

Next is Tenaya Creek's Monsoon Imperial IPA. The nose is piney and floral with a touch of citrus. The taste starts with citrus and flowery hops. Sweet caramel and candied fruits come next. The finish is crisp with notes of green tea and a slight alcohol burn. Tasty! 8.5% ABV. @Beerhive.

Also, the Bayou's remaining seasonals have arrived. Struise Tsjeeses Reserva, Mikkeller Santa's Helper, Criminally Bad Elf and Insanely Bad Elf. All are limited in quantity... you know what you need to do.

Cheers!

The above representation of Vernal Beer and Ale is not necessarily connected to Vernal Brewing or The Bucket

Locally Made Pairing Options for Your Turkey Day

2011-11-23T07:37:00.001-07:00

We have some pairing options for you today. If your like me, there are some foods that end up on your plate that you like more than others. Here are some great locally made beers that go well with nearly everything on your traditional Thanksgiving meal.

We particularly loved Hopper's Bière de Garde called the First SnowAle, which has a nutty caramel flavor that This beer is smooth but a little funky, with hints of sweet fermented apple. It's a little musky and toasty—very nice with food. Pairs well with sweet potatoes along with the crisp caramelized skin from the turkey.

A slightly less funky option for Thanksgiving pairing is a good American amber. We liked how Squatters' Big Cottonwood Amber Ale complemented the earthy flavors in the meal, particularly mushrooms and the stuffing.

Another surprise was Epic's Brainless on Cherries. It's subtle dry cheery sweetness sweetness goes well with the turkey and the stuffing and it is a great substitute for cranberry sauce.

Uinta's Barley Wine also deserves a place at table. This local institution is an intense blend of herbal, citrus and piney flavors with lingering toasted malt. The complex flavors are a great companion for your turkey and stuffing as well.

And finally, as dessert beers go, your favorite pumpkin ale with a slice of plain cheesecake is a great combo. Your favorite stout & cherry pie, as well as a nice roasty porter with your pumpkin pie. RedRock's Saison with apple pie is heaven as well.

Please share your holiday pairing ideas and have a great Thanksgiving Day weekend.

Cheers!

A Little Rye on Rye Action

2011-11-21T05:56:00.001-07:00

The Beer Yogi, Kevin Templin and the RedRock Crew have simply outdone themselves on their newest release, Secale (Se*ca"le).

This new creation is a 100% local collaboration between RedRock and the High West distillery. Secale, latin for rye is hybrid Dopple Bock/Rye Beer aged in High West Rye whiskey barrels for over three months. The combination of complementary styles and and wood character creates a beer full of personality and depth.

Pours a dark ruby color with a moderate two fingers of off-white head. The nose has a dry roasted malt aroma along with a light rye spiciness. It's rounded out with a mild caramel malt and vanilla aroma. The taste starts with Caramel malts and toffee. Chocolate covered raisins come next come next with a dry rye spiciness. Hints of vanilla and whiskey come next in the end, as well as a subdued hop bitterness that balances the malty sweetness in the finish. The body is full and the whiskey notes become a bit more pronounced as it warms. The 8.5% abv is well hidden but sneaks up you quickly.

This one damn fine lager. It has an outstanding aroma with a great taste and smoothness. It is a good traditional representation of the Bavarian style with a nice blend of rye malt - that is there, but not overly done - Traditional, yet unique. Highly recommended! In 500ml bottles. Available at starting today at RedRock locations. As always, call first.

Prost!

New Beer Friday 11/18/11

2011-11-18T05:53:00.003-07:00

Looks like the weekend weather is gunna be crap. So we've found a nice diverse selection to help you trudge through it.

Rogue: Good Chit Pilsner - The nose has a subtle note of pear and grass. The flavor is malty with a strong floral and grassy edge, a fair amount of bitterness, a metallic tang and a whisper of fruit. A good Czech style Pils. @Beerhive

Lagunitas: Dopple Weizen - The nose is fruity, but dense. Lots of banana and peach. Some clove and pepper. Very nice. The taste follows suite with a healthy banana presence, as well as peach, apple, and fig. Herbal with a faint tart spiciness in the finish. Very nice! @Bayou, Beerhive

Deschutes: Fresh Hop Mirror Pond Pale Ale - The nose is fruity, grainy, and deliciously hoppy. This is a well-balanced pale ale. All of the flavors are there. It's hoppy, but not too much, has a significant malted barley flavor, mango citrus, and pine notes. Delicious! @Beerhive

Shades of Pale: 4 Play Porter - Just released. 4-Play Porter is a tribute to aviators across the ages for their courage and sense of adventure, especially friend of the brewery Marilyn, an acrobatic pilot, that flies a plane nick named 4-Play. It is a traditional English style porter right down to the top fermenting yeast. Brewed with high quality brown malts which gives this ale a light caramel, black liquorish, peat flavor porter fans love.. @412 Bistro, Park City.

Cheers!

Firm Recomends Liquor in Utah Grocery Stores

2011-11-16T06:13:00.000-07:00

Bonneville Research, a private firm that helps state and city agencies be more fiscally sound was hired by the state to come up with a business plan to find out how to save liquor stores from further closures and to make more money.

They will present their $100,000, 83-page report to a legislative committee today to the Business and Labor Interim Commission. Bonneville proposes to expand the sale of alcohol in grocery stores. One of sections titled "Immediate Recommended Actions" lists one action for a test Package Agency program using grocery stores.

So what does this mean?

In all likelihood, nothing. Senator Valentine, the chairman of the Business and Labor Interim Commission has made his position very clear that access to alcoholic beverages is something that must be a difficult as humanly possible and hidden from everyone at any cost. This part of the meeting will likely be white noise in his ears because his mind is clearly already made up.

When asked, Sen. John Valentine, told FOX 13 news he is curious and wants answers. Republican Rep. Ryan Wilcox had proposed the state get out of the business of selling alcohol, but keep the state's liquor control status.

Bonneville Research's plan also includes consolidating stores; re-opening the Cottonwood Heights liquor store; hiring a new DABC director with significant retail experience.

I'll be at that meeting this morning and will hopfully have some info on it later. So what do you think, Is this all just minutia or a real possibility?

Cheers!

More Praise for Labyrinth

2011-11-15T05:57:00.001-07:00

Over 1800 of some of the finest beers and ciders were sampled at The Ninth Annual Festival of Wood and Barrel Aged Beer in Chicago last Saturday. The country's first and largest beer festival dedicated to the art of wood and barrel aging.

62 different breweries across 22 States participated. 30 awards were handed out, and no surprise Uinta Brewing Company's Labyrinth Black Ale walked away with a Sliver Medal in the Strong Porter/Stout category.

I know many of you have already had Labyrinth but in lieu of it's recent praise on the world stage I felt it was due another mention.

Labyrinth pours black with a two finger brown head that left good lacing. The nose is of chocolate, coffee, roasted malts, molasses and a touch of vanilla. The flavor starts rich, big and slightly sweet with dark chocolate, caramel, dark roasted malts next comes black molasses, coffee, oak and some notes of vanilla bourbon with a sticky full body. Finishes slightly dry and warm.

Labyrinth is in wide distribution around the state and this is the perfect time of year to take in big, bold beers such as this.

Cheers!

The 2011 Holiday Tasting is Full

2011-11-12T09:21:00.000-07:00

Thank you all for your RSVP's to Holiday Tasting. We reached capacity in record time.
Unfortunately we are out of room and the invites are now closed. If you've RSVP'd and find you can't make at some point, please let us know so someone can take your spot.

Again I apologize, the venue just won't allow more people than we already have.

Cheers!

The Holidays: Euro-Style

2011-11-11T06:01:00.003-07:00

If there's one thing to be said about Europeans, they don't mess around when it comes to beers that celebrate the holidays. Every region of Europe has it's own style and flare.

If you'd like to get to know the Holidays "Euro Style" I suggest you head over to the Bayou, ASAP and partake of the most diverse holiday beer selection in the state.

Some are new, some are returning favorites. All are incredible and in limited supply.

New This Year:

Struise Tsjeeses Reserva - Struise took four barrels of Tsjeeses and gave it a 6 month vacation aging in oak barrels. Mark must be having an affair with someone at the DABC. How else could he manage to get such a hard to get beer? 10.0% abv. Coming Soon

Fantome Noël - A very dark and entirely unique holiday seasonal beer. Reportedly spiced with honey, caramel, coriander, black pepper, and other secret ingredients. 10.0% abv.

La Choulette de Noël - Stronger, fuller flavored version of the classic bière de garde. The New York Times anointed this beer the ultimate bière de garde, and rightly so. It’s a rich, rare treat from one of France’s old guard craft breweries. 7.0% abv.

Reindeer Droppings - Falling from the sky like little bombs of flavor come the Reindeer Droppings! Each one is sweet like California raisins, but bitter and pungent like a freshly peeled grapefruit, lip-smackingly tasty...then 'pow!' it's gone. 6.0% abv.

Returning Champs:

Ølfabrikken Kloster Jul - Ølfabrikken (The Beer Factory) is a small experimental brewery on the vibrant Danish beer scene. Kloster Jul is a hoppy Christmas Ale brewed with large quantities of American Chinook hops and wonderfully spiced with coriander and cinnamon. 8.0% abv.

Mikkeller Santa's Helper - A Belgian quadruple style ale. Delicious with big flavors of cookie dough, chocolate, figs and spice. The addition of actual cocoa powder makes this one incredibly special. 11.0% abv. Coming Soon

Mikkeller From/To - The dedicated guys at Mikkeller have simply outdone themselves with this holiday version of a Baltic Porter. Earthy and hoppy with hits of coffee, dark fruit and a full roastiness. A great example of the new hoppy Belgian artisan beer movement. 8.0% abv.

Struise Tsjeeses - (unoaked) A deep blonde abbey-style trippel that has been aged for 8 months over different stone fruits. Once you try one you too will say “Tsjeeses, what a beer”. 10.0% abv. Coming Soon

Thiriez Bière de Noël - A beautiful red-gold wheat beer, with quite subtle all-spice and orange peel added. A slightly tart and quite refreshing festive brew. Champagne for the true beer lover. 6.0% abv

Bad Elf - Old England meets the new world in this strong, warming winter IPA. 6.0% abv

Very Bad Elf - A Special Old Ale brewed from a 1795 recipe using specially-grown ingredients. 7.5% abv

Seriously Bad Elf - An English Double Ale with a bit of Belgian character. Unique for the U.K. 9.0% abv

Criminally Bad Elf - A boffo Barley Wine. Same basic recipe as Thomas Hardy's Ale. 10.5% abv. Coming Soon

Insanely Bad Elf - Billed as an Imperial Red Ale this is a gorgeous and tasty beer. 12.0% abv. Coming Soon

Warm Welcome - A stronger brown ale with more hops than you'd expect. 6.0% abv

Santa's Butt - Strong porter. The original name for porter was Entire Butt, meaning the whole barrel. 6.0% abv

Pickled Santa - Amber, spiced Christmas Ale. 6.0% abv.

Lump of Coal - Liquid consolation for a depressing holiday. Considering how bad you have been, this bittersweet chocolate stout is more than you deserve. 8.0% abv.

Reindeer's Revolt - A golden amber, hop-accented, English “winter warmer” brewed without spices. 6.0% abv.

And speaking of Europe. A couple of Utah breweries shlepped their suds all the way to Munich, Germany for the European Beer Star Awards and came away with a couple of trophies.

In the Ultra Strong Beer category, the Silver went to Uinta Brewing Company's Labyrinth Black Ale. No surprise there, eh?

And in the Imperial India Pale Ale category Epic's Hopulent IPA came away with a Bronze. That's two bronzes for two of Epic's IPAs in two months.

Nicely done Epic & Uinta!

Please note that not all of the above mentioned beers are available today. Some will be released closer to the end of November.... Can't have all the damn Holiday beer gone before the holidays even get here! right?

Also, a lot of RSVP's were received yesterday for the Holiday Tasting. Don't put it off, this party will defiantly fill up sooner than expected.

