New Beer Friday 01/29/21

It was a strong start for Utah's craft beer scene with breweries hitting the normally dry January. If you sat out January this would be a good weekend to get back into the game. 

TF Brewing- Tangelo Berliner weisse: This is a citrus bomb. The citric acid lights up the sides of the tongue giving you a good indication of the citrus level. Full of orange and grapefruit flavors. Tartness is medium in intensity. 5.0% - Avaibale starting today at TF. 

Moab - Bougie Johnny's Rose Ale: This beer/wine hybrid is brewed with Cabernet Sauvignon and Pinot Grigio grape must. Look for a slight tartness with berry fruitiness and sweet pilsner malts. 5.0% found at Harmons.

Heber Valley - Stellar Stream: Nose is muted (opens up a bit once warm), but the taste explodes with tropical fruit, papaya, guava, passion fruit, mango, kiwi, and some faint citrus. Creamy feel on the palate. 5.0% - Only at Heber Vally Brewing.

Ogden River - Chocolate Milk Coffee Stout: I missed this one. If the name doesn't entice you into trying it, then you're probably dead... or hate coffee. 5.0% Only at Ogden River Brewing.

Shades - Lemon Meringue Pie: This really lives up tot he name. There's nice tart lemony flavor that has a hint of vanilla. There's a bit of graham cracker in the background but this beer is driven by the lemon. 6.5% Available at Shades.

Hopkins - Black Sesame Stout: The sesame seeds were hand toasted at the brewpub. This beer has a nice roasty stout profile along with a toasty black sesame finish. 5.0% - Only at Hopkins.

*Worthy - Lights Out Stout: A simple and straight forward stout with a balanced amount of vanilla and light coffee. Fairly sweet but these mentioned flavors balance agreeably with the roasted malts. Found at Slackwater (Sandy).

Oskar Blues - BA20 Vol. 1: All Monde: Vanilla fudge and toasted almond hits up front, and the bourbon barrel is nice. Very balanced. The almond flavor is subtle but definitely there. Caramel, cookie dough, and roasted marshmallows. A little boozy as well. 12.5% - Found at Slackwater (Sandy).

*Bombastic - Murder: Aroma has cinnamon, cocoa nibs, a touch of cayenne pepper, not getting much of the chilies unfortunately, also tobacco, leather, toffee 10.5% - Found at Slackwater (Sandy).

*Bombastic - Attempted Murder: The aroma is strong cinnamon, nutmeg, coffee, chocolate. The taste is cinnamon, coffee, vanilla, chocolate malt balls, bourbon alcohol warming and taste. 10.0% - Found at Slackwater (Sandy).

Sawtooth - False Summit: Missed this one. Look for a malty sweet body with a medium bitter finish. 5.6% Found at DABC.

Sawtooth - Stanley Juicy IPA: Missed this one too. Found at DABC.

*Offshoot - Retreat: Missed this one. it's described as having a simple malt bill and hopped heavily with fruit-forward Mosaic, Cashmere and El Dorado. Laced with delicate and aromatic tropical notes along with a bright berry medley and a crisp mouthfeel. 8.6% - Found at Slackwater (Sandy).

Melvin - Back in Da Haze: Aroma of orange peel, grapefruit, mango and toasted caramel. Sweet tropical fruitiness with toasted caramel and a sharp bitterness in the finish. 6.5% - Found at Slackwater (Sandy).

Here are this week's small batch beers from Hopkins Brewing. 

Cheers!

*New to Our Market

New Beer Friday 01/22/21

 

Feel'n that New Beer Friday Burn? You're not alone. 

Grid City - Extra Brown Ale: Nice aroma of toasted grain crackers and white bread. Hops are light with light floral notes and pine.The taste here is pumpernickel, burnt malts: chocolate, caramel and molasses with roasted nuts and a touch of dark fruit. A floral hop smack rides in the back. Aftertaste is malty and toasty. 6.6%

Grid City - Imperial Brown Ale: Double the malt and hop bill of their standard English brown. This one comes across more like a brown IPA. A more assertive floral and pine bitterness. Much more mat sweetness along with a slight alcohol punch. 8.6%

Strap Tank - Motor Maid: This Saison was made with pink peppercorns that give it snappy kick. Some fruity eaters build on the malt profile and help compliment the notes of clove that are produced by the saison yeast strain. 5.0% - Available at Strap Tank Springville now - Lehi next week. 

Proper - Carroso: This is Proper's Gruit (beer bittered with herbs and spices rather than hops) that has been aged in Pinot Noir barrels. Fruit up front in the nose with notes of lemon, orange peel, along with vinous  berries. Undertones of oak barrel adds a vanilla note, adding aromas of pine, thyme and coriander. In the taste you get tartness up front that is quickly followed by an array of rack spices Mid-palate that brings out some fortified wine notes and a variety of herbaceous notes. The finish is dry, with more lemon and Pino Noir lingering. Excellent stuff. 9.5% On sale at noon today at Proper. Note: Proper's standard Gruit is also available today as well.  

RoHa - Blanche: The final entry in RoHa's Golden Girls Brett Pale Ale series is here. Blanche is more hop forward than the previous "girls". A quality funky aroma of damp hay and barnyard leading to pineapple, light pear, and green herbs. Flavor though is cleaner than expected - leather and straw, crisp grassy hops. Second pour is yeastier and a touch fruitier. Light bodied with frothy carb, crisp and highly drinkable. A very enjoyable Brett Pale. 5.0% - Available to go in crowlers at RoHa. 

Toasted Barrel - Kiwi Double IPA: The flavor is first and foremost fruity, but there are small nuances apparent from the  Kiwi treatment. Mostly it seems that the fruit shifted the dynamic of the hop profile, as opposed to adulterating the brew with discernible fruit flavors. The soft bitterness normally found in Toasted Barrel's IPAs is somewhat softened, allowing for a fruit-focused bouquet. Nice stuff. 8.5% - Available at Toasted Barrel.

