New Beer Friday 6/19/20

Tomorrow is the Summer Solstice - you'd never know it by the temperatures outside. I'm not complaining, this is damn near perfect weather for me. It's also excellent beer drinking weather too; warm enough for the light summer beer with enough evening chill to bring on the heavier beer cravings. Take a look at the list this week and you'll see it fits in perfectly to what I was just talking about.

Fisher - Bock: This beer was resurrected from Fisher's early 20th Century glory days. It's not an exact clone, but I trust Colby's brewing prowess to dial it in. It even comes in a retro looking Bock crowler.  5.0% - Available at Fisher.

Fisher - Plumango Sour: Very tart up front some nice mango notes. The plum gets a little lost in the base beer but it's overall a nice flavor combo that light and refreshing. Look for a malt sweet beer with with lighter alcohol than the typical bock. 5.0% In crowlers to go at Fisher.

Fisher - Staring into the Rye: There's a good dose of rye on top of a solid caramel base. Hops are herbal, sharp and balancing. Nice beer.  5.0% In crowlers to go at Fisher.

Toasted Barrel - Double Juicy IPA: Missed this one. Brewed with four different hop varietals, creating a low bitterness NEIPA.  8.5% - At Toasted Barrel today.

Shades -  PB&J: I was expecting a peanut butter bomb al la Belching Beaver, but the nut addition is pretty subtle. With a tart base beer - plus the addition of strawberry, think too much peanut butter would have made it a muddled mess. It's pretty drinkable considering what it is. 6.5% - Only a Shades.

Heber Valley - Mint n' Chocolate Stout: If you going to make a chocolate stout in the summer you'd better find a way to make it somewhat refreshing. The addition of mint may be the key. This is out now and only at the brewery in Heber. 5.0%

UTOG - Dry Bavarian Hefeweizen: They dialed down the sweetness a bit for this normally sweet wheatbier. It's time you experimented with the drier side of Hefes. 5.0% - only at UTOG.

Talisman - Adventures in IPA #6: This Juicy IPA was brewed with Citra, Amarillo and El Dorado hops. This will go fast! 5.0% - Available at Talisman. 

Lone Pine - Oh-J: This double IPA has an opaque medium orange gold color with bright citrus aromas of orange and grapefruit. Vibrant orange and light citrus in the taste with spicy citrus rind. In the finish there's a nice lingering citrus twang. 8.1% Found at Slackwater.

Returning Favorites

Red Rock - Paardebloem: It's been about a year and a half since the last batch hit. This batch may be tough to obtain for home consumption, but I've been assured that there will be plenty going to the main brewpub and RR's restaurants to take care of the dine-in crowd. This year you can expect honey sweetness with peach, apricot and pear notes. There's a hint of funk and tartness lurking beneath the fruitiness. There's a good dose of bitterness from the greens as well. A sit warms the vinious aspe t from the barrel pop out. Finishes slightly warm and boozy. 9.2% Goes on sale Friday (today) in the restaurants, Saturday at the production brewery.

Proper - Recommend Rye: Continuing with their greatest hits, Proper is re-introducing another of it's OG beers. This week we return to Recommend Rye. This is a saison at it base with rye spiciness that compliments the esters the Belgian yeast creates. This is slightly tweaked from the last time you had it so it's time to schlep your ass over there and try out the new batch. 5.7% Only at Proper.

Epic/Commons - Common Interests:  You thought this collaboration beer between Epic and the now defunct Commons Brewing was all gone. Oh how wrong you were. There's a limited amount of crowlers available in SLC for this special foedered melon sour.  This has a light-straw color with just a hint of green in the highlights. Sweet honeydew rind, clean earth and oak hit the nose. The first sip is bright with citrus-tartness, lime and pith, that fades quickly to a cooling ripe-melon-sweetness with hints of cereal grain, tilled earth and root cellar. The effervescence lifts quickly off the palate taking the acidity but leaving hints of honeydew and the harvest season. 

Cheers!

New Beer Friday 5/22/19

Full disclosure: I've been out of town and didn't get a chance to try much of what is out this week. That's too bad, because there's a lot of interesting sounding stuff out this week. I'll be back this evening, don't drink 'em all before I get back!