Prost!

The 2011 Holiday Tasting

2011-11-10T05:56:00.001-07:00

*****My apologies, but the Holiday Tasting has filled up in record time and we are no longer taking any more RSVP's*****

What started as a good excuse to get together for a little holiday cheer has blossomed into one of the best lil' beer festivals in the west.

If you enjoy the great diversity that craft beer has to offer, I invite you to participate in the 3rd Annual Utah Beer Holiday Tasting on Saturday December 10th.

The concept is simple. Bring a nice beer, cider or mead. It can be in a bottle, can, jug, keg or jeroboam as long as it's "special" to you and you think it would be nice to share. It doesn't have to be rare - expensive or outrageous. Just something that you enjoy.

Homebrew is absolutely welcome! If you've got something that you'd like to share please bring it. Give us a heads up if it's kegged so we can make sure we have the appropriate amount of room.

If you have a tasters glass or a piece of stemware please bring it, you'll be glad you did. Plastic cups will be provided but I'd hate for anyone to have to use them.

The Tasting will not be held at the Irving Schoolhouse as it has been in previous years. It will be held at a private home and it's location will be given out only to those who RSVP. We will have to put a cap on the number of people attending due to the size of the venue. So get your RSVP in ASAP.

We'd ask that this be limited to "Beer People". People who know beer or are interested in learning more about craft beer. Please feel free to bring a guest if you don't want to come solo.

Speaking of "Beer People". Some of our local craft brewers will be in attendance as well as industry professionals. It'll be a nice opportunity for you to get to know them - and they you.

Please RSVP to utahbeer@gmail.com

Absolutely no one under 21.

So here's what we have.

What: 1-2 bottle for tasting - tasters glass or stemware - some Beer & snacks provided.

Where: Draper, Ut

When: Saturday December 10th at 7:00pm

Questions & RSVP: utahbeer@gmail.com

Don't hesitate to RSVP or ask questions!

Cheers!

DABC Show Episode 3 - Squaters Pt 1

2011-11-09T06:18:00.000-07:00

Bill and Steve go into Squatters to talk with former Brewmaster Jen Talley and Head Brewer Jason Stock about sour beer and the delights of being a big brewery making small craft beers. They also go to The Beerhive and tell you which local beers you should be drinking.

Also, a big announcement for you craft beer lovers tomorrow

Cheers!

More New Beer Friday 11/4/11

2011-11-04T10:40:00.000-07:00

As per, Mark Alston.

"New beer friday just got newier and fridayier. Deschutes Stoic and Boulevard White IPA just came in (collaboration). "

The Boulevard White IPA was listed as a top 25 beer for the year in Draft Magazine.

Thanks, Mark!

New Beer Friday 11/4/11

2011-11-04T04:55:00.000-07:00

Besides Epic's Fermentation Without Representation, which was released yesterday there is one more new beer available for you today. Lagunitas A Little Sumpin' Wild has arrived at the Bayou.

I really enjoyed the sumpin' sumpin' ale over this past summer so was excited to try A Little Sumpin' Wild. The nose is floral with peach, plum, and some farmhouse aromas. The taste starts with sweetness at first and hits tongue with citrus, peach, yeasts, malts and alcohol. Large spice backbone, with grassy yeast. The finish is bread-like and faintly sour. Overall - Pretty tasty and flavorful. It seems to want to fit in the saison family to me. 8.85% ABV.

Cheers!

Fermentation Without Representation

2011-11-03T04:54:00.003-07:00

A little more than a month ago DC Brau Brewing's head brewer Jeff Hancock came to Salt Lake to brew a special collaboration beer with Epic's head brewer Kevin Crompton called Fermentation Without Representation.

The same beer was produced a week later back in D.C. Today this collaboration from two distant breweries, a pumpkin porter will be released at a special release party tonight at Gracie's in downtown SLC. And your invited!

I think you'll really like this one. Tastes of bittersweet chocolate, caramel, ginger bread, and roasty grains. Vanilla pops in next with allspice, cinnamon rounding out the back end. Medium bodied with creamy carbonation.

After tonight's release look for Fermentation Without Representation at Epic Brewing and wherever their Exponential Series is sold.

Cheers!

Time to Get Your Pucker On!

2011-11-02T05:20:00.000-07:00

Are you a fan of sour beers? If you are your definitely in the minority of beer drinkers, but don't worry - our numbers are growing and the Bayou's own Mark Alston is on a crusade to educate us all on the finer points of some of the most un-beer-like-beers you've ever had.

This Sunday November 6th at 5:00 pm. The Bayou will be hosting their first ever mini-beer festival, the theme? Sour and Wild Ales.

For $25 you will get a wrist band and a 20 beer punch card that will enable you to sample all the festival beers. You must have both the wrist band and the punch card to be served. No sharing with non-participants!!! Anyone found sharing beer with people without a wrist band will have their wrist band removed and they will be barred from continued participation. As this event is all about sampling high quality beers in a responsible manner, all samples will be served in 2 ounce pours.

Quantities of some of these beers are quite limited so there is no guarantee they'll lasting throughout the entire fest.

9:30 pm is the cut off time so don't be late. The Bayou's menu is also available at it's normal cost. Seating and tables will be available only for those planning on eating.

If sour and wild ales are not your thing, Mark plans on having other mini beer festivals on a semi-regular basis with varying themes.

Whatdaya think? Any takers?

Here are the beers available at the sour fest:
Jolly Pumpkin Bam Biere
Jolly Pumpkin Bam Noir
Jolly Pumpkin E.S. Bam
Jolly Pumpkin Weizen Bam
Jolly Pumpkin Luciernaga "The Firefly"
Jolly Pumpkin La Roja
Jolly Pumpkin La Parcela
Deschutes Dissident
Mikkeller USAlive
Mikkeller Funky (e)* (funky e-star)
Red Rock Reve
Squatters 529
Squatters Fifth Element
Bacchus
Orval
Boulevard Saison-Brett
Boulevard Tank 7
De Ranke XX Bitter
Lindemans Faro
Lindemans Cuvee Rene

Cheers!

Mo, Mo'Town Brown

2011-11-01T04:56:00.000-07:00

If you live outside of Utah your most likely to equate Mo'Town with the city of Detroit. If you've been in Utah long enough you may have heard it as a reference to Salt Lake City. In our case the "Mo" is short for Mormon.

Enough of local pop culture. This returning champion from Squatters is an American style brown ale from their Small Batch Series. It's subtle with Chocolate, caramel and roasted malts balanced with big American citrus hops and have an ABV of 5.8%.

$5 per bomber out of Squatters' bottle shop and $9.99 at the table.

Cheers!

Winter Organic Mix'r

2011-10-27T05:37:00.000-07:00

Here's a "first" for local beer lovers. Uinta is now packaging their Organic Line in 100% organic 12 packs called the Organic Mix'r.

The first of the seasonal "mix'rs" is the Winter Organic Mix'r, featuring Wyld EPA, Baba Black Lager and Hazel Amber Wheat They should be hitting grocery store shelves anytime now.

Baba Black Lager: A wonderful blend of chocolate, coffee, and toffee combine with a swirl of caramel and vanilla build a nice complexity. The finish has a slight hop bite that brings a great balance. Very tasty black lager!

Wyld Extra Pale Ale: Floral hops with a nice grapefruit bite up front. A touch of orange peel which adds to the moderate bitterness of the beer. Toasted malts and bread give a decent amount of sweetness. One of my favorite session pales.

Hazel Amber Wheat: The taste is a classic wheat with a light twang of wet citrus along with some white grapes. A touch of honey-bread in the finish. Nice, crisp and clean.

Cheers!

Slackwater Pizza

2011-10-26T05:24:00.000-07:00

Weber County has a new beer-centric restaurant that's gunna make a lot of northern beer lovers happy.

Slackwater Pizza, located at 1895 Washington blvd in Ogden offers a varied menu that specializes in pizza of course, but also has beer menu that boasts nearly one hundred beers.

The only drawback for the casual craft beer lover is that this is a restaurant not a bar. Go in with that mindset and you should be fine.

If you love your beer it makes sense to patronize businesses that cater to you. It better for your community and it creates a demand for quality beers in areas that may get overlooked otherwise.

Cheers!

New Fall Beer News

2011-10-25T05:09:00.008-07:00

The Bayou just got a shload of great new beers in. If your in a funk and are looking for something unique to help get your groove back - listen up!

Jolly Pumpkin

La Roja: Crabapples and sour apples are the flavors that comes to mind, along with a little fruit juice and other bits of delicious sourness.

La Parcela: Sour apples and lemon peel combine along with a hint of funk. Pumpkin and light nutmeg spices really only come through in hints toward the end.

Bam: Taste is very tart and fruity with strong lemon notes upfront and lighter notes of orange and pear in the back along with light spice.

ES Bam: A great balance of hoppy and tart-funk. Like a funked-out Belgian IPA. Dry and tart; guava and exotic fruit flavors are also noticeable, they meld with the tropical-fruity hops.

Luciérnaga: Nicely tart, with tropical fruit notes of apple, banana and tangerine. Next comes a long spicy clove and coriander finish with some wild yeast funkiness and wee tangerine rind bitterness.

Mikkeller

Barrel Aged Chipotle Porter (Texas Ranger): A nice roasted malt flavor. There are some great coffee and chocolate flavors, along with a nice chipotle bite with very little heat. The finish has some lingering roasted bitterness and a bit of chipotle flavor.

Achel

Trappist Extra: Caramel, over-ripened fruits, plums, prunes and raisins. Sweet up front, but a little spicy in the finish. Alcohol flavors in the aftertaste. Moderate bitterness, medium bodied with moderately high carbonation.

Blonde: Grainy, with sweet honey, peach, apricot and spicy coriander. Light hoppy and dry aftertaste.

See something you like? I thought so.

Cheers!

I've Got a Bad Feeling About This...

2011-10-20T05:00:00.002-07:00

If you've ever had any dealings with the Utah Department of alcohol control you know that "shit happens when it happens ". And if you don't like it you can go somewhere else... and as we all know we can't go anywhere else. So we deal with it.

But I don't think that any of us had the slightest clue how screwed up things really are over there. A new audit of the DABC released Tuesday describes a climate of incompetent management, and possible criminal activity.

The audit accuses the former director Dennis Kellen of bid rigging, falsifying financial documents and sending hundreds of thousands of dollars in DABC business to his son's company, Flexpak, without the knowledge or approval of DABC commissioners.

In some cases the department was paying twice as much for products through Flexpak compared to what other vendors offered, according to audit details. The audit says there was so little oversight that thousands of dollars in taxpayer money went out the door.

I guarantee you that those in the legislature, who already look upon alcohol as burden on society will be plotting behind closed doors, to concoct irrational policies and laws to overcompensate for what Kellen's alleged bad management has wrought.

I fear 2012 will be good for the DABC, but another bad year for Utah's beer lovers.

Here's a link to the complete audit.

Cheers!

Golden Halo: Reborn

2011-10-18T05:55:00.000-07:00

Remember Golden Halo Blonde Ale from RedRock Brewing? It arrived nearly a year ago to mixed reviews. Some loved the extreme blend of Nobles hops and Pils malt, while others found the bitterness and earthiness too overwhelming.

Personally I liked it, but that damn label really made for some sleepless nights.

Beer Yogi, Kevin Templin has re-invented Golden Halo Blonde Ale and RedRock's art department has provided us with a more tranquil bottle to stare at.

The all new Golden Halo has a bright golden color with subdued malty character and Nobel hop aroma. Its crisp, clean flavor comes from a balance between German malt and Czech hops. It comes in RedRock's perfectly sized 500ml bottle with a 5.8% abv.

The reborn Golden Halo will debut today (10/18/11) at 5pm at RedRock Place (Fashion Place Mall).

Cheers!

New Beer Friday 10/14/11

2011-10-14T03:58:00.000-07:00

Today's new beer Friday brings early Xmas gifts for everyone, even non beer drinkers.

