New Beer Friday 4/6/18

It's pretty much an all local New Beer Friday, less a couple of Firestone Walker beers. Have a great weekend.

2 Row Hop Dust Ekuanot - Pours a hazy, medium golden amber with an aroma of citrus and pine, lemon and mixed tropical fruit. The flavor is caramel, citrus hops, light mixed tropical fruit, lemon and grapefruit. The hop flavor tapers off into a slightly astringent citrus rind finish. 8.1% ABV. Available at 2 Row, Beer Bar, Bayou - soon to most better beer pubs.

Squatters Hop Rising Tropical - The nose is fruity with lots of citrus peel and tropical fruits. The taste has pineapple right out of the gate with a good dose of tangerine and mango backing it up. The malt is subtly balanced with a bit of melon in the finish. 9.0% ABV. I had it at the UBC's West Side Tavern. It should be popping up at most Squatters/Wasatch locations anytime. 

Kiitos Grapefruit Pale Ale - The nose here has grapefruit peel and pine with a bit of malt sweetness. The taste is your tyical pale with addition of grapefruit juice. You can tell it's real juice because it's puckering on the sides of the tongue. Nice and refreshing. 4.0% ABV. Available at Kiitos.

Epic Beach Bash - This is a collaboration with Beachwood Brewing out of California. It's made with  passion fruit, pineapple and pink guava. It's in Epic's limited release growlers. A very limited supply. Not sure about the ABV here. Available at Epic Brewing

Firestone Walker Nitro Merlin - Nice looking ebony color with that great dense creamy tan head. The aroma is chocolaty with light coffee. The taste has chocolate, dark caramel, cocoa, and coffee with little bitterness. Very nice. 5.5% ABV. I found it at Beerhive, the Bayou also has some.

Stone Enjoy by 4/20/18 - You can always rely on Utah to bring in these beers at the last minute. Oh well, better late than never. The aroma is an intense tropical resin, backed by sweet malt.
The flavor is intense intense tropical fruit, citrus, bitter orange, tangerine, peach, papaya, lime and  dank pine with solid bitterness lingering at the end. Not for the timid. 9.4% ABV. Avaiable at the Bayou.

Uinta Berliner with Guava -  This one goes on tap around 11am today. I will let you know my impressions at 3:30 PM with Mick and Allen on the New Beer Friday segment on KBER 101.

Cheers!

2018 Tour de Brewtah

Keep April 28th open kids, because that's when the 9th annual Tour De Brewtah happens. Utah's best biking brew tour is back with more routes for cyclists of all abilities. Not only are there new routes but there are new breweries to added into those routes.

The concept is very simple: Tour riders will pick up their route booklets at Downtown Library Square and visit various breweries (depending on their route selection), and will finish up in the back courtyard of Beer Bar/Bar X for an after party with live music and food (from 3-7pm).

Every year the Tour de Brewtah goes with a theme and riders are encouraged to implement the theme into their attire and or bicycles. This year they are going with a 90’s TV Theme - that's pretty broad range of costumes to choose from, I'm sure it'll be amusing. A portion of the proceeds will be going to various charities and non-profits, including: the National Ability Center, Utah Brewers Guild, Salt Lake City Bicycle Collective, and KUAA RADIO.

Registration is now open. Don't wait too long, there is a cap on the number of attendees.  Looking forward to seeing you there!

Prost!

New Beer Friday 3/30/18

Congratulations, We're having a New Beer Friday!

Shades of Pale - Mojito:  The aroma here is full of citrus-like tartness and mint. The taste is slightly tart, with oaky white rum adding a little bite. Fresh mint then carries the beer's flavor profile to the end with a bit of rind bitterness in the finish. The beer's natural carbonation provides a nice spritz in the mouth, adding to its cocktail authenticity. Although the base is more lemon than lime, the rum and mint help sell its mock-abilty. 4% ABV. Available today at Shades of Pale - 11am.

Utah Pink Boots Society - Mash the Patriarchy: The Pink Boots Society is a beer industry group that is designed to inspire and educate women who work in the U.S. beer industry. On International Women's Day women from many of Utah's breweries gathered at Roosters in Ogden to collaborate on a new beer that will be served at participating and non participating breweries and brew pubs around the Wasatch Front, with a portion of the proceeds going to the Pink Boots scholarship fund. That beer is finally done and hitting brewery guest taps as speak. This Cascadian Dark Ale has a nose that is very roasty and somewhat fruity. The taste follows, but, here I'm getting dark cocoa and grapefruit grapefruit. There is also sweetness, brown bread crust, and mild bitterness, but the overriding flavors are of the cocoa and fruit. Mouthfeel is slick and medium. Finishes semi-dry and refreshing. Easily crushable. 4.0% ABV. Available at Kiitos, Fisher, Proper, RoHa, UBC Store, Uinta, Zion Canyon, Roosters, Beer Bar, Slackwater and Angry Goat.