Toasted Barrel - Oak Aged Pilsner: I'm big on pilsners right now. I'm curious to see how this one came out. 5.0% Only at Toasted Barrel

Uinta - Free Form Rose Ale: This is the latest offering from Uinta's Free Form line of lower calorie beers. Look for a lightly tart ale with slight fruitiness. 4.3%

Proper Fault Line Red IPA: Yeah, yeah this isns't exactly new. However it hasn't been made in quite a while and on top that it was never a 5.0% beer. So, I'm calling it new ya jerk! This has a good amount of malt to it, almost toffe like the hops are aggressive and start with citrus peel. They soon change over to resiny pine and finishes off with a balancing bitter bite. I generally like hoppy reds to be a little more fruity; this one is dry and I crushed all 16 ounces of it in 5 minutes. Good stuff. 6.9% - Available at Proper.

Bohemian - Best of Show Dopple Bock: This was the winner of last year's Lagerpalooza. True to form, Bohemian said they'd make the winner and they have. Look for this clean, toffee driven malt machine at Bohemian Brewing. Dials in at a big 9.3%.

Policy Kings - Chai Saison: This is listed at 14% on Untappd. Seriously? That doesn't sound right. If it is, it's probably the one of the biggest saison ever made. 

Kiitos - Pineapple Mango Fruit Milkshake: I'm generally a fan of this series. They're always as described and not to sweet, relaying on the Fruit to do most of the lifting. 5.0%

Heber Valley - Coconut Girl: This is a Belgian style blonde ale brewed with coconut. 5.0%

Sawtooth - Pika: This is a peanut butter milk stout. It dials in at 5.0% and is already popping up at grocery and c-stores around SLC.  Sawtooth is from Hailey, Idaho and their brand new to the Utah market.

Modern Times - Star Cloud: Just hit SLC yesterday, This a hazy made with Citra hops. 6.8% - Available at DABC and possibly some of the opening better beer bars.

In case you missed it last week Epic's new CBD Free IPA is now in 22 ounce bottles, so there's an option for your as well.

Cheers!

New Beer Friday 4/24/20

Grid City is finally selling their suds from the brewery. In what has to be the worst timing in in local beer history, Grid City was unceremoniously required to close 48 hour before their soft opening, due to the pandemic. Get out and support the new guys and hit up some of these other great breweries offering up beer this week.
 
Grid City - House Pilsner: The nose is a nice malty base that has hints of peppery hops and and faint hint of apples and fructose. The flavor is a greatly hopped and like the nose there is a fold malty foundation that has some complex peppery hops riding on top then notes of fruit, nutmeg and lemon peel. 4.5% - Available at Grid City.

Grid City - Hoppy Pilsner: This one does smell pretty hoppy. Herbaceous, lemon, maybe a bit of grain, straw, grass and grape. Fairly hoppy with a hit of fruit up front before the malt edge takes over. Hits on the green grape and grassy notes. Aspirin like bitterness in the end. Malt begins to show as the beer warms. Getting a slight breadiness. Still, this one is pretty hop dominant. Finishes sharp before completely drying out. 4.8% - Available at Grid City.

Templin Family - All Together: This beer will be released today at noon. No tasting notes yet. 100% of the profits from this beer will go to the employees of TF to offset their financial burdens. 6.5% - Only at TF Brewing

Heber Valley - Hefeweizen: Missed this new beer from Heber.

Wasatch Guava Rosa: Murky and turbid peach color. The aroma is mostly guava. Flavor-wise the guava is fairly subtle, with some hibiscus like tartness. There's a medium amount of bitterness in the finish. 7.1% - Available at the UBC's Beer Store.

2 Row - Belgian IPA: Missed this one as well. Look for spicy yeast notes with a good dose of citrus and tropical fruits.

Shades - Magna-tude: Made with orange ginger and honey. The tart base enhances the citrus qualities with a subtle amount of spicy ginger. the honey gives it a slight dryness. Quite tasty, try it with sushi. 5.7% - Available at Shades.

Returning 

Hopkins - Stonewall Sour Saison: If you missed it the first time around, stop by and check it out.  3.7% - at Hopkins.

Cheers!