Kiitos - Vienna Lager: Has a beautiful clear, dark copper color, rich in depth and hue. Above-moderate carbonation, thick fluffy tan head that gradually dissipates. I smell an aroma of bready and biscuit malts and grains, yeasty smell, along with a sweet caramel note. Reminds me of an Oktoberfest. Tastes like toasted malts, cereal, toast, bread, and yeast, along with as sweet caramel to balance the hops. Hops have a spicy kick and make the tongue tingly. Taste an orange peel in the aftertaste. 5.0% - Only at Kiitos.

Lone Pine - Chaos Emeralds: Opaque yellow gold with aromas of dank leafy herbs sweet tropical fruits, citrus, light foresty diesel, berry, with mild biscuity caramelized malt. Feels super soft and creamy with smooth carbonation. Tastes like pineapple, melon, tropical mango, fresh citrus peels, lime, grapefruit, hint of watermelon, berry, mild bready caramelized malts, with foresty diesel like dank leafy herbal flowers. Overall a really great DIPA.8.0% at Slackwater (Sandy).

Non-Beer – Because, sometimes you need a change. 

Mountain West Cider - Berry Balm: Jammy and lightly tart with apple taking a back seat. The whole package is quite nice though the lemon balm does get a bit lost in the berries. Very limited, small batch cider. 6.8% - Only at Mountain West Hard Cider.

Epic Hard Green Tea: Haven't had this one yet. This is a first for our market and rarity in the adult beverage market. This is all green tea with little no sweetener. 5.5% Available starting today at Epic.

Flying Embers - Hard Kombucha: No notes. 6.8% Found at DABC

Allkind - Super Berry Hard Kombucha: No notes. 6.5% Found at DABC

Allkind - Tropical Turmeric: No notes. 6.5% Found at DABC

Stem - Chile Guava Cider: No notes. 5.7% Found at DABC 

Cheers!

New Beer Friday 1/15/21

There's an excellent mix this week of local and out of state craft beers. There a re quite a fee new entries to our market from new breweries, check 'em out. 

Hopkins - Rye Pilsner: Another hit from Matt’s small-batch series makes it to the main tap! This pilsner has a light malty profile with a hint of spicy zest from the rye, a touch of bitterness and hop profile from Saaz hops, and a clean, crisp finish. Featuring locally grown and malted pilsner and flaked-rye from Solstice Malt. 5.0% Only at Hopkins.

Hopkins - Introduction Pale Ale: A simple and approachable pale ale featuring locally grown and malted Solstice 2-row malt. This version features the 2020 Veterans Blend hops, which comprises five different Pacific Northwest-grown hop varieties including Idaho 7, HBC 692, Sabro, Mosaic and HBC 630 in the dry-hop. The hop blend is created by veterans and a portion of proceeds support the Wounded Warriors Family Support Fund. Citrusy, tropical aromas and flavors are the highlight of this pale ale while allowing a delicate malty backbone with minimal bitterness and a dry finish. 5.0% Only at Hopkins.

TF - Zkittles Terpene IPA: This IPAs terpenes are based on a popular Inca cannabis strain that has similar aromatics as Skittles candy. Im haven't had this one yet. Look for a super dank and fruity IPA with tropical and berry accents. Available starting today at TF. 7.5%   

Epic Midnight Munchies: This new peanut butter stout hits the cold case today as well. No advanced tasting notes here either. 8.0% - Only at Epic.

Fisher Doc Sarvis: Notes of Bourbon, chocolate and roasted malt are the primary flavors here. You'll get nice chocolate in the base with light whiskey and wood rounding out the background. 5.0% - Only at Fisher.

Fisher - Valley of Gold: This Brett fermented pale ale is funky and doughy with barnyard aromas.Complex earthy quality despite being so young. Still getting some of the tropical flavors the nose suggested, but it's subdued. Medium-bodied, with a fairly crisp mouth-feel. Such a wonderful beer!

Kiitos - Sahti: This Finish style of beer is traditionally unhopped with juniper twigs used during the brewing process create balance, imparting an unusual resiny character and serving as a preservative. Meanwhile, exposure to wild yeast and bacteria gives Sahti its signature tartness. This has some rye and a woody quality. Bitterness is low, some hops are detected. 5.0% - Only at Kiitos.

Shades - Incubus Imperial Pastry Stout: This delicious dark beer reveals your darkest desires. It's sweet, roasted, creamy and boozy with medium to low bitterness and a chocolate taste. Incubus is the base for more pastry stouts to come. Malted oat, de-husked barley, un-malted barley, all roasted, and lactose.⠀8.0% - Available now at Shades.

Roosters - Winter Blues: This is a "blueberry forward" IPA. No notes one this one but it's got me curious; gunna need to get on this one. 5.0% at Roosters B-Street Brewery.

*Gruner Brothers Brewing - Devilito: This is classified as a Belgian style strong ale. Look for a lighter body with moderate sweetness and classic phenolic yeast spices of coriander, clove and a hint of citrus peel. 8.3%. Found at Slackwater Sandy, DABC:

*Gruner Brothers Brewing - Salt Creek Citra: Aromas of Citrus, tropical fruits and pine. The taste follows with grapefruit forward citrus and hints of mango. Pine bitterness enters towards the finish. 7.7%. Found at Slackwater, DABC.

Revision - Cloud Cuddles: This NEIPA hits all the right notes with tangerine, peach and melon. Late palate you pick up a good dose of mango and tangerine, but it's the sweeter fruits that dominate due to malt profile. Bitterness is very low. 6.5% Found at Slackwater Sandy.

Revision - Battle of the Lords: A Double NEIPA that  pours a cloudy tangerine orange with a juicy aroma. Flavor-wise you get orange, mango, peach and pineapple. It's a great package with slightly higher bettering towards the finish. Some warming alcohol. 8.5% 

*Slo Brew - Cali Squeeze Mango Hefeweizen: Lots of mango, orange and lemon. The Hefe base is for the most part light. Not a game changer, but nice and fruity. 5.4%. Found at Slackwater in Sandy.  