Hum Bug'r: This seasonal offering from MacTarnahan's has toasted sweet chocolate ans hints of mild hops up front. Mild sweet soft black malt light Porter body with light biscuit coffee cocoa hints. Mild hop spice clean smooth end. @ Beerhive.

For those of you that like beer but can't enjoy it because it's full of all that "gluten crap" - your in luck. Utah's first locally made gluten free beer is on tap right now for a limited time at Squatters.

Kick in the Glute: This is described as a pale ale-esq brew that incorporates both sourgum and rice along with cascade hops. Bitterness is kept on the mid range and it is also dryhopped.

Don't forget that the Wasatch 25th Anniversary party is tomorrow (15th) from 11am to 6pm at the City Park in Park City, Utah. There is no cost to attend the party. There will be a selection of seven Wasatch Beers, including a specially brewed batch of their inaugural beer, Wasatch Premium Ale. The cold beer will be a cash bar – 16 oz. draft beers are $3 and high alcohol Beers are $5 each. A commemorative pint glass will be available for $6 as well. The weather should be perfect!

Cheers!

"This One Day at Beer Camp"....

2011-10-12T05:51:00.000-07:00

About a year-and-a-half ago Sierra Nevada established "Beer Camp". The idea was to bring amateur brewers from all over to brainstorm & learn in an "an all-inclusive, hands-on, high-octane beer education bonanza!" It's been described by brewery officials, as nothing short of a Willy Wonka experience.

Those who were selected came up with many unique beers. Some of them are now available and for sale at the Bayou.

Called "The Best of Beer Camp," the pack includes a California common, double IPA, weizenbock, and American black ale. The following are SN's descriptions.

The California common (6.5 percent ABV) -- also known as a steam beer -- has a bready aroma with hints of sour apple. Orange-yellow in color and mildly hoppy, it has a bit of a citrus bite. The weizenbock (6.8 percent ABV) is a superb take on the style. Quite cloudy with a big, frothy head and an aroma that boasts lemon, bananas, and clove, it's incredibly tangy and somewhat spicy.

The Double IPA (8.50 percent ABV) -- Hoppy smell, with citrus the obvious primary sniff. A good combination of grapefruit and pine with some lemon battling to make some noise. Citrus hops dominate the initial taste, with grapefruit and pine battling for supremacy. Fairly bitter aftertaste. The bitter taste kept coming back, but it was pleasantly bitter. Medium body with moderate carbonation.

The Wiezenbock (6.60 percent ABV) -- Differnt from the normal Wiezenbock -- The aroma is sweet and malty with some spices (clove), banana, and yeast. There is no sign of alcohol in the nose whatsoever. The taste is equally as good as the aroma. The taste starts out with a lot of sweetness with some wheat and banana. The clove flavors come in next along with some yeast and a touch of warmth from the alcohol in the finish.

The Black Ale -- called Juniper Black Ale (8 percent ABV), because it's brewed with juniper berries -- provides healthy doses of malt and hops. Dark brown with a strong scent of roasted malts and notes of burnt chocolate, it offers sweetness up front and bitterness on the back end. The double IPA (8.5 percent ABV) has a big citrus nose and a hops assault that brings to mind fresh oranges and pineapples.

All are at the Bayou now and possibly state-wide soon.

Cheers!

Epic & DC Brau Collaboration Beer

2011-10-10T06:55:00.001-07:00

There are two places in the United States notoriously known for their lack of representation. Washington D.C., which has none - and Utah, who's minority drinkers are a nuisance more that constituents.

It seems likely that factions from both places would find some common ground and rage against those that choose not to hear them. Leave it to the beer industry to rock the boat.

Last week, Jeff Hancock, the head brewer at DC Brau Brewing Co., was in Salt Lake City working on a “collaboration” beer with Kevin Crompton, the head brewer at Epic Brewing Co.

The brewers collaborated on the recipe for a new Imperial Pumpkin Porter, which will be called Fermentation without Representation. While the brewers will follow the same recipe, they don’t expect the beers to taste exactly the same.

Crompton heads to the D.C. brewery soon to help Hancock make batches of the new fall-flavored brew for their market. Collaboration beers are a big trend in the brewing industry, said Crompton. He said it’s a great way for brewers to get together, learn things from one another and of course build unity.

Both beers will be released in Salt Lake and D.C. on Nov. 3.

I love the name. Too bad it will only be seen seasonally instead of daily - as a reminder to lawmakers of their failings.

Cheers!

Head Brewer Wanted at Squatters

2011-10-07T06:30:00.001-07:00

We are all sad that Jen is leaving Squatters, but somebody has to step in and take on the task of keeping the beer flowing.

If you think you have the nads to fill her rubber boots - Squatters is taking applications for the position of head brewer.

Salt Lake Brewing Co., LC / SQUATTERS is an innovative restaurant group rooted in world-class beer, exceptional food and service, a welcoming atmosphere, and an ongoing commitment to people, planet and profit. We are seeking a HEAD BREWER to join our team. Check us out at www.squatters.com.

We offer a competitive compensation and benefits package, including medical, dental, long-term disability insurance, 401(k) plan, paid time off policy, bonus program and much more.

The HEAD BREWER has total oversight for the brewery operations and facilities. Responsibilities include, but, are not limited to:

Inventory and scheduling
Maintenance and sanitation
New beer design and recipe formulation
Wort production, cellar operations, carbonation, yeast handling
Supports brewing, cellar and bottling operations
Supports removals and filtration
Quality assurance and quality control
Festival and competition participation

The role includes beer education, service and training for all staff. The Head Brewer is a member of the Support Management Team, plays an active role in product development, promotes the Squatters brand in various mediums, and participates in a wide range of cultural, community, business and media events.

REQUIRES:
Minimum 3 years in a professional brewing/equivalent experience.
1+ years of supervisory experience, preferred.
Financial and computer skills.
Ability to work under pressure and independently, as well as in a team-oriented environment.
Works flexible hours - whatever it takes to get the job done.
Troubleshoots and solves problems re product or equipment.
Physical demands.

Interested and qualified candidates can send their resumes to carol@squatters.com.

Cheers!

THANK YOU, Jenny!

2011-10-06T05:47:00.000-07:00

It's a sad day for Utah's beer community. One of it's brightest and most innovative stars is leaving us after 20 years of enthusiasm, passion & perfection.

Squatters' Brewmaster, Jenny Talley has accepted a tremendous opportunity with the CRAFT BREWERS ALLIANCE, INC., an organization comprised of Widmer Brothers, Red Hook, and Kona Brewing Co. operating breweries in Portland, OR, Woodinville, WA, Portsmith, NH, and Kona, HI.

Jenny and her family will be relocating to Washington to become the Brewing Operations Manager at the Woodinville brewery where she’ll work in close coordination with the Plant Manager, Packaging Manager, and respective teams of employees to produce approximately 170,000 barrels of beer annually.

Jenny has always been hungry to learn and pursue new challenges, this opportunity will provide her with the knowledge to take her art to the next level.

I don't want this to sound like a eulogy, because it's not. No doubt there will be a hole in our hearts and mugs but life and the brew schedule goes on. The beer will flow and it will do so with a new equally talented brewer at the helm.

Jenny will be around Squatters for another week or so. Stop in, I'm sure she'd appreciate the well wishes.

Personally I'd like to thank Jenny for her friendship and for keeping my tongue so very happy. Also, please send me a growler of some of that killer Widmer Alt!

Cheers!

Photos: Francisco Kjolseth | The Salt Lake Tribune

Attack of the Märzens!!!

2011-10-05T06:00:00.000-07:00

A long time ago in a place far far away there were these people who made this incredible beer for a royal... Sorry. Can't do it. I had this plan for a cheesy-ass sci-fi story to go with the awesome title up there, but I just don't want to put you through it. So let's get on with it.

Yes, that's right the Märzens are attacking! they come from Squatters, Epic & Hoppers.

First up is Squatters' Oktoberfest. It pours a warm orange brown color with a firm, creamy white head. The nose is full of clean toasty malts with a bit of subtle nutty character. The taste starts with lots of crisp, smokey malts, biscuit tones and a good citrusy hop twang. Vanilla, orange peel and a spices lingering towards the finish. The bitter hops meld with a slight malt smokiness into the after taste. Very well balanced and highly drinkable with an ABV of 5.5%. 500ml bottle.

Next up is Epic's Oktoberfest. Look for it under the Festdevious label - batch #6. Pours a clear orange and amber with a moderately sized near-white head. The nose is grassy with an earthy hop character combined with a touch of caramel malt. The taste starts with quite a bit of toasted and caramel malt with a bit of vanilla sweetness. Next comes some sharp, grassy hops. Finishes slightly earthy. Overall, this is a classic, very drinkable Oktoberfest. 22oz. bottle

Finally we have the the 2011 Gold medal winning Märzen from the Great American Beer Festival. Stein Knocker from Hoppers. Pours an orange/copper color with a finger of white foam. The nose is of vanilla, earthiness, caramel, and a slight fruitiness. The taste begins on a caramel malty note, evolving to a vanilla/malt note, and then finishing with a clean and edgy orange peel dryness that cleanses the palate just as the malt elements start to compound and sticks around. Crisp and clean. This is a pretty solid interpretation on the style. 12oz. bottle.

Your best bets for all are at their respective locations. Though some may be available at you finer beer bars.

Also. The City of Provo has approved the sale of beer on Sunday in grocery and convenience stores. This has not happened in the span of most of our lives. I suspect that life will go on without a hiccup. Congrats, Provo beer lovers!

Prost!

BrewDog Dogma in SLC

2011-10-04T06:33:00.000-07:00

BrewDog Brewing out of Fraserburgh, Scotland makes some of the strangest, most innovative beer in the world. "Bayou Mark" brings them into Salt Lake occasionally and his latest acquisition is one of the strangest yet.

Dogma is an ale, brewed with guarana, poppy seeds and kola nut all blended together with Scottish heather honey.

The nose has some honey sweetness with a spice, boozy, yeasty, fruitiness. The taste is slightly sweet and malty up front, there's a nice lingering spicy hop profile that lingers on through the finish keeping it balanced. Honey is only faintly noticed and there is definitely a nuttiness. Not sure exactly what to make this beer, it's very flavorful but muddled. Not sure if it's the hops or combination of the unique ingredients being used. @ The Bayou.

Cheers!

Utah's 2011 Great American Beer Festival Winners

2011-10-01T14:07:00.001-07:00

There were 3,930 beers & 526 breweries at this year's Great Ametican Beer Festival. With all those talented brewers and their delicious beers you had to be top notch to earn an award.

Utah's Crew did not dissapoint! Here are the winning entries from Utah.

Utah's GABF Winners
3,930 beers 526 breweries

Silver: Uinta/Travis Grimm - Pro/Am

Silver: Epic Brainless on Peaches - Fruit beer

Gold: Squatters Provo Girl Pils - Session Beer

Gold: Hoppers Stein Knocker Oktoberfest - Marzen

Bronze: Epic Imperial IPA - Imperial IPA

Silver: RedRock Brown Ale - American Brown

Gold: Squatters Fifth Element 2008- Belgian lambic

Cheers!

Still Drinking Their Share and Selling the Rest

2011-09-29T06:55:00.000-07:00

Looking at the way the Utah legislature has been operating as of late it seems their doing their best to keep Utah's beer lovers down. But as bad as some say it is, it has been far worse. For roughly 25 years there was absolutely no beer production in Utah. Then in 1986 That all changed when Greg Schirf opened the Wasatch Brewpub in Park City.

Ever since then Schirf and Wasatch have been doing their best to keep Utah's beer scene on the map. For instance - remember 2003? The Utah Legislature decided to add a $1.88 tax increase on every barrel of beer produced in Utah. In protest Schirf and his employees dressed as Ben Franklin/Patriots and hosted their own version of the Boston Tea Party at the Great Salt Lake, spraying 64 gallons of beer into the lake.

The stunt got national attention but did little to change the minds of lawmakers.