New Beer Friday 12/20/19

You can "use me" for all of your holiday beer research, and as a conduit for hours of classic holiday music and beer pairings (sorry Meista). The New Beer Friday Singers will be singing classics such as "All I want for Xmas is Brew", "The Little Drammer Boy" and that classic, "Rudolph the Red Nosed Haze Bro".  Be safe out there, kids!

Fisher - Holiday IPA: This hits Saturday morning and it will be one of their high point crowler releases. This is full of grapefruit peel & dehydrated orange with herbal and floral hops backing it up. West Coast IPA for sure. Nice beer. 7.0%

T.F. Holahaze:  This one drops Saturday Morning as well. Big citrus peel and herbal nose, that creeps into dank territory. Medium malt sweetness nourishes a good dose of chewy grapefruit peel that creeps into that gange territory. Not a classic ‘haze’ beer but it’s got broad appeal. 7.4% at TF starting Saturday morning.

Kiitos - Lime Salt Pilsner: there’s a fair amount of lime tartness backing sweet and toasted malts. 5.0% - Available at Kiitos.

Proper - Yacht Rock Juice Box: This has more of that herbal/citrus combo with light caramel malts.  5.0%. - Available at Proper

Proper - Bonestorm: This hopped-up amber ale hits taps today. Much more toasty than malty. Feels more like an ESB - 5.0% Available at Proper.

Bewilder - Coffee Bock: Missed this collaboration with Wasatch Beers. 5.0% - Available at Bewilder.

Bewilder - Citra Wheat Lager: Clean wheat crackers with a nice hoppy zip. Mostly tangerine & orange. Super drinkable. 5.0% - Available at Bewilder.

Heber Valley - Snake Creek BA Imperial Stout: Missed this one. 10.0% - Available at Heber Valley.

Level Crossing - Oat Slayer: 4.6% 4.7% - Released on 12/21

Level Crossing - West Coast IPA:  5.0% 4.7% - Released on 12/21

Level Crossing - Santa Slayer: Stout brewed with cinnamon, ginger, allspice, vanilla and nutmeg. 4.6% 4.7% - Released on 12/21

Level Crossing - Peppermint Slayer: Aged on Brazilian and Mongolian oak. Infused with York Peppermint Patties. 4.7% - Released on 12/21

Shades - Grape Kviek: One of my favorites in their Kveik Series. Mostly tart berries that come across as Smarties candy. 5.6% - available at Shades.

Destihl - Wild Sour Cranberry Criek: This sour evolved by merging tart cranberries with sweet cherries, normally associated with a traditional kriek, but in a kettle sour beer that is wonderfully intricate, balanced, fruity and tart. It was then dry-hopped adding a touch of citrus aroma and flavor, adding another layer of complexity with a tart finish. 5.0%. Found at DABC

Destihl - Weissenheimer Hefeweizen: This classic German-style Hefeweizen has fruity aromas and flavors of banana, clove and vanilla with a full mouthfeel and an appropriate amount of yeast haze. 5.2%. Found at DABC


Elevation - Señorita: This Imperial Porter has aromatic notes of vanilla, cinnamon and sweet milk. The beer hits the palate with vanilla, sweet chocolate malts, and a hint of cinnamon; all with a medium body and a balancing pine hop bitterness. 8.2%. Found at DABC.

The Following (for the most part) are largely exclusive to the Bayou this week. If you're a fan of sour beers the Bayou is defiantly a must stop for you this year.

Dogfish Head - Super 8: This Gose style sour ale was brewed with Hawaiian red sea salt, prickly pear, mango, boysenberry, blackberry, raspberry, elderberry, and kiwi juices & toasted quinoa. It's bacically a fruit salad. 5.3%

Dogfish Head - Wood Aged Bitches Brew: This a fusion of a Russian Imperial Stout aged in American oak and an Ethiopian Tej Honey. This beer was also aged in Paraguayan, Palo Santo Wood. 9.0%.