*Slo Brew - Cali Squeeze Blood Orange Hefeweizen: Same drill here, though the blood orange adds a more pleasant flavor profile for me. Some tartness with blood orange, lemon and grapefruit. 5.4%. Found at Slackwater in Sandy.  

Mother Earth - Nitro Cali Creamin: This nitro version is new and comes in a special 16 ounce nitrogen can. It still has that rich vanilla flavor, but it's more pronounced due to the less bitter nitrogen gas. 5.0% Found at various grocery and C-stores in Davis County. 

New Belgium - Voodoo Ranger Captain Dynamite IPA: Look for aromas of grapefruit, orange, caramel and pine. Sweet tropical fruits on top of caramel, peach and pine on the palate. found at DABC.

Returning Favorites:

Saltfire - Mobius Trip Fate Bell: The Sotol barrel aged sour is back! if you missed it last time here are my notes from last year.  This one is in Sotol barrels from Texas. If you're not familiar; Sotol is kin to tequila and mezcal, that shares many of the characteristics of agave but it's far from that. It has a very earthy tequila profile, which comes through well in the beer. The beginning is tart and earthy with some granny smith peel. Next comes notes of pineapple and salt. The finish is oaky with puckering lemon. This is super complex and very intriguing. Never had anything like this. It's well worth your time if you like tequila flavors and sour beers. 7.1%

Level Crossing - The Black Album: This is part of Level Crossing's Black Feather Series. This is a black imperial rye IPA. The aroma is hugely dank, herbal and grainy with dense, bready malts. Flavor profile is less sticky, and a little more bold in regards to the malts  – there's a good dose of roast and char swirling around throughout. Dank, herbal, floral, zesty hops open up playing off of the bready, nutty, roastier malts flavors. The bitterness is medium to high and pretty much rules the beer from the back-end to the finish. Overall, a solid BIPA, with big hopiness. 9.2% 

Here are this week's Small Batch Series beers from Hopkins Brewing.

*New to the SLC Market

Cheers!

New Beer Friday 1/8/21

Things not going your way? Luckily, New Beer Friday has what you need and will help get you back on track. 

TF - Fluffier Nuts: This is the much bigger version of the popular pastry stout. Look for a sweet aroma of marshmallows, peanuts and roasted grains. The taste was very sweet with a peanut dominance by the marshmallow sweetness & a light coffee roastiness. The finish has some lingering peanut butter. Mouthfeel was full. (Contains Peanut Butter and Lactose). 12.2% - Only available at TF.

2 Row - Citra Hopped Belgian IPA: Look for an aroma of tropical fruit, grapefruit and orange peel with some coriander beneath. The taste is similar to the aroma, with some likely earthy breadiness noticeable. There's also a nice lingering finish. 6.4% - At 2 Row.

2 Row - Simcoe on Rye:  A very citrus nose with a grapefruit tinge and overtones of pine. The taste is even more delightful than the aroma, featuring a clean not-too-bitter taste with an aftertaste of pine and grapefruit that lingers nicely. In fact, a wonderful double rye IPA. Made with Solstice malts. 8.0% At 2 Row.

Bewilder - Oat Pale Lager: Look for a hoppy lager with toasty grains and floral and citrusy hops. The oats add a nice smooth mouthfeel. Comes across as a citrus forward hoppy blonde. 5.0% - At Bewilder. 

Toasted Barrel - Non-Alcoholic Stout: If you're participating in "dryuary" This is a must for you. It's probably the best NA beer I've ever had. Full of chocolaty roasted malt and a hint of char. Since this style of stout is typically low in alcohol you barely notice the absence of alcohol. 0.5% - Only at Toasted Barrel.

Oskar Blues - Thick Haze: Pours a hazy light-amber with a grapefruit rind, pine resin, lemon, and cracker malt aroma  The flavor follows with a crisp mouthfeel- not what I've come to know as a NEIPA. Finish is dry and somewhat bitter. Overall, a refreshing IPA, but not a NE one. Found at 7.0% DABC. 

Cheers!

New Year Beer Friday 2021

Happy New Year Beer Friday! 2020 threw a lot at breweries and for the most part they were able to overcome their challenges with your help. Here's to a kinder and hopefully more gentle 2021. 

Hopkins - Holiday Ale: This has a nice mahogany color with a nose of nutmeg and orange peel. I was expecting a spice bomb, this was much more subtle. The mulling spices are classic with some clove and nutmeg. The orange aspect is a little muted but there. Nicely drinkable. 5.0% - Only at Hopkins.

Grid City - Nitro Raspberry Cocoa Brown: This sounds like a pretty busy beer but it's not. This is their classic brown that has a nice toasty/malty character. the cocoa nibs offer a light chocolate quality that work well with the base beer. The raspberry is pretty subtle, but it manages to stand alone. All of the elements are nicely balanced. The nitro conditioning is perfect and it creates a silky and creamy body that is sublime. Defiantly worth checking out. 4.6% - Only at Grid City.

Proper - Thunder Mountain: This schwartzbier opens to even more smooth lager malt with nutty, dirty, and cocoa accents but always centered on drinkability. Maybe a smidge of caramel but for the most part just a barely black lager. Hops are low and herbal in the mouthfeel but the carbonation is just about spot on. 5.0% - Only at Proper locations.

Hi Wire Brewing - 10w-40: This brewery is new to our market and this stout mimics German Chocolate Cupcakes.  The nose has roasted malts some lactose, mild chocolate and coconut aroma some coffee notes and mild vanilla and cherry. Taste is on par with the nose the good base is there still good coffee notes but the sweetness from the lactose, coconut and cherries kind of take away from a great stout. 8.0% Found at Slackwater in Sandy. 