To celebrate their anniversary, Wasatch is throwing a huge Beer Bash on Saturday October 15th from 11am to 6pm at the City Park in Park City, Utah. There is no cost to attend the party. There will be a selection of seven Wasatch Beers, including a specially brewed batch of their inaugural beer, Wasatch Premium Ale. The cold beer will be a cash bar – 16 oz. draft beers are $3 and high alcohol Beers are $5 each. A commemorative pint glass will be available for $6 as well.

For more info on the Celebration click here

Also, we're leaving for Denver in a few hours to attend the Great American Beer Festival. We'll have all the info on how Utah's Breweries fare in the competition, including the Pro/Am.

Cheers!

Pictured above: Former Park City Mayor Hal Taylor and Greg Schirf tap the first Keg of Wasatch Brew

DABC Show: Utah Beer Fest

2011-09-28T06:30:00.000-07:00

Today's Episode of the DABC Show Bill and Steve go to the 2nd City Weekly Utah Beer Festival. Was It great? Did it suck? Did they buy a belt buckle? Only your discerning eye can tell.

Rocket Across America: The Zion Curtain

2011-09-27T06:21:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago a couple of guys from New York were passing though Salt Lake looking for a good story. Reporter Justin Rocket Silverman and videographer Vivek Kemp of The Daily have been traveling on a cross-country expedition to find the best, the boldest, and the strangest our nation has to offer.

As luck would have it, Justin & Vivek got into town the day the Zion Curtain controversy was on the lips of of everyone in the state. He contacted me, hoping someone could help explain this local oddity that had been causing such a buzz.

Here's what they came up with. An outsiders eyes on what was likely the weirdest part of their cross country trip.

Cheers!

A Possible Beacon of Light

2011-09-21T06:27:00.003-07:00

Today the Senate Business and Labor Confirmation Committee; you know them, they're the branch of the legislature that muddle our brilliantly freakish liquor laws.

Anyway, these "Mensas" are looking to appoint a new director to head up the DABC. Right now the department is being temporarily managed by Francine Giani who is currently the Executive Director of the Utah Department of Commerce.

Giani has been a steadfast consumer advocate as well as the Director of the Division of Consumer Protection from 1992 - December 2005.

Francine is due to go before the Senate Business and Labor Confirmation Committee this morning to convince them she's the one for the job. I believe she is.

I don't know Francine personally just professionally, I've interviewed and had conversations with her. She's bright, seems full of common sense and is not a Utah native (New York). Though she is LDS, she did grow up grounded in reality.

She could be the beacon in the darkness that we've been hoping for. If appointed, let's hope the Legislature doesn't completely crush her will and spirit. Good luck today, Francine.

Cheers!

photo: Salt Lake Trib

The Beer Pipeline

2011-09-20T05:12:00.000-07:00

Admit it... you tolerate my B.S. because of that whole "beer pipeline" thing we have going on here. It's the promise of new beer that keeps you coming back. I am your bitch. Today I hope the bitch doesn't dissapoint.

First there's Epic's Pro-Am Scotch Ale (under Festdevious #5). This beer was brewed with local award winning homebrewer Mike Hahn. Mike's Scotch will be entered into the Great American Beer Festivals Pro/Am Competition.

Pours a nice burnt copper/orange color with a thick two fingered white head. The nose is of caramel, bread, citrus, pine, smoke and some whiskey notes. The taste starts smooth and malty with a nice toffee and nutty maltiness. Next come notes of smoke and whiskey. The finish has some lingering toffee. @ Epic, Bayou, Beerhive, Whever Epic beers are sold (soon).

Las Vegas' Tenaya Creek brewery was founded by ex Utahn/Uinta Brewer Tim Etter. Since entering the market last March their beers have only been available at the Beerhive. Now the Bayou has them as well. Look for Hop Ride India Pale Ale, Calico Brown Ale & Tandem Double India Pale Ale (limited release).

Cheers!

Big Bad Baptist

2011-09-19T05:49:00.000-07:00

Remember Jack Mormon Coffee Stout from Epic? It was a big hit with beer lovers, but not the DABC.

The DABC found the name offensive and wouldn't allow it to be sold in Utah's liquor stores. I guess they were worried about the massive influx of Mormon traffic that Utah's liquor stores are famous for.

Anyway, now we have the Big Bad Baptist. I guess we'll find out if the Baptist have a sense of humor with these sort of things.

Epic's BBB is reminiscent of Jack Mormon but has the added benefit of bourbon barrel aging.

The nose is of roasted coffee, chocolate as well as some cherries & vanilla. The Taste starts with espesso followed hints of vanilla & bourbon. Next comes some sweetness, almost molasses-like, but not cloying at all. Slightly woody in the finish. Alcohol is present but it's not in your face. Full-bodied and heavy. The coffee leaves nice lingering roasted notes on your palette. Carbonation is perfect and creamy.

Big Bad Baptist is available starting today at Epic and should be creeping into places where you'll find Epic's Exponential Series soon.

Cheers!

New Beer Friday 9/16/11: Hop Notch IPA

2011-09-16T14:42:00.002-07:00

We're a little late today, but better late then never! There one beer today, it's local and a lot of people have been looking forward to it.

Hop Notch IPA is believe it or not, Uinta's first regular IPA. Sure, the Trader IPA has been around for years but it's 4.0% and Detour is a superb Double IPA but there has never been a "to style IPA" 'till now.

I know nothing about it. I assume it's an American Style and delicious. It's for sale right now at Uinta's Little Big Beer Store at the brewery, soon to be everywhere. If you get one before we do, give us a review dammit!

Cheers!

The DABC Show: Bohemian Brewery

2011-09-15T04:21:00.001-07:00

Czech, this out! Bill and Steve head over to the Bohemian Brewery to learn why great beer and being Czech go hand in hand. They also discover the joy of pairing great beer and great food. Then they show you a great place to Belly Up and drink. Plus the lost interviews from Idaho Falls, a homebrewing tip from a pro and the science behind great 4% beer!

Cheers!

Tanks A Lot!

2011-09-14T04:13:00.002-07:00

In the last few years, many of Utah’s home-grown breweries have been venturing out into the continental U.S. and, in some cases, the world, exposing people to the award-winning suds we’ve always known and enjoyed.

As a local beer lover, you may or may not have an interest in this. "Can my favorite brewery meet the national demand without affecting my beer enjoyment"? Simply the answer is "yes"!

50% of the breweries in the state are or have undergone a major expansion and a good percentage of the the other half - have something in the planning stages.

With beer production it's all about the fermentation tanks. Apart from barrel aging the fermentors spend more time nurturing the beer than any other vessel in the brewery.

In recent months a serious amount of stainless steel has made it's way into the state at great expense to to the breweries. I thought I'd share some images of the new hardware that's cradling some of your favorite Beers.

Utah Brewers Cooperative's Gargantuan 200 barrel fermenter

Epic's 40 barrel fermenters

Shades of Pale's new whirlpool tank

And there's more coming. Moab's new and improved brewhouse with all new equipment will be up and running soon, Shades of Pale Brewing is already looking at expanding their operations and Zion Canyon Brewing is in the process of building a new brewpub in Springdale.

Some State Legislators may be trying to hold you back, but that's not stopping breweries from moving forward to meet the increasing demand.

And, there's a new poll!

Cheers!

Beers You're No Longer Drinking

2011-09-13T04:00:00.001-07:00

If your readings this, odds are you mainly pursue craft beer brands. Would it surprise you to know that these smaller craft brands are slowly "putting the hurt" on the big boys, and their sales are falling.

There are eight beers that Americans are drinking less and less of. Some of them may surprise you.

8. Budweiser
Sales loss (2006-2010): -30%
Brewer: Anheuser-Busch InBev
Barrels sold (2010): 18 million.

7. Milwaukee’s Best Light
Sales loss (2006-2010): -34%
Brewer: MillerCoors Brewing
Barrels sold (2010): 1.3 million.

6. Miller Genuine Draft
Sales loss (2006-2010): -51%
Brewer: MillerCoors Brewing
Barrels sold (2010): 1.8 million

5. Old Milwaukee
Sales loss (2006-2010): -52%
Brewer: MillerCoors Brewing
Barrels sold (2010): 525,000

4. Milwaukee’s Best
Sales loss (2006-2010): -53%
Brewer: MillerCoors Brewing
Barrels sold (2010): 925,000

3. Bud Select
Sales loss (2006-2010): -60%
Brewer: Anheuser-Busch InBev
Barrels sold (2010): 925,000

2. Michelob Light.
Sales loss (2006-2010): -64%
Brewer: Anheuser-Busch InBev
Barrels sold (2010): 525,000

1. Michelob
Sales loss (2006-2010): -72%
Brewer: Anheuser-Busch InBev
Barrels sold (2010): 175,000

Oddly enough, Michelob; the most palatable of the eight (in my opinion) is tanking fast. I don't know what the average price point is here, but I suspect it's a significant factor.

What do you attribute to this slide?

Cheers!

Source: 24/7 Wall St. used two databases to do its analysis. One is kept by SymphonyIRI Group, one of the largest consumer research firms in the U.S. The other is from specialist research firm, beer marketer’s INSIGHTS, Inc.

New Beer Friday 9/9/11

2011-09-09T03:52:00.005-07:00

Today we have three new style bending beers that frankly defy categorization. And just in case you missed last nights post Uinta's Jacked Imperial Pumpkin should be on sale today at the brewery.

North Coast Grand Cru: Pours a rich golden color, with a large quickly dissipating head. The nose is of apple, pear, honey and vanilla. The tastes starts with pear, raisins and sweet caramel. Dark fruits come next with slight bourbon notes. The finish is boozy and phenolic. This is one sweet som' bitch and it's 12.9% abv is not something to take lightly. @ Beerhive.

Deschutes/Boulevard Collaboration No. 2 - White IPA: The nose is of lemon and grapefruit with notes of coriander, pepper and Belgian yeast. The taste starts with coriander and orange peel with hints of lemongrass. Next comes a malty spiness that transitions into a hoppy, bitter - west coast IPA finish. This is an anomaly. It's like a Saison and a Belgian IPA got drunk while listening to the Conan The Barbarian Soundtrack (Arnold) and had a kid. Yeah, I know!
@ Beerhive & Bayou.

Epic's Brainless on Cherries #5: This one is unique from the others because it was aged in red wine barrels instead of white wine. It's described as less sweet as the dryer red wine adds more tannin and tartness to round out the cherries and malty sweetness of the beer. Sound like the dryer #5 will be more complementary toward the fruit. Can't wait to try it. @ Epic

Crom!

Jacked-Up!

2011-09-08T17:31:00.000-07:00

This is a "Pre-New Beer Friday" announcement.

I have good news & bad news. The good news is That Oak Jacked Imperial Wood Aged Pumpkin Ale will be available for sale starting tomorrow! (9/9/11). The bad news is that the DABC has it's head up their collective asses (big surprise I know) and will only allow it to be sold at the brewery. Sorry to all you non-Wasatch Front beer lovers... the state has boned you once again.

If the availability issue changes we'll let you know as soon as it happens. As always call before heading over to the brewery.

Provo to Legalize Beer on Sunday?

2011-09-07T23:27:00.000-07:00

In recent weeks Utah's beer community has been dealt a few blows when it comes to the the availability of beer. It's evil and should be hidden from view in places where it's siren song can entice children onto it's jagged rocks.

Provo, one of the most conservative and LDS places in Utah currently bans the sale of low point beers on Sunday. That may change. "This could be the end of Provo-bition," quipped Councilwoman Sherrie Hall Everett.

The Municipal Council agreed Tuesday to put an ordinance permitting Sunday beer sales on the agenda for the Sept. 20 council work session. The goal: Tap into the beer consumers who drive through Provo to Springville or other cities to get a six-pack on Sunday.