Boulevard 30th Anniversary: This beer is a blend of nine Boulevard beers. 34% Imperial Stout in rye whiskey finished port casks –  26% Belgian Dark Strong Ale in ruby and tawny port casks – 16% Double Mashed Imperial Stout in bourbon barrels – 9% Belgian Dark Strong Ale in California sherry casks – 5% Imperial Stout in bourbon barrels – 5% Imperial Stout in Spanish sherry puncheons – 3% Imperial Stout aged in bourbon barrels followed by ruby/tawny port casks and 2% Belgian Dark Strong Ale in bourbon barrels. Yeah, this screams the holidays. 12.5%

Firestone Walker - Mole Merkin: This version of Velvet Merkin has dried Puya chili, cinnamon and cocoa nibs from the Dominican Republic to a brandy barrel-aged version of Velvet Merkin. The chili adds a spicy. yet approachable heat, with rich dark berry fruit flavor. The addition of cocoa nibs helps balance the heat from the peppers, adding to the mouthfeel. The result is a complex, yet delicate beer, with flavors of earthy chili pepper, cinnamon and cocoa. 7.8%

Stone Jägermeister & Arrogant Bastard Ale: Flavor-wise there's a bit of pine and black licorice up front. An oaky character brings notes of cinnamon. It finishes with dark fruits and an herbal bite - similar to strong mint tea with lemon. The flavors in this beer are extremely strong. Not for the timid. 8.5%.

Stone - Enjoy by 01/01/20: These IPAs rarely disappoint. Havn't had this one; it's more of a double at 9.4%.  

Jester King - Super Ultrameg Hyperforce: This saison has a orange, golden color with a nose of funk, tartness, melon, yeast spiciness and wheat. Taste follows, but it finishes with melon, and a nice crisp tartness. Very nice. 4.5%.

Jester King - Vague Recollection: Funky yeast with wine barrel notes. Grape must, apricot and lemon as well. Apricot and peach notes with lemon acid round it out. The mouthfeel is tart, dry and crisp. 6.0%.

Jester King -  B.A. Bier de Miel: Missed out on this 6.9% Bier de Garde.

Jester King - Das Wunderkind: This saison was refermented in oak barrels with wild yeast and souring bacteria. It was then blended with fresh, dry-hopped beer prior to bottle-conditioning. Dry and lightly tart, with notes of citrus, barnyard, and tropical fruit. 4.5%

Jester King -  Hibernal Dichotomous: This wild saison is brewed with cardamom pods and refermented with roasted beets and carrots. Notes of earthy carrots, pears, apricot, dark fruits, plum, lemongrass and beets. Finishes slight tart. 5.8%.

Jester King - Le petite Prince: Throughout Northern Europe, light-bodied, well-hopped, low alcohol table beers were often the beverage of choice with all meals at times and in places where the water wasn’t always safe to drink. This is a clear and simple expression of the delicate interplay between noble hops and farmhouse yeast. Low point beer haters need not apply. 2.9%.

Jester King -  No Whalez Here: This witbier has notes of sweet wheat crackers, plantains and coriander. Subtle floral hops play well of the white pepper from the yeast and lemony twang. 6.8%.

Jester King -Nobel King: Missed this one. This is a highly attenuated, unspiced farmhouse ale brewed with an abundance of organic noble hops, and fermented with wild yeasts from the Texas Hill Country. 5.9%.  

Prairie Artisan Ales/Evil Twin - Bible Belt: This huge Imperial Stout is based on Evil Twin Brewing's "Even More Jesus" Imperial stout, but spiced like Prairie Artisan Ales' "Bomb!" made with coffee, vanilla, chilies and cacao nibs. This one may make you clutch your pearls at 13.0%.

Prairie Artisan Ales -  Birthday Bomb: Caramel Sauce and a healthy dose of coffee and spices make this one unique from the standard Bomb! 13.0%.

Prairie Artisan Ales - Oh Fudge: This a chocolate brownie stout. The flavor is roasted malts, dark chocolate brownie and raisins. It's a bit sweet and quite tasty.11.5%.

Prairie Artisan Ales -  Bomb!: This imperial stout is aged on coffee, cacao nibs, vanilla beans and ancho chili peppers. 13.0%.

Cascade Cuvée Du Jongleur: A blending of select barrels of Cascade's Flanders Reds and soured Belgian Triples aged in oak for up to 18 months. Then blended with fresh 25° Plato, Blonde Quadruppel - then aged, allowing lactic fermentation. 8.4%.