Sun King - Electric Reindeer: Tons of malty, chocolate, brown sugar and vanilla in the aroma. Notes of ginger as well. Taste stands up to the nose pretty well; more toasty and brown-ale like with a nice ginger/spice component and that same nutty character; more vanilla and caramel/brown sugar as well. 5.8% - Found at Slackwater Sandy.

Cigar City - Fancy Papers: If the haze is important to you, this may leave you wanting a bit. It has a fruity aroma; orange, papaya and lime. Flavors are fruit forward also orange, papaya and mango. Mouth feel is lighter and less juice like. Very enjoyable. 6.5% Found at DABC.

Sierra Nevada - Wanderland Nectarine Ale: The nose is full of stone fruits; nectarines being most prominent. Taste has citrus tangerine with some slight peach character. Bready malt and some herbal hop bitterness towards the end. Mouthfeel is medium with ample carbonation. The finish is moderately dry and balanced. Good stuff! 7.5% - Found at DABC.

Chimay - Dorée: You can always count on the Bayou to bring you classic Belgium ales on draft. This beer pours slightly hazy, transparent dark gold with a fluffy white head.  Smells of sweet red apple, pear, clove, cinnamon, black pepper, honey, and hay. The taste follows the nose precisely, plus some orange peel. Lightly sweet upfront but moderately dry on the finish. Slightly light mouthfeel, but bubbly and pillowy. 4.8% - Available to go, in crowlers only at the Bayou.

Here are this week's special New Year small batches from Hopkins Brewing. 

Cheers!

New Beer Friday 12/18/20

We've had a lot of local beers over the last few weeks. This week is mostly about the out of market selection. Enjoy!

Policy Kings - Festival City Lager: This is the first lager to come out of Policy Kings and is named for the town of Cedar City. No notes on this. Please check it out. 5.0% - Only at Policy Kings. 

Uinta - Oatmeal Stout: Nice cocoa notes with some roasted malt and caramel. It has a nice creamy body. Would be excellent on nitro. 5.0% - Limited batch, only at Uinta on draft.

Kiitos - Winter IPA: Missed this. made with Loral and Citra hops. 5.0% - Only on draft at Kiitos.

Toasted Barrel -Tequila Barrel-aged Lime Gose: I missed this one. Sure sounds tasty though. 8.0% - Only at Toasted Barrel.

Duclaw - PastryArchy (Candy Cane): Duclaw Brewing (Not White Claw) is new to our market and is based out of Baltimore. Smells like a candy cane with chocolate. It tastes like hot chocolate with a candy cane in it. Full of powdered cocoa and earthy hops in the end. Finish.es with peppermint.  8.5% - Found at Slackwater in Sandy

Revision - Moon Wolf: Zesty citrus, tangerine, lemon, lime, and grapefruit, tropical fruit, papaya, apricot, peach, and a touch of mango and passion fruit, resinous pine, spicy grassy notes, biscuity malt, and caramel sweetness. Avery nice hazy from Revision. 7.0% -Found at Slackwater in Sandy.

Elysian - Rolling Stone:  Cereal grain in the aroma, along with some spicy hop notes. Crisp flavor...dry with some hop bitterness. Nice hop flavor in the finish. Straightforward lager. 4.8% - Found at Green Pig.

Ninkasi - Steady Orbit: Missed this one. 4.5% - Found at Slackwater in Sandy.

Returning Favorites

The following Fisher beers are back and in limited edition packaging in 15 ounce cans.

Fisher - Double IPA:

Fisher - Hazification:

Fisher - Sweater Party:

Fisher - Classic American Lager:

Saltfire Barrel Aged Imperial Dirty Chai Stout: 

Uinta - Brighton IPA:

Uinta - Deer Valley Black Beer:

Uinta - Powder Mountain Pilsner:

Cheers!

New Beer Friday 12/11/20

Two breweries debuted their first ever packaged beers this week. On top of that, we have another strong local showing full of big flavored beers designed for the holidays.

Policy Kings - 01-01-01: Policy King's first official packaged beer pours a light gold hazy color with a nice thick and creamy off white head. Aroma is more on the citrus side for hazy IPAs..lemon rind, orange and a bit of peach. But pleasing none the less. Again the flavor is more of a citrus/floral IPA, not the fruit bomb expected, It has a fairly nice medium mouthfeel that is appropriate for the hazy style. 7.6% - Available at Policy Kings.

Desert Edge - 2020 IPA: Desert Edge has been brewing beer since the mid 90s. This is their first official "high point" release in all time; I must say their debut is absolutely wonderful.  Aroma of pale malt, citrus and tropical hops, orange, grapefruit, pineapple and mango. Flavor is mildly caramel and pale malt, citrus hops, orange, grapefruit, dried papaya, mango and exotic mixed tropical fruit; finishes with nice moderate citrus and slightly piney hops. Medium bodied with moderate creaminess, nice mouth feel. This is a hazy I can get behind. 

Epic - Grandma Van's Candy Cane Stout: The flavors here are semisweet chocolate and flavors of roasted malt and bitter roasted notes. At first sip, you might not even realize that this is infused with mint if you weren't paying attention. Though that's likely a good thing, since you don't want the mint to overpower the flavor. Once again, the peppermint comes through in more of an herbal, even earthy vein than the kind of artificial profile in mint candy. In fact, the mint imparts zero sweetness whatsoever, relying on the chocolate malt and cacao to counteract the bitterness from the roasted flavor profiles. Think Brownies with mint icing. 6.0% - Available at Epic.

Shades - Slurry Series Sugar Plum: This beer is thick – like tomato juice thick. This is a super fruity and tart milkshake style sour beer. Marshamallow and lactose counter the base sweetness creating a well rounded fruit bomb. Perfect for the holidays. 5.0% - Available at Shades. Not vegan friendly.