"To me, this is a no-brainer," Councilman Sterling Beck said. "We’re losing revenue by not legalizing it." James Olsen, president of the Utah Beer Wholesalers Association, hasn’t had a chance to discuss the ordinance with his members, but he said it could reduce drunken driving. He reasoned that if people drive farther to get beer, they may be tempted to drink it before they get home.

Who'd a thunk it, Provo? I'm sure Sen. Valentine is revving up the his overconsumption mobile to squash this craziness before it begins.

Cheers!

Source: Salt Lake Trib

Uinta 2.0

2011-09-07T05:48:00.001-07:00

Last April Uinta Brewing Company decided that they were going with a new look. Gone was the iconic bottle cap that we had all grown up with and in it's place, a new - slicker design that took on a more of "outdoorsy" encompassing feel.

Back then we thought it was just the logo. Sure, we anticipated that it would be integrated into the same ol' labels, but I don't think any of us anticipated the scope of change we were in for.

Not only are we looking at new artwork, but and entirely new bottle as well - Uinta designed a custom, proprietary 12 ounce bottle as part of the redesign project. Referred to as the “compass bottle,” the new bottle shape is branded by a 360-degree compass embossed into the bottle’s shoulder. That's it up above. Click on it and check it out. I think it's pretty sharp.

Those aren't the only changes coming your way from Uinta. The Four+ brand is going away and all labels under that brand will now fall under the Uinta umbrella. Who knows, that Rype hoodie that you've been sport'n to all of those artsy-fartsy gallery openings may be a collectable some day.

Uinta’s “Organic Line” replaces the Four+ Series. The Organic Line includes three full-time brands: Baba Black Lager (New!), Wyld Extra Pale Ale; and Monkshine Belgian Blonde Ale. The line features four seasonal brands: Hazel Amber Wheat (new!); Punk’n Harvest Pumpkin Ale; Sum’r Summer Ale; and Hyve Honey Ale.

Uinta’s “Classic Line” will consist of eight full-time brews varying from 4.0 to 10.4% abv: Hop Notch IPA (New!); Cutthroat Pale Ale; Dubhe Imperial Black IPA; Anniversary Barley Wine; Golden Spike Hefeweizen; Hoodoo Kolsch; King’s Peak Porter; and Trader Session IPA. The seasonal brands include Bristlecone Brown Ale; Yard Sale Winter Lager; and Skipping Stone Summer Lager.

Uinta’s ‘Crooked Line’ preserves its tradition of engaging local artists to design the labels for untraditional beers packaged in 750ml cork finished bottles.

You may have noticed that there are three new beers coming. Hop Notch IPA (yea!), Baba Black Lager & Hazel Amber wheat. I have to admit that I'm a little bummed the Gelende name is going away and I'm gunna miss the Anniversary Barleywine labels. As long as the beer is the same, I'll get over it.

I give the guys at Uinta credit, this is no small undertaking. A re-branding of this magnitude ain't cheap. I think the new look will be a hit.

Here are the labels that'll be cluttering up your fridge in the coming weeks. Watcha think?

Click to enlarge

Cheers!

22 Years and Still Pouring

2011-09-05T11:06:00.004-07:00

Twenty-two years ago today, Squatters poured their first beers for customers, and ever since tongues around the state have been much happier.

Later this afternoon/evening Squatters will be taping Crested Trail Pale Ale. An uber hoppy pale that makes grown men giggle like schoolgirls.

Get on it! this one doesn't last long.
Cheers!

New Beer Friday 9/2/11

2011-09-02T05:52:00.003-07:00

Whew... man, what a crazy beer week. I don't know if you noticed, but you don't fuck with a Utahans beerfest. Christ, many of you brought your "A" games to the forum along with throwing stars, nunchakus and baseball bats when it came to the Utah Beerfest analysis.

You were also full of piss and vinegar when it came to Senator Valentine's pious bullshit on X96's Radio From Hell Show. After all the frustration & irritation of the past week, we're gunna make sure it ends right.

This weeks new beer selections are as yummy as they are different.

First off is Full Sail's Elevation IIPA: The nose is very floral and grassy with a mild sugary sweetness. The taste starts with citrusy grapefruit up front, floral and perfumey hops take over coming in behind the initial citrus hit. Smoothing sugary sweetness underneath the hops and into the finish. Not the best or the worst IIPA I've had but it's a limited edition, so it'll likely not be available again.

Next is Deschutes' Black Butte XXIII Porter: This is "the shit". Pours brown with hints of tinted ruby red on the sides. The nose is slightly vinous with notes of cocoa, vanilla and oak. The taste starts with intense cocoa, roasted malts, molasses and oak. The end is full of vanilla, cinnamon and bourbon. The finish is bitter and boozy. The flavors are spot on for the style. Everything is nicely balanced. A great beer that will just get better with age.

Both are in select liquor stores around the state.

Also, Uinta is still waiting on the state to approve their Jacked Imperial Pumpkin Ale. As soon as it gets the green light we'll let you know.

Cheers!

Thanks, Radio From Hell!

2011-08-31T20:25:00.000-07:00

On Monday news broke of the return of the So-called "Zion Curtain". These are opaque partitions that separate diners from bartenders keeping the evils of alcohol out of view of dinners. This time around these ridiculous walls are now closing on eateries whose only alcoholic beverage is beer... 3.2 beer to be exact! The lowest of the low alcoholic beverages.

Yesterday in a stroke of lucky scheduling Radio From Hell on X96 had scored a interview with Orem Senator John Valentine. If you not familiar, Valentine is the Chairman of the Senate Business and Labor Committee. This is where all liquor legislation in the state lives or dies before going to the House and Senate. Coincidentally, Valentine is the author of most of the asinine and prohibitive laws that have come around in recent memory. Including the "Zion Curtain".

The radio From Hell interview started amiable enough with Valentine explaining the reasons for the proposed liquor store closures, but soon gave way to frustration and question dodging.

Valentine's lack of candor sent hosts, Bill Allred and Kerry Jackson's frustrations on fire as the two peppered Valentine with accusations of doubles speak while co-host Gina Barberi tried to keep the peace.

It wasn't a text book lesson in "interviewing" but they said shit that I've been wanting to convey to Valentine for years. I was getting so frustrated at some of the admissions that were made by the Orem Senator, I nearly had to pull off to the side of the road.

If this pious bullshit frustrates you like it does me, I urge you to check out the entire interview here and give us your thoughts. Thanks, RFH!

Cheers!

Hop Harvest Help!

2011-08-30T06:00:00.001-07:00

Oh my Brothas and Sistas.... I feeel your souls are heavy.... I feeel that your Karma is as thin as the rice paper beneath Quai Chang Kane's feet (look it up).

I offer you salvation.... yes, salvation that can only come from working the land... from being one with the soil... oh and did I mention that it pays in beer?

Our Brotha, Chris Haas - Brewmaster at Desert Edge Brewery needs your help making his special all local, wild hopped beer, Radius.

If you have the time, Chris could really use a few extra hands today. Meet at Desert Edge (The Pub) at 10am or email Chris at brews@xmission.com to find out where they are.

Be sure to wear long pants and shirt sleaves, the hop leaves can be very scratchy.

Did I mention it pays in beer?

Cheers!

2011 Utah Beerfest Recap

2011-08-29T04:03:00.002-07:00

Well it looks like the critiques have been coming in on the second annual Utah Beerfest and they've for the most part been less then kind.

And deservedly so. Many people had to wait in huge lines for a chance to snag a small mug of beer, some not getting a chance spend the tokens that came with their ticket. That sucks, but it's not necessarily the fault of the festival's organizers.

I've been to a lot of beer festivals around the west, some done well - some not so well. This one was done well - and I'll tell you why. They learned from what didn't work last year, they listened, gathered feedback and implemented what what they could.

The problem with the beerfest is the state of Utah. This market (Salt Lake) is too big to have a beerfest of such limited size. The last beerfest held in Salt Lake was over four years prior to 2010's fest, and in that time beer, or should I say craft beer has exploded in popularity.

In a market of similar size you wouldn't see problems like massive lines for beer, because you would have at least triple the number of breweries in attendance. That won't happen in Utah because of the brilliant 4.0% limit on draft law.

Many out of state breweries would love to attend a Utah Beer Festival, they're just not willing to go through the expense and bullshit to attend. No brewery in their right mind would send hundreds of cases of bottles from out of state, when they could send two or three kegs instead.

What I'm saying is, don't blame the organizers (City Weekly) they did a fine job with what they had to work with. The Wasatch Front is just to damn big to have a beerfest of such limited size. One possible fix could be to spread it out over two days with less tickets for sale.

What do you think? Is this about Utah's limitations or something else?

And on a side note. The breweries were amazing. The quality of the beers were as good as you'd find in the finest beer markets. Thanks to you all for such great craft beers!

Cheers!

New Beer Friday: Jacked Imperial Pumpkin

2011-08-26T10:44:00.006-07:00

New Beer Friday came late but it came with a vengeance!

Uinta Brewing Company introduces the newest addition to their Crooked Line of beers, Oak Jacked Imperial Wood Aged Pumpkin Ale. Whew, that's a mouthful... “Jacked” is a very limited, seasonal beer, only 850 cases were produced.

Jacked is brewed with fresh pumpkin and fall spices and has been aging in Oak barrels for 6 months. The oak barrels add subtle nuances of toasted vanilla and bourbon notes. With an ABV of 10.31% (a play on the date of Halloween), Jacked is a big, unique pumpkin ale.

Jacked was supposed to debut tomorrow at the Utah Beerfest, but it looks like Uinta is still waiting on the DABC for approval. If you don't see it tomorrow it will be available in bars and liquor stores in the coming days and weeks.

See you at the Utah Beer Festival.

Cheers!

2011 Utah Beer Festival Reminder

2011-08-24T06:10:00.001-07:00

If your planning on attending the Utah Beer Festival this Saturday, August 27th - you'd better start getting that hamster wheel in your head turn'n soon. Your gunna need tickets (they are limited), a ride (you know why) and a little mental preparation (you don't want to be that douche that ruins it for the rest of us).

If you a homebrewer, there will be free glass beer bottles to take home with you after the fest, just visit the SLC Brew Supplies booth at the festival to sign up. Bottles will be set aside for those who signed up and available to pick up after 5 at the designated area.

It's gunna be damn hot! So plan accordingly. Also keep the kids at home. They're not allowed - besides you don't want them seeing you at your worst anyway. It's not for you, it's not good for them.

Here's a map of the fest to help you plan out your attack. Click on it to enlarge. Hope to see you there!

Cheers!

DABC Show Ep 1.5 The Mountain Brewer's Beer Festival

2011-08-23T05:55:00.001-07:00

In Today's episode of Drinking Alcoholic Beverages Constantly, our intrepid duo explore the Mountain Brewers Festival in Idaho Falls, Idaho. If you've never attended a beer festival out of state, this will give you a good idea of what your missing out on, as far as variety goes. Also, There is a new poll!

Cheers!

2011 Beehive Brew-off Winners

2011-08-22T06:22:00.002-07:00

The Third Annual Beehive Brew-off has come and gone and this year saw a record number of entries. Nearly 500 entries were submitted covering just about every style under the sun.

Here are the winners. Congrats to all!

