New Beer Friday 10/14/11

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!

Winterfest Returns & The Abyss

One of my new favorite winter beers is back, and that means Mikey is happier than a pig in.... beer.

Wasatch Winterfest debuted this time last year to rave revues and most recently won a Bronze medal at the 2009 Great American Beer Festival. If you never got a chance to try it last year, this is your opportunity.

Pours a clear ruby color with a moderate fluffy off-white cap of foam. The nose is bright with citrus and pine with subtle spicy caramel malt beneath. The flavor starts out with grapefruity hops and a bit of orange zest. Next comes a faint hint of gingerbread then transitions to a rich maltiness. I think there may be a little roatiness in there as well. Very nicely balanced with a well hidden 7.1% abv.

Last September I was ecstatic to report that Deshcutes' incredible Abyss Imperial Stout was on it's way to Utah for the first time. Initially It was only going to be available to our two local beer emporiums the Beerhive and the Bayou. Now it looks like it will be available at Utah liquor Stores as well. The Abyss should be arriving in the next couple of weeks. This beer ages well, buy a few and put some away for while.

Also, arriving from Deschutes is Hop Henge Experimental IPA. This one is also new to the state. Deschutes describes it as having several pounds of Centennial & Cascade hops in each barrel with a heavy dry-hop presence to top it off. A blend of crystal, pale and caraston malts creates an overall biscuity characteristic that is dense and muscular, building the alcohol base to support the monstrous hop profile.

Hope Henge will hit shelve in Utah this January.

Cheers!

The Year of the Squasatch

Squasatch: -noun (skwos- ach)
A joint Ventures of Squatters and Wasatch breweries. Produced by the Utah Brewers Co-op.

In the next few weeks your gunna be seeing some new stuff from Squatters. The return of soon to be classic and a new label from the Utah Brewers Co-op.

The first to be released will be Squatters Hell's Keep, a Belgian Golden Strong Ale. Hell's Keep was originally released earlier this year at Squatters brewpub, Jenny Talley had created this beer as a seasonal/limited release. It was such a hit that they decided to move the production over to the Utah Brewers Cooperative facility so they could take care of the massive bottling project. Hell's Keep is 7.75 ABV and will come in a 750 ML bottle.

Next comes the highly anticipated Hop Rising Double IPA. At 9% ABV this is a big beer with big IBU's, 85 to be exact. Thanks to copious amounts CTZ (Columbus, Tomahawk, Zeus) and Bravo hops. You may remember Hop Rising as a Pale Ale from Squatters Brewpub. The name was transferred over to the co-op to use for this 2IPA. The new Hop Rising should be out around the first week of August under the Squatters brand.

The Summer of the Beers just keeps-on-keep'n-on. Cheers!

[Posted with iBlogger from my iPhone]

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.

Double-Wammy from Wasatch

Wasatch's Summer seasonals are now available. They were scheduled to be released separately, but luckily for us, we got a spring double-wammy. Both Twilight and Summerbrau were released earlier this week.

Twilight is a 4.0% Kolsch that should be available at most grocery stores.
Summerbrau is a 5.6% copper-hued Czech-style pilsner that can be purchased right now at the Utah Brewers Coop and should be at state liquor stores shortly. I hear really good things about the Summerbrau. It's feeling warmer already. Prost!

Wasatch's Summer Seasonals

Well it's that time of the year, when we say Bon' Voyage to the winter seasonals as the weather turns warmer. Wasatch's new line of summer beers will begin their debuts next week. And as this is good news, I'm sad that their Winterfest beer will be going away for the season. What a great beer!

On Monday, April 13, Summerbrau Lager debuts it's a 5.6% German-style lager. It's straw in color, made with imported German pale malts and a generous amount European hops (Saaz, Hallertauer?). creating a crisp, clean, golden body, with a bitter finish.

The second, Summer Twilight arrives next month. It's a classic, golden-hued 4% German-style Kolsh Ale. First brewed in Köln, Germany These ales are light to medium in body with a very pale color with a hop bitterness that is medium to slightly assertive. It can also have a somewhat vinous and dry flavor.