Hopkins - Strawberry Zinfandel Sour: This has a bright vinous nose. The taste follows with mostly Zinfandel grapes dominating. The strawberry part is for the most part dominated by the grape. The tartness from the base beer gives the whole package a unripened sour profile. I found it quite drinkable. 5.0% - Only at Hopkins. 

Proper - Barrel Aged Geol: Most barrel-aged barleywines tend to nap in whiskey barrels. Proper's new barrel-aged version of Geol (Yule) was aged in Pino Noir barrels. The aroma is sweet and slightly vinous with some oak. The taste is surprisingly, not super sweet. The barrel treatment here has mellowed what is normally a big malt profile. The Pino portion combines to make an almost Port-like flavor with a nice punch of drying oak. A very nice take on the barleywine. 10.6% 

Kiitos - Mocha Brown: This has a nose full of coffee aromas. The taste follows, but is more intense. There's a ton of cold drip medium roast coffee flavors. It has a nice fresh taste with some drying toast from the base beer. If you love coffee, this will make you day. 5.0% - Only at Kiitos.

Level Crossing - XII.XI.XIII Barleywine: Brewed to honor the birth of Head Brewer, Chris Detrick's son. This is an American Style Barleywine which is more hoppy than the English style. And this delivers with a full 222 IBUs. This is a hoppy and bitter beast. There's a nice amount of toffee at the base and then it kicks into hop overdrive. This beer was designed for aging; to be laid down for many, many years. So, buy a few for your cellar.  12.1%

Lone Pine - Quantum Cuddle Kitten: Missed this one. 8.2% - Found at Slackwater in Sandy.

Returning Favorites

Tf Brewing - HollaHaze

Proper Geol

RoHa - Millenium Falcon

This week Hopkins Brewing is celebrating 2 years in business and have a special Small Batch selection for the weekend. 

Cheers!

New Beer Friday 12/4/20

There's no mystery here. Great beers for all tastes are dialed in and ready to go for you. If you missed my post from Tuesday, the last beer in our charity collaboration series is pouring right now at Fisher. Thanks again to Fisher , 2 Row, TF and Epic for making these beers happen.

Fisher - Rye-On Mikey: This is the final collaboration in our 15 year anniversary series. This is of course, a rye pale that has a big citrus aroma with a sweet malty palate that is complimented with a medium amount of rye spiciness. On the hop-side we threw in mostly Amarillo to give it a medium bitterness and a very pleasant citrus peel profile. You can enjoy this 5.0% ale at the brewery or snag some crowlers to go.

Fisher/Ken Sanders - George Hayduke: The second in a series of beers based on the book, The Monkey Wrench Gang is another rye pale ale. This is much less hoppy than Rye-On Mikey. Rye forward with citrus and herbal hops. Medium maltiness with good balance. 5.0% Available Saturday.

Squatters- Olde Castle:  The aroma has notes of caramel and a little bit of grass and nut. Along with these smells comes some smells of dark fruit and a hint of herbs. The taste begins with a lightly toasted malt flavor that has a decent showing of a slightly bready flavors and some caramel. Upfront there is a little bit of a toasted nut flavor mixed with the rest as well. As the taste advances the nut gets a bit stronger, while some hoppy flavors of an herbal and earthy nature join the taste profile. 6.0% ABV Available at most Squatters/Wasatch locations. 

TF - TochterVat: This is a father/daughter project, brewed by assistant brewer, Rita Behles and her her dad, Joe. Fruity malts with herbal hops that take on rose and clover notes. It's very botanical with light toast and a hint of granola. Never had a lager like this. Very nice. 5.0% - Available at TF

Hopkins - Strawberry Sorghum: Light toast, and a hint of strawberry. Hop aromas are low, grain aromas are between medium and medium low. Taste starts with lightly sweet caramel bread crust and a hint of strawberry, light spice, a hint of anise, and a little bit of sorghum flavor. 5.0% - Available at Hopkins.

Shades - Eggnog Cream Ale: Poured a cloudy golden copper body with minimal head and lace. The aroma has this boozy, woody aspect to it with hints of dairy and sweetness to it. The beer is medium bodied and thick at times, almost a sticky dessert sipper at times, with touches of lactic quality. Some spices and booze shine through and warm me up and there is a bit of sweetness like vanilla coming through. 6.5% - Available at Shades. Not vegan friendly.

Melvin - Star Valley: Missed this one. 5.0% - Found at Slackwater (Sandy)

Revision - Sparkle Muffin: Missed this one. 7.0% - Found at Slackwater (Sandy)

Revision - To Dream: Missed this one. 7.0% - Found at Slackwater (Sandy)

Prairie - Seasick Crocodile: Missed this one. 6.3% - Found at Slackwater (Sandy)

Cheers!

Our Fourth, 15th Anniversary Beer Is???

Our fourth and final 15th Anniversary charity beer is available starting today! Utah Beer teamed up with the guys at Fisher Brewing to brew-up a special pale ale designed for high drinkability. 

Rye-on Mikey is of course a rye pale that has a big citrus aroma with a sweet malty palate that is complimented with a medium amount of rye spiciness. On the hop-side we threw in mostly Amarillo to give it a medium bitterness and a very pleasant citrus peel profile. You can enjoy this 5.0% ale at the brewery or snag some crowlers to go.

Demand at the Utah Food Bank is way up right now, and they could use the coin coming from all of these beers sooner than later. I'd like to thank you all for your feedback and interest in these beers; they were a lot of fun to create. I'd like to thank Jordan and Dave from Epic, Kevin and "the Jakes" from TF Brewing, Brian and Wendell at 2 Row  and of course Tom, Tim, Steve and Colby from Fisher. 

You can taste their enthusiasm in each of their beers and we hope your enjoyment of the beers is equal to the fun we had in making them. If you've missed one or the other, you can still find all four at their respective breweries. 

Prost! 