Cascade - Rose City Sour: This is a blend of wheat and blond ales aged in oak wine barrels for up to 14 months with rose petals, rose hips and hibiscus tea. Look for fresh roses matched with notes of dried cranberries, pomegranates and a hint of white pepper. 6.8%.

Cascade - Brunch Line: This sour was made with chardonnay grapes and orange zest and aged in white wine barrels. A mature, puckery, and clean sour ale. 9.6%.

Cascade - Coastal Gose: Missed this beer. 7.3%

Cascade - Coral Horizon:  This is a blend of sour blond ales aged in oak wine barrels for up to 16 months with late infusions of grapefruit zest, hibiscus tea and freshly chopped ginger root. Pouring a brilliant coral-red hue reminiscent of a summer sunset, this small batch blend offers a soft, approachable acidity level with aromas of ruby red grapefruit and a refreshing ginger spice. 8.0%.

Cascade - Pistil Whipped: A blend of sour strong blond ales infused with saffron, annatto and chamomile flowers. Pouring a rich golden-yellow from the saffron’s distinct color infusion, this Sour Flower Fest creation captures saffron’s earthy, hay-like spice character with a gentle chamomile tea background. 7.6%.

Cascade - Tropical Embers: Missed this one. 7.3%.

Cascade - Vlad the Impaler: Dark Fruit with big sour and heat from the 12.5% alcohol. Notes of bourbon and a lactic bite as well. This sour quad is hugely complex.

Revision -  IPA: Simcoe hops lay the hop foundation for this extremely delicious, flavorful and quaffable American IPA. Tropical citrus, orange and pine accents meld seamlessly. Low impact bitterness, high impact aroma and flavor. Very nice IPA. 6.5%. Also at Slackwater

Revision -  Double-Up IPA: Simcoe and Mosaic hops battle for domination in your mouth. 8.0%. Also at Slackwater

Revision - Citra Slam: This West Coast IPA is of course hopped with Citra and is tropically sweet with ripe tangerine, with an edge of mango and passion fruit. 6.5%. Also at Slackwater

Petrus Cherry Chocolate Nitro Quad: This is a perfect blend of Quadrupel, using 6 different types of roasted malts and cherries. The nitrogen adds nice body to the quad, giving it more body and creaminess and making it extremely drinkable. The only Belgian Quad on nitro! 8.5%.

Have I given you enough! If not, please share, damn it!

Cheers!

New Beer Friday 11/29/19

I hope you all had an excellent Thanksgiving. Due to it being a holiday week, not much hit shelves and taps over the last few days. Here are a few things to help continue your (hopefully) extended weekend. Keep an eye on Utah Beer's social media for updates later this afternoon - and if you found something I missed please share! Happy New Beer Friday!  

Heber Valley - Bishop Brown: Missed this one. This is a Belgian style brown ale - said to be inspires by the famous Biscoff Cookies. 5.0% - available at Heber Valley Brewing. 

Goose Island - 2019 Bourbon County Stout: This year’s Bourbon County Stout, aged in a mix of Heaven Hill, Buffalo Trace, and Wild Turkey barrels. This one goes on sale today at 11am; From what I understand, It has a very limited availability and you should be able to find it at the Avenues DABC, Harris Ave Wine Store, Cottonwood Heights and Murray DABC. Some of the better beer pubs are picking some up as well, so if you miss out, pubs like Dick n' Dixie's, Beer Bar, etc will be grabbing some as well. This one is a beast at 14.5% 

Brewery Ommegang - Dubbel Merlau: This Belgian style dubbel was fermented with Merlot grapes and aged in red wine barrels. Look for oak and tannic acidity with a burst of malty goodness leading  to blackberry, cherry and raspberry. The finish is long, with layers of drying tannins and malt sweetness. A must try. 8.7% - Found at the Bayou.

Cheers!

New Beer Friday 9/6/19

Hoppers - Bungalow Kölsch: Missed this one. Look for toasty and fruity malts with a good dose noble hops. 4.0% - Available at Hoppers.

Heber Valley- Blackberry Saison: Missed this one too. Look for wheaty and spicy yeast base with blackberry accents. 4.0% - Available at Heber Valley.