Although these styles are very different they do have their similarities. I guess we'll have to wait and see how different they really are. Cheers!

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

Ninth Beer o' Xmas'08: Wasatch WinterFest

For the Ninth Beer o' Xmas that the beer lush pushed on thee, Wasatch's Winterfest!
This a a brand new offering from Wasatch and man is it yummy.

Pours a clear ruby color with a moderate fluffy off-white cap of foam. The nose is bright with citrus and pine with subtle spicy caramel malt beneath. The flavor starts out with grapefruity hops and a bit of orange zest. Next comes a faint hint of gingerbread then transitions to a rich maltiness. I think there may be a little roatiness in there as well. Very nicely balanced with a well hidden 7.1% abv.

This is one of the best beers to come from Wasatch in the last few years. This is only a seasonal so stock up. Everyone I've talked to that's tried this gives it high marks.
Kampai!

New & Returning Beers for Utah's Holidays

Who's your buddy?

Who's your Pal?

You know I've got your back, and that I'd never let you guys and gals enter the Christmahanukwanzaka season without a little liquid holiday help. So I've compiled a list of new and returning beers to help ease your upcoming burdens, or at the very least to help wash down Auntie Roberta's pineapple, fig upside-down, uber-strudel. These beers are only available at our glorious state liquor stores, unless otherwise noted. And if your aware of anything not on my list please post it up in the comments section. Cheers!

New Local UTAH Beers:

WASATCH WHITE LABEL BELGIAN STYLE WITBIER

WASATCH WINTERFEST SEASONAL ALE

REDROCK REVE' BELGIAN TRIPPLE ALE

Domestic, Craft & Imports:

FIRESTONE WALKER PALE 31

FIRESTONE WINDSOR PALE ALE

AVBC WINTER SOLSTICE'08

FULL SAIL WASSAIL ALE

FULL SAIL WRECK THE HALLS'08

FULL SAIL EQUINOX ESB

FULL SAIL LTD 02

FULL SAIL RESERVE 21 DOPPELBOCK

FULL SAIL BOURBON IMPERIAL PORTER

MACTARNAHANS BLACKWATCH STOUT

AFFLIGEM DUBBEL ALE

SIERRA NEVADA CELEBRATION ALE

HAZED AND CONFUSED IPA

ROGUE DOUBLE DEAD GUY ALE

SPANISH PEAKS HONEY RASPBERRY ALE

The Following are from the "Bad Elf" Line From Ridgeway Brewing in the U.K. (only available at the Bayou)

BAD ELF

VERY BAD ELF

SERIOUSLY BAD ELF

CRIMINALLY BAD ELF

INSANELY BAD ELF

SANTA'S BUTT

WARM Welcome

New from Wasatch: White Label

Wasatch Brewing is debuting a new label just in time for the holidays. Wasatch White Ale is a Belgian Style Wtibier made in the tradition of such favorites as Hoegaarden and Blue Moon.

Pours a white, cloudy corn color with a thin frothy cap. The nose is of sulphur, wheat, banana and a little coriander. The taste is very similar to the nose with that odd sulfur essence leading off. Next comes bready wheat, then a dry banana. The finish has a minor "zesty" orange peel twang.

The sulfur notes are huge and put me off a bit. So I grabbed a Hoegaarden to make a comparison to see if my palate was off. As it turns out the Hoegaarden was spot on. Wheaty, spicy, hints of orange, mellow citrus, good carbonation & balanced after taste. Everything I was hoping the Wasatch's Wit to be. Now, White Label isn't bad a bad wit even though it is on the stronger side of the style at 6.0% ABV. White Labels isn't due on DABC shelves for a few days. Still, I hope that they are able to correct the sulfur problem in future batches because it is a little offsetting. If your looking for other great local takes on this style try RedRock's Wit, Squatters' Witbier and Rype from Four+. 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!