  

New Beer Black Friday 11/27/20

 

 

 

I hope you all had a nice holiday of food and social distancing. If it's flavor you crave, this is your New Beer Friday. If you missed my update on Wednesday, the third beer in our 15 year Anniversary brewery collaboration is out. The breweries are donating a portion of their sales on the beers to the Utah Food Bank. And if you bring a food donation to Epic, They will provide you with an autographed bottle of our special vanilla porter. Why you'd want my chicken scratchings on your bottle is beyond me. But, this is the time of COVID, and we're limited to fun interactions. Have a great weekend! 

 

Epic - Utah Beer Blog 15th Anniversary Vanilla Porter: The nose is a tad faint after the initial foam has shrunk away, but there's a good bit of sweetness, some vanilla, and a bit of roastiness hanging out in the background.  The taste is roasty on the first sip, blending in a bit of that raisin from the aroma with a dark bready malt flavor and... yeah, this is DEFINITELY a vanilla beer, It's not overpowering and it feels like the there was a small dollop cream and vanilla. On later sips, the raisiny thing fades away a bit and it's more like roasty/malty straight into nice smooth sweetish vanilla The finish is slightly bitter, which helps balance the vanilla bean. 5.5%.

 

Shades - Our Maine Man: You get almond right off in the nose with some tart berry. Cranberry builds on the beer's base accentuating the tartness from both. This is a tart beer with a nutty almond finish. No lactose added to this one. 6.5% Available at Shades.  

Shades - Yams Y'all: The aromas is nutty with some maple. The taste follows with some tartness from the base beer. There's a a slight earthiness, provably from the yam with some pleasant vanilla and pecan rounding it out. Not vegan friendly due to lactose. 6.5% Available at Shades

 

Roosters - Snowbasin 80th Anniversary Pale Ale: Missed this one. This will be around for a while. 5.0% - Available at all Roosters locations and Snowbasin Resort in cans and on draft.

Fisher - Pineapple Plum: This nicely tart. The plumb and the base beer duke it out sour supremacy. The pineapple gets a little lost but it's definitely there. It's a lip-smacker! 5.0% - Only at Fisher.

RoHa - Dorothy: This is the third beer in RoHa's Golden Girls Series of beers. This is a brett pale ale with a funky nose full of funky brett. The taste is less funky but you still get that doughy barnyard yeastiness. There's a hint of vague berry sourness from the yeast with medium bitterness and a slightly minty finish. 5.0% - Only in crowlers to go at RoHa.

Proper - Whispers of the Primordial: I missed this Smoked Helles made with pineapple. 5.0% - Available at Proper.

Toasted Barrel - Mexican Hot Chocolate Stout: Missed this as well. Look for a chocolate forward stout with notes of cinnamon and chilies. 8.5% - Only at Toasted Barrel.

 

Illuminated Brew Works - War on Xmas: Missed this one. This Imperial Stout is described as being combination of egg nog and Christmas cookies. Brewed with lactose sugar, Indonesian vanilla beans, Vietnamese cassia bark cinnamon and nutmeg. Not vegan friendly. 11.0% Found at DABC.

Cheers!

15 Year Collaborations Continue with Utah Beer Blog Vanilla Porter

Just in time for Thanksgiving we are proud to bring you the third beer in our 15 year collaboration project. When I approached Epic Brewing about brewing a beer with them they couldn't have been more accommodating and enthusiastic. I was quite surprised when they presented me with the packaging and was very flattered by the bottle design.

We ended up concocting a vanilla porter. It's an offshoot of the style I've always found highly drinkable and wholely approachable.   

The nose is a tad faint after the initial foam has shrunk away, but there's a good bit of sweetness, some vanilla, and a bit of roastiness hanging out in the background. 

The taste is roasty on the first sip, blending in a bit of that raisin from the aroma with a dark bready malt flavor and... yeah, this is DEFINITELY a vanilla beer, It's not overpowering and it feels like the there was a small dollop cream and vanilla. On later sips, the raisiny thing fades away a bit and it's more like roasty/malty straight into nice smooth sweetish vanilla The finish is slightly bitter, which helps balance the vanilla bean. 5.5%.

Again, part of the proceeds from this beer will be going to the Utah Food Bank. Additionally, If you wish to bring canned food items or dry goods to donate you will receive a signed bottle from yours truly. It was a little odd signing bottles, usually when I'm signing something, it's usually followed by, "this is not an admission of guilt, just that you promise to appear in court". So it was a nice change. 

We had hoped for something a little more celebratory but, you know, COVID. So please try it out and let us know what you think. It's available at Epic in SLC starting today, and if you don't live in the SLC area the Utah Beer Blog Vanilla Porter will be showing up in DABC stores after the first of the year. 

Cheers! 

New Beer Friday 11/20/20

Last Monday we we pleased to announce the Utah Beer Blog's 15th Anniversary and promised four new collaboration beers to help celebrate. Today I'm happy to say two of those beers are available purchase. I'd like to thank 2 Row and TF Brewing for allowing me to stink-up their respective joints and allowing the charitable beers to be made. On top of those beers there's thick selection of local brews hitting this week as well. Too much good stuff for a single week. 

2 Row - Mikey's Citra IPL: While not new, proceeds from this beer will be going to the Utah Food Bank. We originally released this beer in 2016 as an alternative lager for those that don't like traditional pilsners. It's light and crisp with a nice tangerine feel that boasts a medium bitterness and dry finish. It's the definition of crushable. 5.5% - Available Today in 12 ounce bottles at 2 Row. 

TF - Alt Riedel: Altbiers are one of my favorite German beer styles. Toasty, malty and a balancing bitterness; Alts just seem to be the complete package. Big thanks to everyone at TF for their enthusiasm and dedication to making this charitable beer a reality. 

Aroma is of darkly toasted brown bread, toasted walnuts and hazelnuts, slight black tea, very faint herbal European hops, and malty sweetness. Front of palate picks up toasted dark bread and nuts, cocoa, even a bit of coffee. Mid-palate features spicy European hops and tannins similar to black tea. Spicy European hops alongside decreased toasted bread, nut, and cocoa round out the backend with a lingering aftertastes of toasted bread and nuts. It has a nice dry finish, perfect for or current weather. 5.0% on draft and crowlers to-go at TF Starting today. 