Beehive Brew Off 2011 Results
August 20-21st 2011
Sponsored by The Beer Nut/ZZHops
482 Entries
==========================================================================
1 Light Lager (9 Entries)
Mike Johnson Standard American Lager 1B Standard American 1
Scott Hunt Mow my lawn bitch 1B Standard American 2
James Nicodemus Stella 1C Premium American 3
==========================================================================
2 Pilsner (15 Entries)
Scott Hunt Cup Czech Pils 2B Bohemian Pilsner 1
Vince Stuart G.P. Lite 2B Bohemian Pilsner 2
Marti Dana Pile Driver Pils 2B Bohemian Pilsner 3
==========================================================================
3 Euro Amber Lager (13 Entries)
Bryan Van Winkle Vee Dub Vienna 3A Vienna Lager 1
Travis Grimm Festbier 3B Oktoberfest 2
John Hansen Autumn Rush 3B Oktoberfest 3
==========================================================================
4 Dark Lager (12 Entries)
Tracy Johancsik Dawn's Dunkel 4B Munich Dunkel 1
John Hansen Celestial Swartzbier 4C Schwarzbier 2
Vince Stuart Wagner Wobble 4C Schwarzbier 3
==========================================================================
5 Bock (12 Entries)
Mike Mirabella The Crushinator 5C Doppelbock 1
Travis Grimm Detonator 5C Doppelbock 2
Scott Hunt Flocculator 5C Doppelbock 3
==========================================================================
6 A,B,C Light Hybrid (16 Entries)
Alex Lemieux and Tory Clayton K-Beer 6C Koelsch 1
Alex Lemieux and Tory Clayton Summer Blonde 6B Blond Ale 2
Andrew Swan Centennial Blonde 6B Blond Ale 3
==========================================================================
6D American Wheat/Rye (13 Entries)
Matt Lewis Rye Know Why 6D American Wheat or Rye Beer 1
Mike Mirabella The Why of Rye 6D American Wheat or Rye Beer 2
Tom Shivers American Wheat 6D American Wheat or Rye Beer 3
==========================================================================
7 Amber Hybrids (9 Entries)
John Knoop Munich Lager 7C Dusseldorf Altbier 1
Rob Phillips Steam Bound for CA 7B California Common Beer 2
Alan Burnham Session Common 7B California Common Beer 3
==========================================================================
8 English Pale Ales (14 Entries)
Scott Hunt Tigershark esb 8B Special/Best/Premium Bitter 1
Sean Meegan ESB Easy as 123 8C Extra Special/Strong Bitter (EPA) 2
Robert Glenn Wanker ESB 8C Extra Special/Strong Bitter (EPA) 3
==========================================================================
9 Scottish and Irish Ale (14 Entries)
Kyle Callister Dressing up Scottish Scottish 80/- 1
Matt Walker Biscuits For Smut Strong Scotch Ale 2
Michael Goode and Allison Truong Snowshoe Heavy AleStrong Scotch Ale 3
==========================================================================
10A American Pale (25 Entries)
Justin Kingsford JPA (Justin Pale Ale) 10A American Pale 1
Aaron Smith and Izaak WiermanWhipping Post Pale 10A American Pale 2
Eric Brauser Kickback APA 10A American Pale 3
==========================================================================
10B American Amber (16 Entries)
Trent Bangert Angus Ale 10B American Amber 1
Justin Kingsford Amber Ale 10B American Amber 2
Josh Van Jura Abolishian Amber 10B American Amber 3
==========================================================================
10C American Brown (6 Entries)
Paul Gailey Trip One 10C American Brown 1
Trent Bangert Yep, Yep, Yep, Yep 10C American Brown 2
Michael Brown YAJB 10C American Brown 3
==========================================================================
11 English Brown Ale (8 Entries)
Travis Grimm Mental Mild 11A Mild 1
Dallas Barlow Rated X 11A Mild 2
Doug Kirchner Celtic Mild 11A Mild 3
==========================================================================
12 Porter (23 Entries)
Mike Johnson Robust Porter 12B Robust Porter 1
Andrew Jensen Baltic Porter 12C Baltic Porter 2
Dave Watson Porter Starboard 12A Brown Porter 3
==========================================================================
13 Stout (19 Entries)
Steve Furse Strongman Stout 13C Oatmeal Stout 1
Weston Barkley Building Blocks 13A Dry Stout 2
Connor Papineau Aesthetics of hate 13E American Stout 3
==========================================================================
13F Russian Imperial Stouts (6 Entries)
Trent Bangert Court of Catherine Russian Imperial Stout 1
Ricky Hansing and Quinn Eskelsen Trojan Horse Russian Imperial Stout 2
Brad Williams Russian Imperial Stout Russian Imperial Stout 3
Jeremy Geiger Risky RIS Russian Imperial Stout 3
==========================================================================
14 India Pale Ale (29 Entries)
Lawrence Ostroski Rose Park IPA 14B American IPA 1
Scott Hunt IPA 74 14B American IPA 2
James Mancuso and Connor Forbes Drop it Like it is Hop American IPA 3
==========================================================================
14C Imperial IPA (9 Entries)
Chris Detrick Jack Morman Rye IPA 14C Imperial IPA 1
Travis Grimm Infirmary Double IPA 14C Imperial IPA 2
Phillip Davis Imperial IPA 14C Imperial IPA 3
==========================================================================
15 German Wheat and Rye (15 Entries)
Ed Scott Weizenbock 15C Weizenbock 1
Dallas Barlow Kick Ass Wedding Wheat 15A Weizen 2
Kyle Callister At Night Weizen 15B Dunkelweizen 3
==========================================================================
16A Witbier (7 Entries)
Don Gladfelter None 16A Witbier 1
Sarah Nelson Wit 16A Witbier 2
James Mancuso and Connor Forbes Garcon Blanc 16A Witbier 3
==========================================================================
16 C,D Saison & Biere de Garde (19 Entries)
Alex Lemieux and Tory Clayton Biere de Mars 16D Biere de Garde 1
Dallas Barlow In the Desert Dry Farmhouse Ale 16C Saison 2
Mark Eury C'est L'ete 16C Saison 3
==========================================================================
16 B,E Belgian Pale and Specialty (19 Entries)
Dallas Barlow She is a Bit of a Tart 16E Belgian Specialty 1
Daren Wightman Dack Framboise 16E Belgian Specialty 2
Mike Hahn Imperial Orval 16E Belgian Specialty 3
==========================================================================
17 Sour Beers (9 Entries)
Dallas Barlow Halten Sie Den Schuss 17A Berliner Weisse 1
Brent Winkler Flanders Red 17B Flanders Red 2
Chris Detrick Berliner Weiss 17A Berliner Weisse 3
==========================================================================
18 Belgian Strong (21 Entries)
Dallas Barlow Triple Poules Francais 18C Belgian Tripel 1
Connor Papineau St. Papineau's 18E Belgian Dark Strong Ale 2
Ben Knorr Dubbel Blizzard 18B Belgian Dubbel 3
==========================================================================
19 English & American Barleywine (13 Entries)
Mike Hahn English Barleywine 19B English Barleywine 1
Aaron Smith Beast of Burden 19C American Barleywine 2
Rob Kent Grizzly Adams 19B English Barleywine 3
==========================================================================
20 Fruit Beer (23 Entries)
Michael Anderson LiliKoi Ale 20A Fruit Beer 1
David Pang and Casey Jones Cherry Vanilla Lager 20A Fruit Beer 2
Cami Kent Veridian Cream 20A Fruit Beer 3
==========================================================================
21 Spice, Herb, Vegetable Beer (22 Entries)
Travis GrimmFire in the Hole Chipotle Pale Spice, Herb, Vegetable Beer 1
Trent BangertBANGERT'S BREAKFAST BEER Spice, Herb, Vegetable Beer 2
Casey Ruff Serrano Blonde Spice, Herb, Vegetable Beer 3
==================================================================================
22 Smoke Flavored and Wood Aged (10 Entries)
Mike Johnson Cigar-Cedar aged IPA 22C Wood-Aged Beer 1
Sarah Nelson Rauchweizen 22B Other Smoked Beer 2
Trent Bangert Oakdogg 22C Wood-Aged Beer 3
===========================================================================
23A Specialty Beer (33 Entries)
Dawn Gray Chocolate Starfish Porter 23A Specialty Beer 1
Rob Kent Old Crepuscular 23A Specialty Beer 2
Hans Groberg Big Brother 23A Specialty Beer 3
===========================================================================
24, 25, 26 Meads (16 Entries)
Dirk Howard Peach Mead 25C Other Fruit Melomel 1
Rob and Cami Kent Armfunkel 26B Braggot 2
Andrew Dalton Ginger Metheglin 26A Metheglin 3
============================================================================
27, 28 Ciders (7 Entries)
Tom Shivers Apple Ginger Cider 28D Other Spec. Cider/Perry 1
Travis Grimm Nice Try Cider 27A Common Cider 2
Steve Furse Five O Clock Cider 27A Common Cider 3
============================================================================
BEST OF SHOW
Ed Scott Wienbock 15C Weizenbock 1
Dallas Barlow Triple Poules Francais 18C Belgian Tripel 2
Dallas Barlow She is a Bit of a Tart 16E Belgian Specialty 3
=============================================================================

Cheers!

New Beer Friday 8/19/11

2011-08-19T07:06:00.001-07:00

Today we have just one, special new beer. It's newness isn't what makes this beer special it's special because it's a Pro/Am beer.

For quite a few years the Great American Beer Festival has held a Pro/Am competition as part of the yearly, three day beer event. Utahans were never able to participate for the longest time because homebrewing was technically illegal.
Now that it's legal homebrewers can finally team up with the Pros and participate on a national stage.

Local Homebrewer, Travis Grimm teamed up with Uinta brewing to reproduce his 2010 Beehive Brew-off winning Grimmbrau Schwarzherz for the Pro/Am. The beer, now called Schwarzherz Black Heart is available for a limited time - only at Uinta's taphouse and The Bayou.

I've not had it yet, I'll be fixing that tonight, but I suspect it wouldn't have been made had it not been wonderful.

That's not the only Pro/Am going into the national competition. Another award winning home-brewer, Mike Hahn Teamed up with Epic Brewing to produce one of Mike's beers. It's a Scotch style beer that will likely be released in the next few weeks under the Festdevious label.

Is there another Pro/Am beer out there that I'm missing? Please let us know if there is.

Cheers!

New Brewer at Tracks

2011-08-18T06:07:00.000-07:00

Rob Kent, one of the former Head Brewers at Uinta Brewing has taken over the Brewhouse at the Tracks Brewery. The basic beer styles are the same, but have been "cleaned up" by Rob.

The beers are good, but they'll never be great if we happy beer loving citizens fail to gives him some support. The next time your out that way stop in and try a pint. If you like it let the management know that you like what Rob's doing. If you can't make the drive to Tooele, Track will be pouring at the Utah Beerfest next week. Stop by the Tracks tent and give them another shot.

Hopfully, Track's management will give him lease to branch out and provide some long needed locally made variety to the people of Tooele.

Cheers!

2011 Snowbird Oktoberfest

2011-08-17T06:28:00.000-07:00

Believe it or not it's already time to start dusting off that German kellnerin costume and those lederhosen because it's Oktoberfest time once again!

Starting this Saturday - August 20, 2011 the 39th annual Snowbird Oktoberfest begins. Oktoberfest Halle located in the Snowbird Event tent is chock full of music, dancing and traditional German cuisine including bratwurst, sauerkraut, apfelstrudel and of course local craft beers.

The Alphorns also perform on Hidden Peak everyday of Oktoberfest at 3:15 p.m. Oktoberfest runs through October 9th every weekend, so there's plenty of time to take it all in.

There's one tiny thing that irks me about this Oktoberfest... No damn Märzen! How can you have an Oktoberfest without the traditional beer?! I guess I'm going to have to make it my personal crusade to get one of the beer providers to make a special Oktoberfest style beer for 19 day festival... Just say'n.

And speaking of Märzens - Hoppers' Brewmaster and Secret Agent, Donovan Steele will have his Oktoberfest beer, Stein Knockers available for the Upcoming City Weekly Beerfest. If your not sure what a Märzen is? try this one, and you'll know why the style should be represented at Snowbird.

Prost!

Moab Can!

2011-08-16T06:13:00.000-07:00

We've been trying to keeping you up to date on the great things going on at Moab Breweing. Every day the new Moab gets closer going on line.

Today we have a preview of the artwork for their new cans. Deadhorse Amber Ale is one of their best sellers, looking forward to the newly packaged beers.

Moab has also announced that an IPA will be in their canned line-up. look for that one around the first of the year.

Cheers!

A Sunny Day at Uinta

2011-08-15T06:20:00.001-07:00

Earth, Wind & Beer. That's been Uinta Brewing Company's mantra for quite a few years. Since 2001 Uinta has been 100% wind powered, putting their money where their mouth is. Literally.