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

Utah's World Beer Cup Winners

644 breweries from 58 countries, entered a vast array of beers spanning 91 categories last week at The World Beer Cup in San Diego. Friday night the winners were announced, and once again Utah's brewers had another great showing. Local brewers entered 56 beers and came back with 6 medals. Two gold, three silver and a bronze. That may not sound like a lot, but it gave Utah's beers the fourth highest winning percentage by states entered. Here's a breakdown of the top U.S. medal winners by percentage and those great 2008 award winning Utah beers.

Leading Medal-Winning US States – 2008 World Beer Cup

State- # of Entries, # of Medals Won, % of entries winning medals.

Alaska- 42-6-14%

Colorado- 173-22-13%

Oregon- 123-16-13%

Utah- 56-6-11%

Illinois- 86-9-10%

Washington- 80-8-10%

California- 374-35-9%

New York- 89-8-9%

Here's a link for the complete winners list

Gold: Cutthroat - Uinta Brewing Co. Salt Lake City, Utah
Gold: Alt and in the Way - Squatters Pub Brewery. Salt Lake City, Utah

Silver: Polygamy Porter - Utah Brewers Cooperative. Salt Lake City, Utah

Silver: Bobsled Brown - Utah Brewers Cooperative. Salt Lake City, Utah
Silver: Redrock Nut Brown Ale - Redrock Brewing Co. Salt Lake City, Utah

Bronze: Provo Girl Pilsner - Utah Brewers Cooperative. Salt Lake City, Utah

Note: Four of those six beers are bottled. There's no reason why they shouldn't be taking up space in your fridge. Use the crisper if you have to.

Utah Beer: Still in the Top 50

Even though Utah is dead last in U.S. beer consumption, some of our brewers still manage to make and sell enough brews to keep our suds in the the top 50 of Craft Brewing Companies.

The Utah Brewers Cooperative which bottles Wasatch and Squatters beers came in at number 48 in 2007, down a notch from 2006.

A craft brewery is small, independent, and traditional. With an annual production of less than 2 million barrels of beer per year.

1 Boston Beer Co.BostonMA
2 Sierra Nevada Brewing Co.ChicoCA
3 New Belgium Brewing Co. Inc.Fort CollinsCO
4 Spoetzl BreweryShinerTX
5 Pyramid Breweries Inc.SeattleWA
6 Matt Brewing Co.UticaNY
7 Deschutes Brewery, Inc.BendOR
8 Boulevard Brewing Co.Kansas CityMO
9 Full Sail Brewing Co.Hood RiverOR
10 Harpoon BreweryBostonMA
11 Alaskan Brewing and Bottling Co.JuneauAK
12 Magic Hat Brewing Co. & Performing Arts CenterSouth BurlingtonVT
13 Anchor Brewing Co.San FranciscoCA
14 Bell's Brewery, Inc.GalesburgMI
15 Shipyard Brewing Co.PortlandME
16 Summit Brewing Co.St. PaulMN
17 Abita Brewing Co.Abita SpringsLA
18 Gordon Biersch Brewing Co.San JoseCA
19 Brooklyn BreweryBrooklynNY
20 Stone Brewing Co.EscondidoCA
21 Rogue Ales / Oregon BrewingNewportOR
22 Long Trail Brewing Co.Bridgewater CornersVT
23 New Glarus Brewing Co.New GlarusWI
24 Kona Brewing Co.Kailua-KonaHI
25 Dogfish Head Craft BreweryMiltonDE
26 Firestone Walker Brewing Co.Paso RoblesCA
27 Great Lakes Brewing Co./OhioClevelandOH
28 The Lagunitas Brewing Co.PetalumaCA
29 Flying Dog BreweryDenverCO
30 Sweetwater Brewing Co.AtlantaGA
31 Bridgeport Brewing Co.PortlandOR
32 Rock Bottom Brewery RestaurantsLouisvilleCO
33 Odell Brewing Co.Fort CollinsCO