RoHa Brewing Project - Nights Out:  This Belgian style stout has aromas with lots of dark chocolate and espresso with clove dark fruits coming through. The taste opens up with some dark candi sugar giving off notes of dark fruits. a dry and dark bakers chocolate comes in before being nudged by a breath of cloves. The phenols don't completely take over but they do help push that taste away from any usual stout flavors. It finishes with faint notes of espresso. Available at the RoHa Brewing Project. Soon to better beer pubs.

Epic/Odell - Double D’s Double IPA: This special beer was made for Colorado's Collaboration Beer Festival. It's only being served at the festival this Saturday (tomorrow). All of those tropical notes are present including pineapple, papaya and a shload of citrus notes. It's 9.5% ABV but drinks like 7%, so be careful. It's highly drinkable. Epic released a very limited amount of this beer yesterday, in growlers at the SLC brewery. Don't wait.

Roosters - Limited Release Amber Ale: This is a new high point amber ale. I havn't tried it yet as it is being bottled as I write this. It will be available this afternoon at both Roosters locations in Ogden and Layton. 7% ABV.

Hoppers - The Jenny: A hibiscus flower, rose hip and strawberry flavored ale. Lightly hopped with Hull Melon. Maris Otter and Vienna base malt. Tart and crisp with a fruity finish. Pours a hazy strawberry color. 4% ABV.  Just tapped at noon. Only at Hoppers. 

Melvin - Chuck Morris: Tropical fruit aromas hit the nose first, mainly pineapple and alcohol soaked mango. There is also citrus fruit, grapefruit, orange and a good amount of pine. The taste pretty much follows. A good dose of resiny and oily hops give the juice its run for the money. Dry finish with a long bitter linger. 9.5% ABV. Available at Beerhive, Bayou, Dick n Dixie's, Slackwater

Cheers!

SLUG Mag's Brewstillery

On May 12 at the Gallivan Center, SLUG Mag's Brewstillery: A Local Beer and Spirits Festival will be SLUG's second all-local beer festival and first-ever all-local spirits festival—all in one. Two awards will be given for exclusive brews that will be at Brewstillery. 

Attendees will vote for their favorite exclusive brew for the People's Choice award, and SLUG "Beer of the Month" columnists Chris and Sylvia Hollands will be the judges for the Best New Brew award. There will also be awards, given to distilleries, to be determined. Visit SLUGMag.com for more information about Brewstillery, and read up on the exclusive offerings at the festival below! 

Proceeds benefit the Utah Brewers Guild
 
Ticket Information
Drinking Adults - $20 in advance, $25 day of (Includes a commemorative mug and 5 beverage tokens)
Non-Drinking - $5
Kids 12 & Under - FREE 

Participating Breweries
Bohemian Brewery & Grill
Bonneville Brewery
Desert Edge Pub and Brewery
Epic Brewing Company
Fisher Brewing Company
Hoppers Grill & Brewing Co.
Kiitos Brewing
Moab Brewery
Mountain West Hard Cider
Proper Brewing Co
Red Rock Brewing
RoHa Brewing Project
Roosters Brewing Co.
SaltFire Brewing Co
Squatters Craft Beer
Strap Tank Brewing Co.
Talisman Brewing Company
Uinta Brewing
UTOG Brewing Company

Vernal Brewing Company
Wasatch Brewery
Zion Brewery

Participating Distilleries
Alpine Distilling
Beehive Distilling
Black Feather Whiskey
Dented Brick Distillery
Distillery 36
Hammer Spring Distillers
Holystone Distilling
Kid Curry Spirits
Ogdens Own Distillery
Outlaw Distillery
Sugar House Distillery
Waterpocket Distillery

What a cool event! I'm really looking forward to checking this one out. This ain't the SLC of old - that's for sure.

Cheers!

New Beer Friday 3/23/18

Epic Brainless Passion Fruit: Passion fruit shines here with a somewhat fruity nose with a hint of Belgian yeast. The taste follows with more pleasantly tart fruit and a base beer that doesn't get lost behind the fruit. In fact the spicy yeast adds to the fruit making it more complex. 8.8% ABV. Available today at Epic brewing 

Bonneville 5th Anniversarye:  A blend of special malts give a rich malty character while malted rye lends its distinctive earthy/spicy snap. Experimental #06297 hops contribute bursts of citrus, berries and even a hint of vanilla. 4.0% ABV. On tap at the pub Tooele.

Cheers!

New Brews Soon for You: Red Rock and Epic

I found some new entries for this week's New Brews Soon for You feature. In this is edition well examine  two new beers that will finding their way into your fridges in the coming months.

