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 Lil' Taste of Japan

Uinta/Four+ Brewing is debuting a new summer beer in the coming weeks that's got a little sumthin' different than the traditional summer beers.

Sum'r is made with variety of hops known Sorachi Ace. Sorachi hops were previously grown by Sapporo for use in their beers, but has since apparently dumped them for more recent varieties available in Japan. This has opened up the world market to these hops and apparently Uinta has bought-up a shload of them.

Now don't confuse this with a Japanese Lager, such as Sapporo 'cause it ain't.
The unique qualities that set Sorachi Ace apart from other hop varieties is the strong Lemony profile that they posses, which is different from the usual grapefruit or pine character of American hops.

Sum'r is described as a light Organic Pale Ale with with a moderate malt backbone and a Lemony/citrusy finish.

I'm a Hop-Head, but my experience with this variety is limited. So I'm anxious to check this one out. Apparently Uinta is the only brewery in the area to have them. Sum'r should be in grocery stores in the next week or two. Cheers!

New From Four+ Brewing: Hive

Utah has a new beer to start-off spring. Hive is the sixth label to come out of Four+ Brewing in SLC. Hive is made with local honey and is similar in color. I wasn't able to get my hands on a bottle before writing this, but Local Beer proponent Douglas Byrd did and here's his trustworthy review.

2 oz. bottle from Smiths Marketplace. Pours a crystal clear golden color with a medium white head. The aroma is a heavy dose of honey, some sweet toasted malts also. The taste is similar; crisp and easygoing malts, some light citrus, and a nice honey flavor. Very quaffable and a nice beer for a hot Summer day. Too bad it was snowing today. Not bad. Simple and easygoing. A thin and fizzy mouthfeel.
I labeled it as a golden ale. Beer Advocate labeled it as a light lager, but it says honey ale right on the label.

Since this beer is just debuting it won't be everywhere immediately (as I found out).

Also, this is no secret but Four+ has changed the name of it's nationally successful Wildfire Organic Pale Ale to Wyld Organic Extra Pale Ale. Nothing has changed but the label. If you haven't tried this one yet, get out and grab one. They're quite yummy!

Also, in the coming months Uinta/Four+ will be debuting a new, yet to be named organic summer ale. This should be another good year for new beer labels in Utah. And thanks to Doug for helping to get the word out. Cheers!

[Posted with iBlogger from my iPhone]

Better, Stronger, Faster. Monkshine

Four+ Brewing has re-released a new stronger version of it's Monkshine Belgian-Style Pale Ale. Monkshine debuted a couple years back as Four+'s pilot beer. It was a 4.0% brew that met with mixed reviews, due to it's "earthy" bitterness. It was probably a little too different for the everyday beer drinkers pallet. So they tweaked it a little. The recipe was adjusted, the alcohol was amped up and it was moved to the state liquor stores.

Now comes word that Monkshine was just re-re-released to the state liquor store system and that the new "bionic" version comes in at a whopping 6.8% ABV. I haven't tried the newest incarnation, it's just hitting the stores now. So, I guess that means I'm gunna have to drink some. Damn, this is a tough job.... Cheers!

Wildfire Organic Pale Ale

I've been drinking Wildfire Organic Pale Ale for about a year now, and I can't believe it's taken me so long to say this but 'this is the best goddamn beer to come out of Utah in a while'. Forgive me if start to gush over it like a school girl with a crush but it is that yummy.

Poured on tap a clear golden/amber color with two fingers of white foam that thins to a small cap. The nose is burst of crisp citrus and fresh floral hops with just a hint of malt. The taste takes over from where the aroma leaves off with subtle malts then a big citrus punch. Aggressive floral and pine bitters hit midway and carry through the end. The finish is nice and dry with lingering bread and hop flavors.

Even though the hops are fairly pronounced Wildfire manages to maintain a good balance. Although this is a 'hoppy' beer there is no astringent bite. The body is medium-light with a nice creamy texture and a proper amount of carbonated. This is an impressive brew, especially for an organic. Your going to have to keep your eyes open to find this one. It's not as widely available as I'd like. I've seen it at Albertson's, Smith's and even Wild Oats. And on tap at Port o' Call and the Bayou. Cheers!