New Beer Friday 3/9/12

Gluten free drinker rejoice! You have another alcoholic option to help make your days brighter. Epic's Glutenator debuts!

Pours a bright golden color with light head retention. The nose has some good piney and citrusy notes with hints of gain. The taste reminds me of Grape-Nuts cereal at first then you get a berry tartness that takes over for the most part. The finish is floral and bitter. A medium to light mouthfeel, with a dry spicy aftertaste.

Overall there are many beers I prefer to this, but as a gluten free beer it is pretty damn good. Glutenator does it's best to mimic it's malty cousins. On sale today at Epic.

This next beer is not new, but it is quite popular and generally doesn't last for more than a few days.

Desert Edge's Bourbon Porter Beer is black with a moderate, bubbly tan head. The nose is faint with vanilla and roasted malts. As for taste, the vanilla notes come first then comes the bourbon and a little bit of oak. Lighter at first, but stronger in the finish. A nice malty background gives the beer a bit of a roasted cocoa flavor. The vanilla notes and bourbon are the main event.

Light bodied because this is a 4.0% beer, but Brewer, Chris Haas manages to coax a ton of flavor out this seasonal offering. Get on it before Mrs. Mikey drinks it all.

Cheers!

2010 Snowbird Beerfest

"A dad needs what a dad needs"

Hey, we all know you gave your dad more grief than any one man deserves. So in penance for all the shit you gave the poor ol' man over those many years growing-up, treat him properly this Father's Day and haul his ass up Little Cottonwood Canyon to the Second Annual Snowbird Beerfest.

A dozen Utah breweries will be pouring two to three different beers. Snowbird will provide food stations, live music from Good Gravy, The Nate Robinson Trio and the B.D. Howes Band. There will also be crafter/vendors pedaling their wares.

The Beerfest will be on Saturday, June 19, 2010 and run from Noon - 8 p.m. (beer will be sampled until 7 p.m.). The only cost is $1 for a 3 ounce sample.

Breweries Pouring this year include:
Bohemian Brewery
Desert Edge
RedRock Brewing
Uinta Brewing
Hoppers
Ruby River
Moab
Wasatch
Squatters
Roosters
Four +

Cheers!

"Tour de Brewtah"

If You love you love your beer and your bike I have great news for you. The inaugural "Tour de Brewtah" charity ride, which will bring together bicycles and beer to raise money for Utah charities, will be held on May 8 in Salt Lake City.

From a starting point at the Live Green SLC! Festival in Library Square, bike riders will follow a downtown route marked by local breweries - Red Rock, Uinta, Desert Edge and Squatters, scene of an end-of-the-ride party. Participants also receive a commemorative pint glass. Gotta put that beer in sumthin'... right?

Up to 200 riders of all abilities are being invited. Registration forms are available at www.ridemybike.com/rides/view/id:346. The cost is $30 before May 6 and $50 the day of the race - if space remains.

A brilliant idea!

Cheers!

No Green Beer Today

Got it? The only green beer you should be drinking today should be organic made from wind powered breweries.

There are plenty of better local options around town anyway.

Bohemian has it's 1842 pils.

Hoppers has McGee's Irish Red.

Squatters has McGrueh's Dry Irish Stout.

RedRock has two. Hibernian Ale and their Irish ale.

Desert Edge LDS Stout.

Wasatch has Their 1st Amendment Lager.

Four+'s Wyld Organic Extra Pale Ale

Moab Black Raven Oatmeal Stout.

Roosters Junction City Chocolate Stout.

Tracks Tooele Tar Stout

Zion Canyon's Virgin Stout.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

A New Website for Desert Edge

Actually it's their first website. Why so long in coming? Well... let me try to put this in a way most people will understand.

Some asshole/Douche-bag decided to squat on the the Desert Edge domain name for quite a while, making it difficult for our friends at Trolley Square to properly create and market their brand. Well apparently they've resolved it because they're online now baby! And it's about damn time.