34 BJ's Restaurant & BreweryHuntington BeachCA

35 Victory Brewing Co.DowningtownPA

36 Mac and Jack's BreweryRedmondWA
37 Lost Coast Brewery and CafeEurekaCA
38 Big Sky Brewing Co.MissoulaMT
39 Pete's Brewing Co.San AntonioTX
40 Otter Creek Brewing Co.MiddleburyVT
41 Karl Strauss BreweriesSan DiegoCA
42 Breckenridge BreweryDenverCO
43 Gordon Biersch Brewery RestaurantChattanoogaTN
44 Anderson Valley Brewing Co.BoonvilleCA
45 Boulder Beer Co.BoulderCO
46 North Coast Brewing Co. Inc.Fort BraggCA
47 McMenaminsPortlandOR
48 Utah Brewers CooperativeSalt Lake CityUT
49 Capital Brewing Co.MiddletonWI
50 Blue Point Brewing Co.PatchogueNY

Utah's Worlds Beer Cup Entries

Today judging begins in San Diego for the 2008 World Beer Cup. On April 19th beer makers from around the world will compete in what is referred to as "The most prestigious beer competition in the world".

Utah brewers stacked up an impressive stack of hardware, acquiring seven medals. Two bronze, four silver and one gold. 33% of the beers entered won medals. Only six other states had better medal counts.

Here is an incomplete list of some of the Utah brews being judged this year.

Squatters Pub Brewery ENTRIES -
Black Forest Schwarzbier - Category: German Style Schwarzbier

Vienna Lager - Category: Vienna Style Lager

Alt and in the Way - Category: German Style Brown Ale/Dusseldorf-style Altbier

Emigration Amber Ale - Category: American Style Amber/Red Ale

Epiphany (Vanilla Porter aged in a Bourbon Barrel) - Category: Wood and Barrel-aged Dark Beer

Fifth Element - Category: Belgian French Style Ale - Saison.

Broadway Kolsch - Category: German-Style Kolsch / Koln-Style Kolsch

Utah Brewers Cooperative ENTRIES -
The Devastator Double Bock by Wasatch - Category: German Style Strong Doppelbock

Ava Lee by Squatters - Category: Belgian Style Triple

Squatters India Pale Ale - Category: English Style India Pale Ale

Wasatch Polygamy Porter - Category: Brown Porter - Low alcohol

Squatters Provo Girl Pilsner - Category: German Style Pilsner - Low alcohol

Wasatch 1st Amendment Lager - Category: European Style Lager - Low alcohol

Wasatch Evolution Amber Ale - Category: Irish Style Red Ale

Squatters Full Suspension Pale Ale - Category: Cellared or Unfiltered Ale - Best Bitter or Special Bitter

Wasatch Apricot Hefeweizen - Category: Fruit and Vegetable Wheat Beer

Squatters Chasing Tail Golden Ale - Category: English Style Summer Ale

Squatters Hefeweizen Category: American Style Hefeweizen

Squatters Organic Amber Ale - Category: American Style Amber/Red Ale

Bobsled Brown by Wasatch - Category: German Style Brown Ale

Squatters Orphan Abbey - Category: Belgian Style Table Beer

Squatters Captain Bastard Oatmeal Stout - Category: Classic Irish Style Dry Stout

Uinta Brewing Comapny ENTRIES-

Golden Spike - Category: American Style Hefeweizen

Kings Peak Porter - Category German-Style Schwarzbier

Gelande - Category: American-Style Amber Lager; California Common Beer

Cutthroat - Category: Ordinary Bitter

Anniversary Barley Wine - Category: American-Style Barley Wine

Solstice - Category: German-Style Koelsch/Koeln-Style Koeslch

Anglers - Category: American-Style Strong Ale

Four Plus Brewing Co. ENTRIES-

Monkshine - Category: French or Belgian-Style Saison

Also, Cutthroat ( a 3 time World Beer Cup medalist) will be one of the featured beers at the competitions Gala Dinner this year.

I'm sure there are more beers entered from other brew pubs but that the stuff I know of. Winner will be announced April 19th. I'll try to get the winners list out ASAP. Cheers.