Wind power is a little more expensive than power off the standard grid, but after a decade "on the wind" Uinta's commitment is as strong as ever. So strong that they're going one better and adding solar to help fill their energy needs.

Uinta’s power will now be 85% Wind and 15% Solar. Last week the brewery installed solar-electric paneling on the brewery’s roof, allowing up to 30KW of electrical power to be generated for Uinta’s beer production—roughly 15% of the brewery’s power usage.

Uinta has installed a digital monitor in the brewery’s foyer, which will display both the amount of energy Uinta is currently using, as well as how much power the solar panels are generating for the brewery.

Now their beer makes you feel better in more ways than one! Congrats Uinta, and thanks for leading the way.

Also. If you plan on entering your homebrew into the Beehive Brew-off today is your last day. Get on it!

Cheers!

New Beer Friday 8/12/11

2011-08-11T23:38:00.001-07:00

Today, here on the Wasatch Front we are just lousy with new and long time absent beers. So let's get to it!

Jolly Pumpkin Bam Bière: This starts with a great balance between old leather and hay. Straw, wheat and a little yeast is also present. Finishes with notes of clove and grass. Light in body with high carbonation, this is drying and mildly spicy on the finish. @Bayou

Jolly Pumpkin Calabaza Blanca: Starts with moderately tart orange and lemon with some mustiness. Wheat and black pepper join next with a dry citrus & coriander finish. The alcohol is well hidden. This is fairly dry for a Witbier, which really makes it shine. @Bayou

Serafijn Belgian Pale Ale: Starts with sweet apple and spice. Dry noble hops, phenols, and melon come next with herbal and mineral notes in the end. Somewhat dry in the finish. @Bayou

Drie Fonteinen Oude Geuze: Very complex flavor profile, fruity sourness followed by a little bit of funk and finishes off very dry. I really like the dryness of this beer. @Bayou

Tenaya Creek Tandem Double IPA: The taste starts with mild grapefruit citrus, tea, soft bitterness. Faint pine, and malt come next with florals and toasted in the finish. @Beerhive

Also congrats to Uinta on winning medals in New Zealand at a recent beer competition. Labyrinth won a silver in the stouts category and Cockeyed Cooper won bronze in the barrel aged category. Hip! Hip!

Cheers!

The 2nd Annual Festival of Flavors & Brewfest.

2011-08-11T06:13:00.000-07:00

If your looking for something to do this weekend and want to get the hell out of town, I'd like to remind you that the 2nd Annual Festival of Flavors & Brewfest will be going on; starting this Saturday at Brian Head Resort.

Besides the beerfest the there will be a brewmasters mixer, a "peoples choice" beer competition, live music and local artists.

There will be at least eleven local breweries represented including High West Distillery and Castle Creek Winery.

The weather looks to be perfect, hope to see you there.

Cheers!

The DABC Show

2011-08-10T06:15:00.002-07:00

Give a man a beer and a camera, odds are trouble will follow. Let's face it... you've done stupid shit, I've done stupid shit and it all ends up in the trash or on your Facebook page. Now, give a beer and camera to a beer geek and one of Salt Lake's hottest writers and you get the DABC Show.

Now this DABC isn't affiliated with the local, socialized purveyor of all things hooch. This DABC (Drinking Alcoholic Beverages Constantly) is an internet program that is hosted by two local boys, journalist Bill Frost and beer advocate Steve Koonce. The boys take you across the Beehive State and beyond to show you all of the great beer, wine and liquor (as well as some other deliciousness) that our brewers, vintners and distillers are producing.

Bill has a quick wit and Steve is pure eye candy. This will be the best 20 minutes of your day.

I'll throw up episodes here; weekly as they become available or you can visit the DABC Show headquarters for instant gratification. Thanks, Bill & Steve for sharing the beer love!

Today's episode: What's so epic about Epic? or Death Always Knocks Twice.

Cheers!

Moab's New Improved Brewery

2011-08-08T06:17:00.000-07:00

Moab Brewing Company has been spending a lot of time and money over the last year expanding and remodeling their oasis in the desert.

One of the things that our desert brethren are looking forward to most is getting their local made beer back in the hands of Utah's consumers. For quite a while everything except for the beer at the brewpub in Moab, was made in Montana. No longer, this new facility will soon be handling all of Utah's needs.

Within the next week Moab's new canning line is due to arrive providing a new look and packaging. If all goes well we could be enjoying cans of Moab beer by September/October.

Cheers!

2011 Beehive Brew-Off Reminder

2011-08-04T06:09:00.001-07:00

Just a reminder that entries for Utah's premier homebrew competition, The Beehive Brew-off are now being accepted.

Entry form, fee & beer deadline is Monday, August 15. Entry fees are $5.00 per entry. (Checks should be made payable to The Beer Nut) All entries must include the entry form and payment, and all bottles must have labels attached with rubber bands only. Improperly submitted entries, or entries received after August 15th, may be disqualified. Entry forms can be found here and labels can be found here.

One entry consists of three (3) bottles. To assure the anonymity of brewer, bottles must be standardized to the current AHA competition requirements: 12 oz bottles with no paper or inked labels, raised glass brand-name designs or any identifying or distinguishing marks on the bottle or cap identifying the brewer. Be sure that you enter your beer into the proper style category. Styles accepted include all styles listed in 2008 AHA Category Descriptions. Entries become property of The Beer Nut and will not be returned.

If your not sure of what category to enter your beer here's the style guidelines.

Judging will take place on August 20th - 21st. The awards ceremony with will be late Sunday afternoon on the 21st.

And there's a new poll. Most of the people I talk to love Belgian style beers. But there are also many who are not fans. What would you prefer, more or less?

Cheers!

Four!

2011-08-03T05:52:00.000-07:00

I think it's safe to say, that Utahans have really come to embrace the Belgian Saison style of beer. This light and simple but very complex style of beer (when done properly) owes many of their fruity and earthy esters to the yeast.

In most Saisons the yeast is the star and if you want to get a good idea of how a properly used yeast strain can make a beer special, RedRock's Le Quatre (The Four) Saison is the perfect guide.

Beer Yogi, Kevin Templin and his talented crew have concocted a modern version of this once endangered style of beer. Le Quatre has starts with fruity tones with, mild to moderate tartness. Next comes lots of spice and is moderately hoppy. This refreshing ale boasts a modest abv of 6.2% and comes in RedRock's perfectly sized 500ml bottle.

Le Quatre will debut at RedRock's new location at Fashion Place Mall on Thursday, August 4th at 8pm.

RedRock is also pouring a 4.0% Saison at their downtown brewpub for a short time. Get some! I killed a growler of this by myself one afternoon and could have killed another no problemo.

In more RedRock related news; Remember Golden Halo? It got mixed reactions when it debuted and had problems finding a wider audience. Some were confused by the label, others were overpowered by the intense hop profile. I liked it... the taste I mean. That label still makes my sphincter pucker like a lemon sucking on a cigarette. Anyway, Golden Halo will soon be resurrected with a new look and new taste. More info to come.

Cheers!

New Beer Friday 7/29/11 Addendum (Two Steps Bock)

2011-07-29T14:59:00.000-07:00

There is one more new beer for you today. Two Steps Bock. Squatters decided to slip this one in at the last minute. It was originally due to be released next week. Thanks for keeping me on my toes guys....

Now you'll notice I said Squatters, but the keg above plainly says Wasatch. This is one of those beers that are specifically designed to blow the minds of friends like Douglas, who pride themselves on the proper documentation of every beer made in state. And by the way he does an excellent job.

It was brewed at Squatters, kegged at Squatters, by the Squatters brew team but it bears the name Wasatch. Suffice it to say, it's a technicality derived from Squatters long time partnership in the Utah Brewers Cooperative.

Two Steps Bock is the final "chubby" release. There will be no more after this. I think you can get sense of the lingering frustrations that are apparent in the name. It seems every time progress is made locally someone pulls us back. One step forward - two steps back. This particular release is a glaring example of that.

It's a shame, it's a nice container. It's simple, has a nice industrial feel to it. Due to be a collectors item for sure.

The beer inside is a Helles Bock. These German lagers tend to be lighter in color than other Bock beers and often have a significant hop character with a noticeable alcohol around the same as traditional Bocks. I haven't had it yet but I have a feeling this - the final bon voyage for the chubby will be a winner. Only available at Squatters' bottle shop.

Prost!

New Beer Friday 7/29/11

2011-07-29T06:28:00.000-07:00

For the last New Beer Friday of July, Mark from the Bayou has obtained some yummy "new to us" Lagunitas ales.

Lagunitas Little Sumpin Wild: I was hoping this was a wild ale in the true sense, with a little funk to give it a tart edge. Alas, it's not. It is however quite delicious, regardless. The nose is of spicy, peppery hops, fruity notes including peach, fig, citrus and white grapes. The taste is spicy, peppery and citrus hop notes with a fruity finish, including lime, figs and peaches.

Lagunitas Lucky 13: The nose is of citrusy hops, pear, round malty scents some metallic and raw alcohol notes. The taste is full, nearly sweet, toffee maltiness pitted against bright and aggresive floral and berry-like hops. Alcohol and light piney bitterness in the aftertaste.

Cheers!

A New Era at the DABC

2011-07-28T06:56:00.000-07:00

There's a new person in charge at the Utah Department of Alcohol Beverage Control. Gov. Gary Herbert named Richard Sperry the chairman of the DABC Commission. The Governor also filled one of two vacancies on the commission, former state senator David Gladwell, an Ogden attorney, was confirmed to a four-year term on the commission.

Once the remaining commission seat is filled, a search for a new executive director for the department will get under way. The current executive director, Dennis Kellen, will be retiring after allegations of mismanagement.

This new commission will be different from others in recent history because it will be more tightly monitored and controlled by a select group of anti-liquor legislators who will have full control of the type of persons that enforce and administer the laws they pass.

I won't make any judgments on these new and pending appointments, but it's likely they'll do their masters bidding (Valentine & Waddoups) without question. Unlike former DABC Chairman, Sam Granato.

More Beer Taxes are Likely

2011-07-27T05:59:00.000-07:00

Utahans love their taxes, especially when they're "use taxes". Now some of you may be saying, hold on there Beer Nerd, Utah is the most red of "red" states. Your wrong"! Trust the Beer Nerd... a politician loves nothing more than going to the "majority" of their constituents and proclaiming "we're raising the taxes but not on you fine, like-minded people". That's when "new taxes" really shine here.

This scenario is likely to happen if some in law enforcement have their way. Reed Richards, (Mr. Fantastic) a representative with the Utah Sheriffs Association, floated an idea early last week of earmarking five cents of the state’s beer tax for the county jails to make sure the Department of Corrections has the money to send inmates to the counties.

Reed's concept is that a five-cent tax increase on a 12-ounce beer would solve all of their budget problems because beer is the root cause of all of their inmates problems, ergo beer fixes it's own problems.

In regards to we beer drinkers, I don't think it's about adding a few more pennies to the price of a beer it's about beer drinkers and alcohol consumers being the states "whipping boy" every time some mismanaged state agency needs cash to fill some deficit - all the while rescuing drinker and non-drinker alike from annual budget issues.

If they decide to pile on us once again, urge the legislature to craft a modest and fair tax increase that would truly bring in the needed funds like, errr.... soda?

New Beer Friday 7/22/11

2011-07-22T06:14:00.002-07:00

You made it to Friday. You've worked hard all week. You deserve a great beer. I've got a few new options for you today that are spread out over SL county.

Firestone Walker's Double Jack Double IPA: Really nice IPA. Hops are nice and smells unbelievable. Citrus is most noticeable with orange and grapefruit. Heavy piney sap is in there as well. The taste starts with grapefruit, cirtus, and even a hint of mango. Turns bitter toward the middle with piney hops that go till the finish. The finish leaves the mouth wet opposed to a dry, crisp end and lingers with bitterness. The 9.5% abv is well hidden. @ Beerhive.