Saltfire - Bigger in Japan: Nice citrus aroma, but this really shines in the palate with a big dose of tropical fruitiness and medium bitterness. There's some alcohol smack, but this is a 9.1% Double IPA. There's nice lingering fruity finish. It kinda falls in between NEIPA and WCIPA. Good stuff! At Saltfire.

Ogden River - Derailment: Missed this new Hazy IPA from ORB. Look for a citrus nose with notes of tangerine and mango. 5.0% - Available now at Ogden River Brewing.

Roosters - Pecan Pie: Caramelized light brown sugar, along with a sorta fig/date dark fruit taste. Pecan does have a little influence in the back of the taste. The beer finishes a little more balanced, almost like the opening of a normal English nut brown ale. 5.0% - Available at all Roosters locations. 

Uinta - Was Angeles:  The nose has a strong grassy/herbal smell with sweet pale malt smell beneath. The taste is similar to the nose. The taste begins with toasty crackers, some lemon and floral hops. A light malty sweetness comes next - that sweetness fades as a spicy/herbal bitterness creeps in towards the end. The finish is mostly dry with a hint of sweetness. 5.0% - Availble at Uinta. 

Grid City - Thanksgiving Cream Ale: This has subtle flavors of cranberry and blood orange – the cranberry dominates for the most part. You never loose the base beer and you get all of that malty/nuttiness of the style. Very limited. Only at Grid City.

Bewilder - West Coast IPA: No notes on this one. It's hopped with bru-1, Sabro and El Dorado. This will be available in 16 ounce cans later this afternoon. 6.5% 

Bewilder - Cranberry Sour: No notes on this one. Sounds pretty self explanatory though. This will be available this Saturday.

Toasted Barrel - Strawberry Milkshake DIPA: No notes on this one. Sounds pretty self explanatory though. 8.0% - Only at Toasted Barrel. Not vegan friendly.

Cheers!

Here For the Local Beer Since 2005

Fifteen years ago today, I started a little project to help promote Utah's craft beer scene and advocate for the fans of it. Back in 2005 social media wasn't a thing, and people rarely spent the time combing though individual websites looking at the latest beer info. The Utah Beer Blog tried to fill that gap. I've had a lot of fun doing it and made some life-long friends along the way. Nobody is more surprised than me, that this little experiment is still going on; a bit diminished, but still trudging on. 

To help celebrate, the Utah Beer Blog has partnered with four local breweries to make a quartet of special beers to say, thank you! to all of you that have bothered to waste your precious bandwidth on 15 years of this beer nerd's bullshit. 

Through the end of November you can look forward to periodic releases of our celebratory beers. These beers will be announced here when they are ready, along with brewery and beer style. We had a lot fun collaborating on these brews and look forward to sharing them with you all in the coming days. And if four new beers isn't enough for you, a portion of the sales from each beer will be going to to help out the Utah Food Bank. 

If you ever have the time I invite you check out the Utah Beer archives (column to the right). It may provide you some insight to the past decade and a half or simply remind you of some of the great things you may have forgotten. 

Again thanks for your words of support and your critiques over the last 15 years. Utah is a unique place to be a craft beer lover, and there's no place I rather be.  

Cheers!

New Beer Friday 11/13/20

 When the beer gods (err Peter Wiarda) give you an excellent photo, it must be used! This week sees a relatively small New Beer Friday, yet it's evenly distributed along the Wasatch Front.

Level Crossing - Red Sea Rift:  Really strong rich roasted coffee dominates the nose. A touch of dark chocolate is there, but the coffee roastiness is the main factor here. Taste starts with a rich dark chocolate, slowly turning over to a deep, rich coffee and a moderately high bitterness. Coffee character on the backside overrides the other flavors. Mouthfeel is relatively full bodied with some creaminess from the oatmeal, and a light carbonation. Some bitterness lingers in the finish, but mostly a dark chocolate roasted malt character. One of the more coffee forward takes on the style, with an aroma that sets itself apart. This beer has some nice dark chocolate undertones, but really shines for the coffee character. Oatmeal adds some viscosity to the mouthfeel. 9.6% - Available starting today.

Strap Tank - H.O.G. Juice: Look for a juicy IPA that's full of pineapple, mango, Jasmin and cherry. I thought this would be a muddled mess, but the flavors are nicely cohesive and it comes off smooth and tasty with low bitterness. 5.0% - Available at Strap Tank (Springville).

2 Row Sabro Effect:  The nose opens up with a nice fresh hop character. There's coconut and mild peach. The palate opens mildly bitter with a clean, mildly oily bitterness along with a nice fresh hop character. Flavors of coconut, mandarin orange, peach and a little honey are present. Drying, bitter on the finish with some lingering fresh hop flavor, this beer is light in body and moderately carbonated. A well integrated beer. 8.6% - Available today at 2 Row. 

Fisher - Goldrush: The aroma is very piney with a dab of resin and a hint of booze. The taste follows suit with a lot of piney goodness, a touch of resin and a bit of peppery spiciness. A little juicy in the middle too. The body is medium to full and pairs perfectly with the hops. It gets right to the edge of being bitter but perfectly plays the line and has a pleasant linger of hop flavor instead of bitterness. Finish is long and enjoyable but still manages to be dry.  

Salt Flats - Winter Amber: Missed this one. This amber ales loaded up with nutmeg, cinnamon on top of a sweet malty back. On draft now. 5.0% 

Here are this week's Small Batch beers from Hopkins Brewing.

Cheers!

New Beer Friday 11/06/20

We have a winner, and it's you! No recounts or lawsuits just a shload of yummy, local suds to keep you company as the weather turns cold.