Fist we have Big Bad Baptist Reserve from Epic Brewing. What makes this one "Reserve"? Apparently it's because this version is a blend of the best, of all three barrels from all three 2017 Big Bad Baptist variants. It's said that crazy flavors were not the focus here, simply the smoothest blends  that Epic has to offer. This will be a pretty limited batch when it hits. Only 600 cases will be produced. Big Bad Baptist season is still a ways away; maybe this will arrive sooner because of it's reserve status. At least now you can start planning your attack strategies sooner than later.

Our other beer comes from Red Rock Brewing Company. This is their Lime Gose. If you frequent Red Rock's pubs you're probably very familiar with this beer. It's been a popuar staple on draft over the last year, now it's making it's way into bottles and Harmons' grocery stores. This is a killer warm weather beer, I imagine it will hit late April or May. 4.0% ABV

Stay close for their releases and other New Brews Soon for You beers.

Cheers!

New Beer Friday 3/16/18

All I can say about this New Beer Friday batch of beers is that they are all full flavored beasts. If you like your beer subtle and light, these will not make you happy. Let's proceed.

Bohemian SIMPL (Session India Munich Pale Lager) - This very hoppy lager has a huge grassy and spicy nose. The taste has a huge blast of herbal, grassy and spicy hops that play off the mildly sweet toasted grains. I love lagers like this, the Mandarina Bavaria and Hallertauer Blanc hops create a incredibly complex flavor profile. If you like hoppy lagers, you love this. 4.0% ABV. Available at Bohemian

Squatters Chasing Tail Orange - I hope you like orange, because that's what you're going to get with this new brew from Squatters. It starts with a orange soda like flavor. Not as cloying as orange soda but it has that syrupy feel. As you get through to the end more orange peel comes through with a bit of pith. 5.2%  ABV. Available at Squatters/Wasatch locations now - soon to DABC stores.

Rogue Paradise Pucker - Sour and tart dominate both the aroma and flavor. The addition of passion fruit, orange peels, and guava work well with the lacto tartness. The result is a nicely tart and fruity concoction. 6.0% ABV. Available at select DABC stores

Mother Earth/Melvin Four Seasons Collaboration - This beer is massively hoppy and dank as shit. From the aroma to the palate you're senses will be assaulted with big chewy citrus and tropical fruits. The bitterness is high as well, countering the moderate amount of malt sweetness. There are six different hop editions here, featuring Citra and Mosaic and Lupulin Powder. 8.5% ABV. Available at Slackwater, Beerhive and The Bayou.

Proper's Mr. Wolf - This is a pale ale that features Styrian Wolf hops. These have subtle floral flavors like rose, orange blossom, and geranium, and also has a pleasing amount of earthy dankness. 4.0% ABV. Available at Proper Brewing.

Proper is also re-releasing  Czech Your Head - Only difference this year is that Proper is introducing some Mountain Malt along with the pilsener and adding some Tettnanger along with the Saaz hops. This will be a year-round beer, and it will be in Proper's bottle shop shelves today. 5.6% ABV

Remember, If your out and about this St. Patrick's Day, please avoid the green beer and embrace something craft.

Cheers!

Utah's Pink Boots Collaboration Beer

Last Thursday on International Women's Day a group of Utah ladies got together to brew a special collaboration beer. The Ladies belong to Utah's newly formed chapter of the Pink Boots Society: a group that aims to raise awareness of women working in the brewing industry. Pink Boots also brings opportunities for women interested in brewing to network with one another.

Officially the event was called International Women's Collaboration Brew Day. For this special collaboration women from local breweries including: Kiitos, Epic, Uinta, RedRock, RoHa, Wasatch/Squatters, Proper, Talisman, Roosters and the in-planning Branagan's Brewery gathered at Roosters Brewing in Ogden and brewed a 7 bbl batch of a Cascadian Dark ale using hops that YCHHops made available for the event. This special hop blend included Palisade®, Simcoe®, Mosaic®, Citra® and Loral® hops. 

When finished this beer will be served at participating and non participating breweries and brew pubs around the Wasatch Front, with a portion of the proceeds going to the Pink Boots scholarship fund. As soon as Rooster's gives me the word, I'll pass it along to you and where you can find it.   



The ladies were kind enough to share some photos with me. It looks like it was quite a party.

Cheers!

New Beer Friday 3/9/18

 Have you heard about our Lord and Savior, New Beer Friday?

Talisman Adventures in IPA - A nice aroma of citrus peel and tropical fruit. The taste follows with more citrus like juices along with notes of mango and and a hint of pineapple. A damn tasty offering from Talisman. 6.0% ABV. Available at Talisman and Slackwater

Epic Club Lounge -  You only need one word to describe this one, Manhattan. It has flavors that are reminiscent of all of the ingredients in the cocktail right down to the whiskey, vermouth and bitters. Very tasty. On sale Saturday 3/10 at Epic’s Brewery, 10am.