Cheers!

End of October Seasonal Brews

Here's a list of Brewpub seasonal brews available right now throughout the Wasatch Front & Back. There's some great stuff out there. Check 'em out!

Desert Edge Brewery: Shot in the Dark Coffee Stout.
Brewmaster Chris Haas describes it as a slightly sweeter stout with the addition of 15 gallons of freshly brewed coffee to it. "It gives it a real coffee aroma and flavor." The fresh-roasted beans come from Utah's Millcreek Coffee. It's served on a nitrogen tap which makes it creamy and smooth to drink. $4.25 a pint.

Roosters Brewing Co: Indian Summer Nut Brown Ale.
This is a medium-bodied, amber-colored beer it has a somewhat nutty flavor that comes from a "healthy dose of Victory malt," said head brewer Steve Kirkland. "It's been an annual favorite at the brewery for years." $2 for pint during November; $4 afterward.

Ruby River Steakhouse and Brewery: Autumn Amber.
Head brewer Rob Bunn uses special hops and yeast from Germany for this Marzen-style beer. It has a reddish hue and is malty with caramel undertones. "It's real basic, but it's one of my favorite styles," he said. $3 a pint.

Wasatch Brewpub: Pumpkin Ale.
Brewmaster Matt Beamer describes it like this "We are using real pumpkin in the mash along with all those fall spices everyone loves, like cinnamon, vanilla and nutmeg,". The ale is unfiltered with an orange hue. "It's super drinkable, like liquid pumpkin pie." Look for it on the nitro tap soon. $3.50 for 12 ounce glass; $4.50 20 ounces.

Hoppers Brewpub: Face Plant Wheat.
"As German-styled wheat beers go, this one is on the milder side with soft banana aromas and flavors and mild spices like clove and nutmeg," said head brewer Donovan Steele. "Some people might notice a bubble gum flavor as it warms." Of course, these ingredients are not put in the beer, but are the by-products of the traditional German Wheat yeast strain used to ferment the beer. Face Plant, a tie-in to the upcoming ski season, is an "easy drinking beer" and one that goes with all types of foods, Steele said. $4 for a pint.

Squatters Brew Pub: Black Forest Schwarzbeir.
"This German dark lager has a medium body and a roast malt flavor. While it's a dark beer, it's not heavy and is easily drinkable" said brew master Jen Talley. The beer, a perennial customer favorite, is one of Squatters' most decorated beers. It has won gold, silver and bronze medals several times at the World Beer Cup and the Great American Beer Festival. Also available at Squatters' Roadhouse Grill in Park City. $4.79 for an 18 ounce glass.

RedRock Brewpub: Wet Hopped Pale Ale.
Brewmaster Kevin Templin, was inspired by a trip to the local High Desert Hop Farm. So, he harvested loads of Cascade and Columbus hops and rushed them into the brewery. Thus was born our Wet Hopped Pale Ale. An organic brew made from fresh, locally-grown hops. This unfiltered ale is medium amber in color. $4.50 a pint

The seasonal taps don't last long, so get on it.

Cheers!

Photo courtesy: Katie Panzer

Radius From Desert Edge

Yesterday I told you about Sierra Nevada's Estate Beer. An ale grown & produced entirely on sight. Today we have Radius from The Desert Edge Brewpub.

While the ingredients aren't grown on sight, Radius is made with ingredients grown within 150 miles of the Wasatch Front. Brewmaster Chris Haas says he found the malt just over the state line in Idaho and the hops were picked locally.

Radius is a "harvest" or "green hopped" golden ale and it's extremely hoppy. Chris only makes it once a year and it goes fast. As I was quick to find out last year.

Cheers!

Photo: courtesy Aubrey Sun

This Week at Desert Edge

Desert Edge is offering up some very yummy stuff right now. Chris has brewed up his English Mild. It is served on the nitro tap so it has that nice creaminess to it. The British Mild is an English beer, brown in color with a subtle roastiness.