Uinta - Peppermint Patty: Smells of mint, lots of mint. Hints of coffee and chocolate on the edges. Taste is creamy and chocolaty with a hint of roast and a good dose of mint. The taste was good, more like a Girl Scout Thin Mint than a York Peppermint Patty, which is what I had been expecting. 8.5% Available at Uinta.

Uinta - Test Phaze NEIPA: This beer pours a hazy, yet bright medium apricot orange colour, with four fingers of puffy, loosely foamy. It smells of gritty and grainy caramel malt, some orange, tangerine, lemon, and red grapefruit citrus rind. The taste is grainy and crackery pale malt, a faint biscuity toffee sweetness, kind of muddled citrus with some faint stone fruits and more earthy, herbal, and musky hop bitters. 7.0% - Available starting today at Uinta.

Proper - Coward's Fist: This gin barrel aged IPA takes Proper's Revenge DIPA and ages it Hammer Springs' Gin. This gin has a good dose of sage with hints of whiskey. It very botanical and it works very well with the citrus zest hop blend in the IPA. A very complex BA IPA. 10.0% Available at Proper today. 

Hopkins - Coconut Macadamia Porter: I was afraid that this would be another sweet pastry stout. It's not that at all. No lactose, with subtle use of coconut and nuts. The porter's roasty base maintains it power over the beer. Served on nitro. 5.0% - only at Hopkins.

Shades - Pumpkin Pie Cream Ale: Shades has made a beer for every pie on the planet, so of course in November they would make their version of a pumpkin pie. There's their signature tart kveik beer base with a pleasant amount of pumpkin and pumpkin spices. Sweet graham cracker rounds out the flavor and makes the pie mimicking beer complete. Very nice. Not vegan friendly.  6.5% - Available at Shades.

Cheers!

New Beer/Brewery Friday 10/30/20

 

Hear that? that's the sound of very few kids pounding at your front door. We all know the only pounding this weekend will be the slamming of drams on your over-taxed counter tops. Please keep it in check though, those little shits have devious parents that are just as devious as you once were. Happy Boo Beer...er New Brewery Friday!

 

Ogden River - Aviator American Wheat: We have a new brewery! Ogden River Brewing is the culmination of many beer dreams, but none more than Pat Wonslow's. Pat's first beer has a nice toasty wheat base with  a subtle amount of toast that carries a bit of coriander and orange peel beneath.It not quite into Witbier territory, but it gets the point across with out being overbearing.  Solid and highly drinkable at 5.0% - Only at Ogden River. 

Ogden River - Hop Train: A straight up American Pale Ale with medium to light malts and a slightly over balanced hop bill. This is not trying to be an IPA dressed as a pale ale, it's a tight easy drinking beer with no frills. 5.0% - Only at Ogden River. 

Ogden River - Union Station Amber: This takes a slight turn towards hoppy-side. It's all about the malt upfront, but then it goes into pale ale territory, offering up a slightly exaggerated hop bite that is less better and more snappy. very quantifiable at 5.0% - Only at Ogden River.

Ogden River - Jacob's Bogie Scottish Ale: This one hit after I got my samplings.Look for a high malt profile with hints of peaty smoke. Just hints. 5.0% Only at Ogden River. 

Ogden River/Bewilder - Patersbier: From the start clove drives the flavors here. Some esters from ythe yeast creat a vague fruitiness with honey malts driving the base beer. The yeast also offers a bit of white pepper, which helps it drive to a dry finish. This is quite a assertive 'father's beer' peppery dry. 5.0% Only at Ogden River and Bewilder.

Bewilder - Mole' Porter: This has a solid Porter body without a doubt. There is a bit of chocolate and maple up front. Those flavors give way to chili, cinnamon and peppers. Not much heat – butr the mole spects drive you to the finish.This is Bewilder's first beer above draft level and it hits at 6.0% and it will go one sale this Saturday.

Salt Flats - Barrel-aged Low Rider: Aged in Salt Flat's Bonneville Bourbon barrels. This chocolate forward ale will beat your ass if your not careful. Massive amounts of milk chocolate dominate, until the wicked bourbon and rye attack turning this into a decadent witches brew. This is not for the meek. For a barrel-aged beer this is the best bang for your buck, I promise. At 10.5% this will light up any evening, in or out of the house. 10.5% - at Salt Flats today. 

 

Hopkins - You can't Do That On Television IPA: This is a throwback to American IPAs from 20 years ago, this beer features caramel malts (from Solstice Malts), a firm bitterness and a piney citrus dry hop profile from Chinook, Citra and Simcoe. 5.0% - Only at Hopkins.

Potosi - Rosa Stiefel: This is a Pink Boots collaboration beer that emulates a Euro- Grapefruit Hefewezen.  This comes across as a radlerbeir without all of the sweet soda. High on Fruity flavor – low in beer difficulty. It's a guilty pleasure for sure at 4.5% Found at Slackwater in Sandy.

Check us out at 9:20am-ish on KBER 101 as Mick, Allen and myself dissect all of these and other beers on the New Beer Friday – KBER edition.

 

Here's this week's small batch beers from Hopkins Brewing. Click for a larger image.

Cheers!

Ogden River Brewing Opens Today

When Pat Winslow envisioned his post retirement brewpub, he had no idea the end result would be the beautiful riverside it is today. Winslow's original spot was an old garage that ocqupied a lot a few blocks west of where the current brewery resides. Due to Ogden City demands, that property was deemed to expensive to redevelop. Thankfully Winslow had a chance meeting with the Lotus Company and the two entities where able to turn their visions into one reality. 

Today Ogden River Brewing Co. officially opens to the public. The beautifully designed brewpub is designed to show off its proximity to the Ogden River and offers multiple level outside to take it all in. ORB has 10 tap handles and the brew-team is quickly working to fill them ASAP. At last count they were up to five taps; today, they may have more. 

So welcome Ogden River Brewing to the Utah Beer Family, our 41st local and  independent brewhouse! 

Cheers!