New Beer Friday 5/18/18

Not only is it New Beer Friday; it's also New Brewery Friday! Saltfire Brewing Company, Utah's newest brewery is officially releasing their first batches of beer tomorrow. Along with these we also have a shload of sour beers to talk about; combine all this with Craft Beer Week and you have a damn full weekend. Check out the updated craft beer week calendar here.

Epic Oak and Orchard Strawberry Rhubarb: The nose has a strong, dry sourness that is masking a bit of  funky strawberry. The taste is berry tart with darker berries and some strawberry sweetness. Finishes bone dry. 6.9%. Available at Epic.

Kiitos American Lager: Light spicy herbal nose with an even lighter touch of bready to grainy malts. The taste starts light and bready with bitter, but mellow, herbal hops jumping in.  Some light yeast flavor and graininess in the finish. 6.0%. Available at Kiitos.

SaltFire Dirty Chai Stout: Releases 5/19 - 6.7%. Available at Saltfire

SaltFire Fury Kolsch: : Releases 5/19 - 6.0%. Available at Saltfire

SaltFire A Series of Singularities Idaho 7: Releases 5/19 - 6.9%. Available at Saltfire

SaltFire A Series of Singularities: Releases 2:  5/19 - 6.9%.  Available at Saltfire

The RoHa Brewing Project - Red Ace: Sweeter berry-like malts with hops that have a bit of lemon peel bitterness. 4.0% ABV. Available at RoHa.

Squatters Meteor Shower: This is being released on Sunday at Squatters' Brewer's Brunch. I'll have tasting notes later today at 3;30pm with Mick and Allen on KBER 101.

Talisman Anniversary Ale: I havn't tried this Belgian style ale aged in Pino Noir barrels. 9.5% Available at Talisman.

8 Wired Cosmic Chaos: This Sour Black IPA is a bit tart with cola, some raisins + chocolate, slight char with some orange peel bitterness. 7.5% Available exclusively at the Bayou.

8 Wired Fistful of Cherries: This Wild Ale has a nose of tart cherries, grass and vinious oak. The wine barrels are surprisingly pronounced  - pushing through the tartness. Tart cherries and Brett yeast complete the flavor profile. 7.6% Available exclusively at the Bayou.

8 Wired Gypsy Funk: I havn't tried this American style Wild Ale yet. 7.5% Available exclusively at the Bayou.

8 Wired Lord of the Atlas: This American style Barely Wine has a nose of Toffee, vanilla and booze. The taste is more toffee, with marmalade and bitter pine rounding it out. 12.0%. Available exclusively at the Bayou.

8 Wired Big Smoked Porter: Not tried this one yet. 6.2%. Available exclusively at the Bayou.

8 Wired iStout: I havn't tried this Russian Imperial stout yet. It's described as having roasted coffee and chocolate malt flavors which are balanced by a brisk bitterness and bold freshness from the hops. 10.0%. Available exclusively at the Bayou.

8 Wired Wireless Black IPA: Missed out on this one too. 6.2%. Available exclusively at the Bayou.

Amager/Mikkeller - Frederiksen Væsel Brunch: Collaboration blend with Mikkeller/Amager. A blend of Hr.Fredriksens (Amager) and Beer Geek Brunch Weasel (Mikkeller) - then aged in bourbon barrels. 10.7%. Available exclusively at the Bayou.

Amager/Crooked Stave - Chad, the King of Wild Yeast: This sour ale has a strawberries nose with lemon zest, and herbal hops. The taste follows with lemon zest, strawberries, and melon with a touch of herbal hops in the back. 5.0%. Available exclusively at the Bayou.

Melvin Your IPA: This is possible the most bitter beer I've ever had. The aroma is danky, dank, dank herbal grass. The taste follows with dank pine resin and herbal hops. It finishes bone dry. If you're looking for an anti-haze bro beer, this is the one. 7.1%. I had it at Beerhive.

Cheers!

My Companion is Elder Brett

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!