Devistator Double Bock

There's a new kid on the beer block and he's packing a welcomed punch. The happy kids over at Wasatch Brewing have been working on bringing more high-gravity suds to the Utah faithful, and have happily "nailed it" with Devastator. The Devastator is a Double Bock. If your not familiar with Bock Beers, they're a little more hearty than your normal beer. Double Bocks or Doppelbock are a Bavarian specialty beer that were first brewed by the monks of St. Francis of Paula. They're stronger than most beers (between 6%-10% abv). During the Spring religious season of Lent, monks were required to fast. High-gravity Bock beers; high in food energy and nutrients provided sustenance during this period. Hence bocks were considered "liquid bread" by the monks.

So, how does it taste? Pretty damn good!

Poured a nice clear amber/ruby color with a thin foamy head. The nose is nutty with chocolate, molasses and a bit of alcohol perfume. The taste starts with Molasses, brown sugar and pecans. spicy cocoa comes next with toasted grain and finishes with a nice hoppy pine finish. It's 8.0% abv is nicly masked. The label defiantly screams Utah. It says, Utah will never be the same.
Let pray they're right.

The artwork on the label is quite nice it depicts a Ram(Bock= Buck in German. Get it?) Busting through downtown Salt Lake City. Appropriately, snorting fire and being an all around nuisance. Sorry the pic is of low quality it seems when these come available to me, I don't have my good camera.

Devastator is available at State Liquor Stores, Wasatch brew pubs and most private clubs.

Fourth Beer of Xmas: Wasatch Christmas Ale

The first three beers of Xmas are going to put us in jail if we don't take it easy. So let's tune it down a notch and try something a little more subdued. Wasatch's Christmas Ale has been a holiday staple in Utah for quite a few years, one thing in particular I like about it is the packaging. The twelve packs are/were sold in a nice pine crate. Need one? let me know, I think I have fifty of 'em. Yet I digress

Pours a hazy light orange with an off white head that dissipates quickly. The nose is slightly spicy with nutmeg and grassy hops. The flavor starts relatively light with ginger and and other Holiday spices and transitions to a decent amount of grassy hoppiness. The finish is light and dry. As far as Holiday beers go this is pretty subdued. Not as in your face as the previous three. And it's 4.0% abv will help keep you from hitting on your cousin. Yeah, we were all watching. Your sick dude, get a girlfriend for Christ sake.

A Pair of Jacks

I love this time of year! Not so much for the weather or the shopping headaches but for the great influx of seasonal beers. So, for the next week or so, I hope to spread the word about some of the great beer options that are out there for your holiday enjoyment.

My first experience with pumpkin spiced beers was back in '98 at the Great American Beer Festival. My wife came up to me cooing over this great spice beer she had just sampled from this tiny mom-n-pop brewpub from Wisconsin. At first thought, the idea of a pumpkin beer raised an eyebrow. But soon after sampling, I was one of the converted. Basically, if you like pumpkin pie you'll most likely enjoy pumpkin ales.

Now, some pumpkin ale are with pumpkin & spices and others with just the spices. These two local options I believe are just spiced.

First one out of the gate is Wasatch's Pumpkin Ale. Poured a clear copper hue with a small cap of white foam. The nose was spicy with nutmeg, allspice and malt. The taste starts malty and nutty with great cinnamon and nutmeg essence. The pumpkin pie flavor is right on. the end is clean with a slight hopiness. The finish was slightly sweet.

Next up Punk'n from Four +(Uinta). Poured a dark, amber color with a thick white head. The nose was spicy with cinnamon and nutmeg. The taste jumps right into a complex spiciness of cinnamon, nutmeg, clove and allspice. The end was light and dry with slight cascade hops coming through. The finish was dry and spicy.

All in all these are both fine examples of pumpkin spice ales. However they are both very different. Wasatch's has much more maltiness in the backbone, which compliment it's spices nicely.

Four +'s(Uinta) is much dryer. It lacks the malty sweetness but makes up for it with rich Holiday spices.

Depending on your palate either is a fine choice. Punk'n complements cheese cake well and Pumpkin Ale is a fine session drinker.