Chris is also now serving the Backcountry Cream Ale. This is a light, malty beer with low, but defined hop character. Cream ales have lactose sugar added to give them a slight sweetness. Lactose sugars don't ferment, so they add sweetness without adding alcohol during fermentation.

Chris also has his Summertime Kristalweizen, Munich Lager, and the Road Rage Rye as well as his standards. Utah Pale Ale, Pub Pils, Happy Valley Hefe, and the Ladder Days Stout. That's nine beers! Chris is our friend...

Cheers!

Beer School

Any opportunity to obtain a little more beer knowledge is a good thing in my book. I think that's one of the great things about being into craft beer now, the landscape is ever changing.

If your looking for a little more from your enjoyment of beer, I have a fun and very popular option for you.

For quite a few years now the Desert Edge Brewery has been putting on Beer School, an immersive evening into making beer and pairing it with food. For the first hour Brewmaster Chris Haas takes participants through the brewery and gives an inside look into the equipment, the process and the ingredients.

Then students head upstairs and drink all eight or nine beers that Desert Edge has on tap at that time and talk about the flavor components and styles. The chef then whips-up four dishes to pair with the beer. Every session is different every time, all dishes are off the menu.

If this sounds like it'll float your boat, then you'd better plan ahead. Beer School is booked until November and takes place the the first Thursday of the month from 7pm till about 10:30.

And if that wasn't enough, Desert Edge just created a brand new brewing space and bought a new brew system that just went on line a few weeks ago. Chris also has four specials back on tap, and some good ones too. Try the Road Rage Rye, it is on at the Beerhive as well. Also on tap are The Munich Lager, Summertime Kristalweizen, and the Augustus Amber Ale.

Desert Edge is located on the East side of Trolley Square. 801-521-8917.

Cheers!

Desert Edge Steamer

Chris Haas Brewmaster over at Desert Edge Brewery has got some new specials on tap.
The HB 51. beer is gone it apparently sold like crazy, I hope everyone got to try it. So to fill it's place Chris has put on his Centennial Steamer.

If your not familiar with steamers or Steam Beer their one of the few 100% American style of beer. Steamers are usually brewed with a special strain of lager yeast that works better at warmer temperatures.

Chris' is amber in color with a moderate malty nose. the taste is toasty and malty with a mild fruitiness. It finishes malty with a light hop presence. medium to light bodied.

Also, on the seasonal taps. Downhill Dunkelweizen, Red Butte Bitter and Road Rage Rye.
Cheers.

The HB51 Beers Debut Today

One of the great things about living in this area is the great sense of community. There are very few places around the world where competitors actually enjoy collaborating with each other on their crafts.

All of the brewpubs that participated in the brewing of the HB51 beer have kegged their individual interpretation on the collaboration amber ale. And as promised they are all very different.

Wednesday evening the participating brewers gathered together at the Desert Edge brewpub to show off their brews. Desert Edge offered it's unfiltered version - Hoppers aged it with oak - RedRock had it's filtered version - Squatters added Amarillo hops via a hopback and Wasatch dry-hopped with nine pounds of Amarillo.

As promised they were all very different and unique. A perfect example of how an individuals personal touches can make a common beer somewhat special.

The HB51 beers are available starting today at the brewpubs listed above. The Utah Brewers Coop will also have the Wasatch version available. All brewers encourage patrons to try every version.

Note: The Bohemian Brewery was slated to participate but for some reason had to opt-out.

And speaking of Bohemian, some sad news. Owner/Brewermaster Joe Petras collapsed earlier this week and is said to be in serious condition at an area hospital. No specifics available right now.

Let’s all send our best wishes and prayers for Joe's recovery.