Hopkins/Wasatch - Locals Only: This collaboration beer was made with 100% local ingredients. It's malty with fruity yeast esters and hops that lean to the citrusy part of the spectrum. 4.0% - Available at Hopkins and at Squatters 30th Anniversary party.

Dogfish Head - Punkin Ale: Smells and tastes of cloves, nutmeg, cinnamon, pumpkin, brown sugar, malts and some vanilla. Medium to heavy body.  7.0% - Found at DABC

Returning 

RoHa's - Freshies Wet Hop: Made with wild hop from around the area; this special ale is different every year, due to the unpredictable nature of the hops. 4.0% - Available at RoHa.

Cheers!

New Beer/Brewery Friday 8/23/19

It seems like its been just a couple of weeks (it was) when we had our last new brewery open. This Saturday will mark Utah's 38th brewery location and Heber's first since the early 2000's. The 3.5 barrel brew house will be cranking out draft beers to start, with high point suds coming soon from the brewery's package agency. Brewer, Clint Jones is already planning a Belgian style Tripel that he plans on splitting into fresh and barrel aged versions. The Heber Valley Brewing Co. officially opens tomorrow (8/24/19) and is located on Main Street and 500 n. in Heber Utah. Welcome 

Heber Valley - Cöld Fusion Kölsch:  Look for a nice clean, easy drinking beer. 4.0% - Available at Heber Valley Brewing.

Heber Valley - W.O.W. Wit: look for a very light colored Belgian Wit. Subtle hops and nice yeast character. 4.0% - Available at Heber Valley Brewing.

Heber Valley - Lone Pine Pale Ale: This Pale Ale was brewed with spruce tips and centennial hops.  4.0% - Available at Heber Valley Brewing.

Heber Valley - Heber's Hazy IPA:  Tons of hop aroma with enough bitterness to back it up. Plenty of Citra, Mosaic, and El Dorado hops. 4.0% - Available at Heber Valley Brewing.

Heber Valley - HVBC IPA:  Pretty light colored IPA. Good balance between aroma and bitterness.  Crystal and Mosaic hops. 4.0% - Available at Heber Valley Brewing.

TF Brewing Coconut Guava Berliner: The tropical theme of this beer is undeniable with great fruit flavors that play well with the subtle sour base of the beer. Very refreshing with high drink-ability.  4.0% - Available at TF Brewing.

Hopkins - Coconut Macadamia Porter: This is basically a cookie. Hopkins hand-toasted 40 pounds of coconut and sourced some macadamia flour from a small farmer in Hawaii. Chocolate malt and lactose sugar round out the flavors of this delicious dessert beer. 4.0% - Available at Hopkins

Hopkins - Patchwork Pale 2:
This version is basically a “Hazy IPA”. Hoppy, hazy, refreshing, dry, with a light biscuit malt backbone. The hop profile is Citra forward, which gives bright citrus and tropical flavors with Simcoe and Cascade hops on the back end, giving it a little resiny pine and floral character. 4.0% - Available at Hopkins.

Hopkins - Campfire Smoked Lager:
This is essentially a German Rauchbier. Local cherry-wood smoked Solstice malt adds a distinct smokiness with some light crystal and aromatic malts to give it a nice malty backbone but a nice crisp finish. 4.0% - Available at Hopkins

Hopkins - Raspberry Gose:
This beer was brewed with orange peel and coriander, then fresh raspberry puree and salt were added in the fermenter. The tartness blends beautifully with the raspberry and the salt balances the flavors. 4.0% - Available at Hopkins

Roosters Rooster Tail: Look for big tropical notes from the hops with medium bitterness and creamy malts. The 6.5% ABV is very approachable. 4.0% - Available at all Roosters locations.

Wasatch - Dry Hopped Saison: This is textbook saison with a good amount of spicy phenolic yeast character. The dry hopping adds mostly bitterness to the finish. 5.5% available at most Wasatch locations. 

Red Rock Otto: Missed this new Imperial Pilsner that debuts today. Look for notes of blueberry, coconut, lemon, lime , peach and melon. 7.2% - Available at Red Rock

Illuminated Junior Astronaut Juice: Look for tangerine,orange peel, grapefruit, passion fruit all wrapped up in nice resinous hop bow. Caramel malts give the hop salad pleanty to build on. 6.0% - Found at DABC.

Prost!