Rogue Dad's Little Helper: This is Rogue's answer to the malt liquor. You know Colt 45? King Cobra? Anway the nose is of toasted malt, grass, and honey. The Taste starts with grass, honey, small amount of hops and toasted malt. Finishes grassy and boozy. not bad but I probably won't be going back for it. @ Beerhive

Bohemian Rye: This is supposedly a different rye beer from the one that was previously released. The nose is very flowery with some light earthy aromas and some biscuit malts. The taste is sweet upfront with some spicy and flowery notes in the background and has nice lasting bitterness. @ Bohemian Brewery

Desert Edge Espresso Stout: On nitro. The nose is of Espresso (duh!) a hint of cream, and a whisper of chocolate. The taste is mainly just espresso but executed with restraint. Moderate carbonation. A bit thinner than I'd prefer but it increases the drinkability factor. @ Bayou - Desert Edge.

Cheers!

Brewfest this Weekend and a Big Birthday

2011-07-21T06:26:00.000-07:00

Just a reminder that the Third Annual Evanston Brew Fest is going on this weekend (7/23/11). The ticket price of $25.00 will include wristband for unlimited brew tasting and souvenir tasting mug. Brew tasting 1:00 p.m.-6:00 p.m.

It looks like a fine list of participating breweries. Definitely looks like it's worth the drive.

Alaskan
Avery
Blue Moon
Big Sky
Bohemian
Boulevard
Deschutes
Epic
Grand Teton
New Belgium
Odells
Oskar Blues
Shades of Pale
Sierra Nevada
Snake River
Suds Bros.

By the way, it was 25 years ago today the beer scene in Utah got....well it got one! The Wasatch Brewpub came into existence in Park City, Utah. Reinvigorating a population that was starved for something other than fizzy yellow beer. Thanks, Greg and the Wasatch crew - past and present for changing all of our lives!

Cheers!

The Maltman Always Rings Twice

2011-07-19T05:54:00.000-07:00

If your familiar at all with yours truly, you know that my Koala-esque ass requires a serious, daily-dose of ass kissing. When the "Koala" is feeling a little prissy - particularly on brew day, it's good to know there's an option out there, to make your inner princess feel like she's sport'n one of those be-dazzled Hello Kitty purses.

Luckily there's a local option available to you now to help the most lazy of brew days stay on track with minimal effort. The boys at Brew in Haus an on-line home brew retailer plan to cater to the online shopper and are planning to offer a local delivery service where brewers in the Salt Lake City area can have their home brew supplies hand delivered to their doorstep in 1-2 business days.

Possibly at some point there may be a physical store front, but for now you'll have to be content with ordering from the comfort of your couch's ass groove.

Cheers!

Publican Pale Ale

2011-07-18T06:08:00.000-07:00

Shades of Pale Brewing second release is finally out and it looks to be a big winner. Publican Pale Ale is currently out in limited release in Park City. It can be found currently at Club Lespri in Prospector. SOP is also planning to bottle 28 cases of 22oz bombers today for limited release around Park City, Easy Street/Purple Sage, Doolan’s and Lindzee O’Michaels will be getting it early next week. The second batch is in the works and you should see more of it in bottles in the next couple of weeks.

The Pale Ale has a nice Citrus Grapefruit nose. Tangerine notes are initially noticed, as it warms a you get a hint Carmel, this initial batch is not overly bitter but has a nice rise in the middle of with a very clean finish that comes back after a few seconds.

Cheers!

In the Meantime.....

2011-07-13T06:31:00.000-07:00

Sadly last week there was no "New Beer Friday". However, later Friday afternoon two new beers did pop up at the Bayou.

Both are from Meantime Brewing out of the U.K. The First is Meantime's Coffee Porter. The nose is all coffee up front followed by a toasted, slightly creamy malt. The taste brings a rich coffee up front with a solid toasted malt middle followed by a long lingering bittersweet chocolate finish. Silky smooth almost creamy mouthfeel. This is a very drinkable porter with a reasonable 6.0% abv. Served from a 330 ml bottle.

The next Meantime beer is Scotch Ale. Sadly it's no longer being produced. These must be some of the final bottles produced. The aroma is a complex mix of malt, heavily toasted grains and maple syrup. The taste starts with a little dry toasted pumpernickle, after the swallow. The malts sweetness is able to develop into fresh baked dark wheat bread with toffee and coffee finishing the flavor profile.

It's a damn shame that beer was retired, because it's quite a fine Scotch Ale. 8.0% abv served from a 750ml bottle. Again, this beer is retired. It's likely once it's gone - it's gone for good. Both are at the Bayou.

Cheers!

We're Freaks, Once Again!

2011-07-11T06:52:00.000-07:00

SB 314. If you'll recall this is the brilliant legislation that eliminated drink specials, allows the governor to appoint the chairman of the liquor commission, bans mini-kegs and ties the number of liquor licenses to population quotas and public-safety officers.

When laws like this go into effect, people from outside of Utah take notice and when noted publications such as Time Magazine publish stories such as No More Happy Hour Ever! How Utah Just Got to Be an Even Drier State. The eyes and ears of readers really perk up.

The Utah Hospitality Association, which is trying to sue the Governor and legislature claims that the system of fixed pricing for alcohol under SB 314 is a violation of the Sherman Antitrust Act as it "deprives the benefits of free, open and unrestricted competition in the market" from the plaintiffs. The lawsuit also states that the extreme scarcity of available liquor licenses — which the DABC claimed in its spring 2011 newsletter was zero to one license for every five applicants per month — creates an unreasonable restraint on trade.

Since states are in charge of their own individual liquors laws it's likly that nothing will come from this lawsuit. However, the state was successfully sued nearly a decade ago when all forms of bar advertizing were banned. This law was repealed because it violated the first amendment.

I'm not saying this new lawsuit won't be successful, I hope it will be. But we all know how the game is played. Even if SB 314's laws are repealed Senators Valentine and Whadupps will be crafting retaliation legislation to balance their views over that of the states growing minority. Trust me, they have discussed and tried to do far worse recently in regards to Utah's liquor laws .

I guess what I'm saying is, Cheers to the Utah Hospitality Association for fighting this and trying to keep the state of Utah from becoming an even bigger freak in the ever growing religious global carnival. But, I'm not holding my breath. Here's a link to the Time Magazine article.

Cheers!

July Beer Pairings and Classes

2011-07-07T04:36:00.002-07:00

Interested in honing your beer pairing skills or learning more about civilization's oldest libation? Well my lads and lasses your in luck, the University of Utah and Desert Edge Brewmaster Chris Haas will be holding a class that takes care of the above mentioned, all the while examining America's rich history and diverse beer culture.

Then if that's not enough you'll also briefly explore how beer is produced, immerse yourself in beer styles as well as develop your palette and learn to identify different flavor components.

If an evening such as this seems like it will float your boat then follow this link to The U of U's Lifelong Learning page and sign up. The class meets at Desert Edge Brewery, Trolley Square and Tuition is $89 + Special Fee: $30 = $119.

That's not your only opportunity to learn from the best. Squatters' own Jennifer Talley along with the Viking Cooking School is pulling out "ALL" the stops for a crafted beer-Artisen food five course dinner, each crafted food course will be exquisitely paired with the best aritsen beers that Squatters and Wasatch have to offer. YOU DO NOT WANT TO MISS THIS. This dinner is only offered twice a year, you will want to make your reservation as soon as possible, as this will fill quickly!!

This pairing will be held on Wednesday, July 27, 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm and will run you $79.

Cheers!

Utah Medals in San Diego

2011-07-06T06:30:00.000-07:00

Had any So-Cal beers beers lately? If not seek some out. If your a true fan of beer, you know that some of the best beers in the world are coming from the San Diego area from such noted breweries as AleSmith, Stone, Lost Abbey/Port Brewing & Green Flash.

It's also a tough place to showcase beers because the brewing community there is so strong and the quality is top tier. That's why it's a huge achievement when outsiders can come in to their local competitions and do well.

That's what happened recently at the 2011 San Diego International Beer Festival. Two of Utah's finest went in and emerged with some serious harwdare in some tough categories.

Three Gold medals and a Silver were awarded to two Utah breweries. Uinta Brewing's
Cockeyed Cooper won Gold for their Bourbon Barrel Barleywine in the Wood and Barrel Aged category. A second Gold medal was also bestowed to Uinta's Labryinth Black Ale in the Imperial Stout category. Those are two extremely tough categories; high praise for a Utah brand.

Epic Brewing Co. Earned a Gold as well for their Wit Beer in the Belgian-Style Wit or White Ale category. Witbiers are very popular right now and this one is one of the best. Epic's Pfeifferhorn Lager also won a Silver in the American-Style Lager category.

Congrats to our local boys and girls for going into a tough room and coming away with great honors.

Cheers!

New Beer Friday 7/01/11

2011-07-01T04:04:00.001-07:00

Wahoo! July is here and on this first day we have new beer for you. Two from Mendocino Brewing Company have arrived in town.

The First is Mendocino IIPA. It has a pine and citrus aroma, bright and fresh with a touch of sweetness and a note of orange peel. It smells great. It's full bodied and very smooth with a clean, dry finish. It tastes very piny and slightly sweet with lots of orange going on. It's bitter, dry and well balanced.

Next is Mendocino Imperial Barleywine. It has a resiny, oaky aroma that's slightly sweet, with notes of cherry, vanilla and bay leaf. It's pretty full bodied and pretty smooth. The finish is slightly dry and slightly sticky. This tastes boozy, very hot and resiny. There are notes of cherry, dark fruit, oak and a slight sweetness. Available at the Beehive.

Finally there is Arts Fest Amber from Uinta. This beer was a special one off made exclusivly for the Utah Arts Festival. If you never made it to the festival, then you never got to try it. However, there is one keg left at the brewery's tap house. It may be gone before the end of the day today, so best of luck getting some. Haven't tried this one.

Cheers!

Cheers!

Problems With The Page

2011-06-30T04:07:00.000-07:00

You may have noticed that the info and links located on the right side of that page have mysteriously moved to the bottom of the page. I'm trying to figure out the problem. Anyone not seeing this glitch?

2011 Utah Bar Crawl

2011-06-29T03:57:00.007-07:00

It's time for the 3rd Annual Salt Lake City Bar Crawl. This years bar crawl looks to be the largest crawl yet with estimates exceeding 700 people.

Registration will be held on the patio of the Green Pig Pub (31 East 400 South) On Saturday, July 2nd from noon - 8pm. There will be several groups leaving at different times. This year groups will leave at 2, 4, 6, and 8pm. Each group will be led by trusted Crawl Hosts and will help to keep you all participants on pace to complete the crawl. Look for drinking games, as well as free shit giveaways along the way. Maps, wristbands, t-shirts, and information will be provided at registration.

This year the amount of bars has been limited to ten bars. This provides more bar time and less foot time. There will be beer specials for participants.

Have fun but keep your heads. Plan your rides home accordingly and have cash/I.D. on hand.

If you have any questions, comments, or concerns contact slcbarcrawl@inthisweek.com or go to their Fa book page.

Cheers!

SOP in SLC

2011-06-28T03:54:00.003-07:00

As the temperatures climb your likely looking for beers the that'll quench as well as satisfy.

There are many many options around that will fit the bill, but only one is new local and and frankly quite yummy.

Utah's newest brewery Shades of Pale Brewing has finally made their Salt Lake City debut with their Jack Wagon Wheat Beer.

Jack Wagon has a fruity lemony nose. The taste starts sharp and toasty on the tongue with a brisk, hoppy finish. This hefe is more complex than I thought it would be. It has an assertive lemon sourdough like profile in the end that I think will appeal to beginners and beer geeks alike.

Bottles are comming soon. In the meantime you can taste Jack Wagon at the Beerhive, Jelba's Ranch Inn and Teazers in Ogden, Bistro 412 on Main, Good Karma, Windy Ridge Taco Tuesday, Grub Steak and Lespri Club in PC.

Cheers!