The HB51 Beer

To help celebrate the signing of HB51, local brewpubs in Salt Lake City and its surrounding areas have decided to create a special beer to commemorate the legalization of home brewing in Utah. As well as to salute our local home brewers, all the while having a little fun in the process.

Desert Edge, Hoppers, Red Rock, Wasatch, Bohemian and Squatters brew pubs will be brewing the same beer but with one very specific variable either altered or added. All malt, hops, water, and timing will be identical, but each brewery will integrate one different variable to show their customers, especially the local home brewers, what changing one important factor can do for a beer.

The brew is a session amber ale and will be on tap at all 6 brew pubs. The Desert Edge version will be unfiltered, Hoppers will be aging with oak, Red Rock will offer it filtered, Wasatch will dryhop, Bohemian is going to ferment it with lager yeast and Squatters is making it
with whole Amarillo hop flowers added via hopback.

The release date of the HB51 beer is May 1st. it coincides with the Big Brew National Homebrew Day, May 2nd. Those interested can pick up a recipe sheet at each of the 6 brew pub locations.

I'm not sure if the official name of the beer is HB51. I'm sure all appropriate suggestions will be considered. But one thing is certain this will be a great thing for Utah's growing beer culture. Cheers!

Photo Courtesy: Chris Detrick/The Salt Lake Tribune

Powder Hound

Yeah! more new beer. Powder Hound is a seasonal offering From Big Sky, available at the state stores.

Poured a clear, rusty amber color with one finger of light tan head. The nose was of lightly roasted malt, caramel, chocolate and a hints of floral hops.

The taste starts with toasted biscuit and hazelnut, along with notes of maraschino cherry and red grape. The end is mildly earthy and piney. The finish was dry and nutty. Nicely balanced. Lacks real depth or complexity. Drinkability is high, definitely sessionable. Wouldn't go out of my way for it, but I'll defiantly try it again. 6.2%ABV.

I should note that Desert Edge also has a beer called Powder Hound that predates Big Sky's by a few years, check it out when Chris has it on tap. Cheers!

Utah's 2008 GABF Medalists

Well we made it. After three sessions and hundreds of ounces of beer, our yearly pilgrimage to Beer Mecca has concluded. What did we learn?... Well, no matter how beered-out you may think you are; pouring another fine American craft beer down the ol' pipes brings you right back to square-one. Also, Utah's brewers still know how to represent. Below are this years winners at GABF. All should be available for purchase right now. I recommend getting out sampling these fine brews and congratulate our local brewers for the fine jobs they do. More to come....

2008 GABF

American-Style or Belgian-Style Ale

Bronze-Fifth Element-Squatters Brewing

Category 35: German-Style Schwarzbier

Silver-Cherny Bock-Bohemian Brewing

Category 56: German-Style Altbier

Bronze-All The Way Alt-Desert Edge Brewing

Category 58: German-Style Wheat Ale

Bronze-Wasatch Hefeweizen-Wasatch Brewing

Category 59: Belgian-Style Wit

Silver-Belgian Wit-Red Rock Brewing

Bronze-Squatters Wit-Utah Brewers Coop

The Fifth Season

One thing that separates Utah from the rest of the world is our lack of seasons. The rest of the world gets the standard four, you know spring, summer etc. But here in the intermountain west, we get seven months of winter, four months of summer and two weeks each for spring and fall.

To help break up the months in between extremes I propose we create a new fifth season. Leann (lionn) would begin right about now, dedicated to the best time of the year for beer. So, now that we've got that bullshit out of the way. I'd like to throw some good seasonal options out there to help celebrate our new season.

Squatters has quite a few on tap now.
Alt and In the Way: a German style Altbier Copper-colored and aged 35 days. Won a gold in the 2008 World Beer Cup competition.

BlackForest Schwarzbier: Dark and not too heavy with a good amount of hops. Another medal winner.

Cheshire Cream Ale: Pale straw color. Low hop bittering and some hop aroma.

Hop Rising: A well-hopped, classic American pale ale.

Wasatch BrewPub is offering,
Hopalicious Pale Ale: A Pale Ale on cask made from wild Utah hops. Limited supply. Only at the Wasatch Brew Pub.

Pumpkin Ale: An unfiltered fall brew, made with real pumpkin and pie spices. This is one of the better Pumpkin beers available in the country.

RedRock has,
Bamberg Rauchbier: An amber-colored smoke ale with a mild beech wood-esque smokiness.

Harvest Ale: An unfiltered hop monster with a great citrus nose and taste.

Desert Edge.
Desert Hell: A Bavarian Helles Bier. A light and slightly malty German lager with spicy hop character, but a bit more subdued and balanced than regular Czech lagers.

Radius: Is a white, golden ale made with ingredients grown within 150 miles (give or take) from Salt Lake City. Available in mid-October.

Hoppers is offering their take on the Altbier. Out of Bounds Alt: Extended conditioning mellows out the ale's fruitiness and produces an exceptionally smooth and delicate brew. A great balance of malt and hops.

Four+(Uinta). Punk'n: spicier and dryer than Wasatch's with cinnamon, nutmeg, clove and allspice.

Roosters. Oktoberfest: Dark copper in color, full-bodied, rich and toasty.

So get your slacker-asses out there and drink-up these seasonals before they're gone. Or you'll be sad lil' beer geeks. Cheers!

Local Beers, Grown Locally

I'm a big fan of supporting local small businesses. I try to spend my money with our local entrepreneurs rather than national chains as often as I can. If your like-minded, consider heading over to the Desert Edge Brewery this October, where Brew master Chris Haas has put together a special beer made from all local ingredients. Radius, will be made with ingredients grown within 150 miles of the Wasatch Front(yeast too???). Chris says he found the malt just over the state line in Idaho and personally picked the hops locally. I'm not sure of what style he's planning on brewing yet, but I'm sure it'll be unique. Radius will be available on draft beginning in mid-October at the brew pub in Salt Lake City. 602 E. 500 South. Cheers!

Brew-tah

19 Medals! That's what Utah's suds-meisters managed to compile at this years Mountain Brewers Festival in Idaho Falls, Idaho. From Smoke to Root Beer, our brewers dun-did-us-prowd! Here's a list of the local winners and a link to all medalist. Congrats to all!

Bronze: Bohemian Brewery - Czech Helles.

Gold: Desert Edge Brewery - Anniversary Amber.

Gold: Hoppers Grill & Brewing Company - This is the Pilsner.

Silver: Moab Brewery - Scopian Pale Ale.

Bronze: Moab Brewery - Merrimack.

Gold: RedRock Brewing Co. - Bamberg Rauch Bier.

Silver: Red Rock Brewing Co. - German Pilsner.

Bronze: Red Rock Brewing Co. - Bohemian Pilsner.

Bronze: Ruby River Steakhouse and Brewery - Ruby's Root Beer.

Bronze: Four Plus Brewing Co - Monkshine.

Gold: Uinta Brewing Company- Kings Peak.

Gold: Uinta Brewing Company- Blue Sky Pilsener.

Bronze: Uinta Brewing Company - Solstice Kolsch.

Bronze: Uinta Brewing Company - Bristlecone Brown Ale.

Gold: Wasatch (Utah Brewers Cooperative) - Squatter's Hefeweizen.

Silver: Wasatch (Utah Brewers Cooperative) - Wasatch Evolution Amber Ale (Irish Red).

Silver: Wasatch (Utah Brewers Cooperative) - Wasatch Polygamy Porter.

Bronze: Wasatch (Utah Brewers Cooperative) - Squatter's Organic Amber Ale.

Bronze: Wasatch Brew Pub - Polygamy Porter.

Rodney Scores a bottle of Grand Tetons' Double Wheat Utahns represented a good portion of the crowd