Shades of Pale Aphrodite -  This Belgian style Blonde ale Has a nose of spicy caramel and apple peel. The taste is more akin to cookie dough with the added spiced caramel and herbal hops. This Belgian is less phenolic then some you may have tried, this has the added benefit of making it super drinkable. To me it’s more of an abbey ale, which I’m rather fond of. 6.5% ABV. Available at Shades of Pale.

Cigar City Guayabera -  This pale ale has a very nice citrus peel aroma, with a tiny bit of pine. The taste starts with more citrus peel that transitions into some tangerine sweetness. The end is massively better, which completely dries out the finish. This is a nice IPA, but it’s not a very good pale ale. The can does warn that it is “massively hopped up with citra hops”,  so at least you’ve been warned. 5.5% ABV. I had it at Beer Bar, It's also at the Bayou.

Cheers!

Grid City Brewing Poised to Reinvigorate SLC's West Side

Utah's beer scene has been blowing up as of late. Not only are Saltfire and Toasted Barrel breweries weeks away from going online, but there are breweries scheduled to open in Ogden (UTOG Brewing) and St. George (St. George Brewing) by this summer as well. Those four breweries, plus the quartet of new 2017 breweries (RoHa, Kiitos, Salt Flats and Fisher) will see our local craft beer option multiply in factors that haven't been seen since pre-prohibition days.

If eight new breweries in two years isn't enough of a boom for you, what about a possible ninth brewery? Grid City Brewing Company is a new production brewery planned to be built on the southwest corner of 800 w. and S.Temple. The multi level brewery will have a tap room and kitchen that will serve a small menu, with a catwalk that wraps around the perimeter of the brewing operations to accommodate brewery tours and allow a birds eye view of the operations. A beer garden will offer patrons a view of Folsom trail in the Euclid neighborhood of SLC.

Grid City will be helmed by Justin Belliveau and partner Drew Reynolds with Head Brewer, Jeremy Gross running the beer operations. Gross has been a staple in the Utah scene, hwving worked at Uinta Brewing, Bohemian Brewing and the High West Distillery.

As the brewery takes shape, I'll feed you all the updates. Congrats, boys and thanks for helping to make Utah a more livable place. 

Cheers!

Source: Buildingsaltlake.com
Images courtesy: Grid City/Buildingsaltlake.com

Latitude 33 Brewing Debuting soon in Utah

It looks like Latitude 33 Brewing Company out of San Diego has inked a deal to bring their suds to Utah. The brewery opened in 2012 in Green Flash Brewing’s former facility in the city of Vista. It has one of larger production brewhouses in the county and plans on leveraging that capacity to grow its distribution footprint.  Latitude 33 Brewing Company is dedicated to producing American and European-style craft ales and lagers.

Utah Craft Beverages is their distributor for our region, the beers are just awaiting DABC approval before hitting bars and shelves. As soon As that happens, I'll spread the word. Here is what you can look forward to.

HONEY HIPS

ALE BREWED WITH HONEY & SPICES

She may be sweet as honey, but this daring brew packs a punch. Honey Hips conjures aromas of making her seductively drinkable.
This lady has a fierce passion for unparalleled craft and is bold enough to make your head turn.clover honey and refreshing citrus with a touch of sweetness,


BLONDE CARTEL

GOLDEN BLONDE ALE

Like the perfect crew, Blonde Cartel has a perfectly balanced cast of characters. It’s a flavorful blonde ale with the right amount of bitterness.
At first you’ll experience a floral hop character then a slightly biscuit-like malt flavor. Taste for yourself how this blonde is pulling off unparalleled refreshment.

MANGOVEZA

TROPICAL MANGO IPA

In tribute to our southern neighbors, we crafted an unparalleled contrast of sweet and heat with Mangoveza. Fruity bitterness upfront followed by a burst of habanero warmth provides a well-balanced IPA—unlike any other spicy ale.
Come explore the uncharted territories of this invigorating IPA.

BLOOD ORANGE IPA

AMERICAN IPA

On our relentless pursuit to bring the world unparalleled craft, we discovered a hidden treasure with our Blood Orange IPA.
As blood orange stands above everyday citrus, it is not your typical citrus infused IPA. With a crisp entry and slightly sweet finish, Blood Orange IPA has fans raving.


Cheers!

New Brews, Soon for You: Shades of Pale

In this edition of New Brews, Soon for You, we're featuring new stuff from Shades of Pale Brewing Company. Owner/Head Brewer, Trent Farger and Cellerman/Biologist/ Brewer, Marcio Buffolo want you to know they're serious about their commitment to bring high end craft suds to Utah's beer nerds. Beginning this week, the South Salt Lake City brewery will be introducing four new beers that will range from cocktail-like to barrel aged.    

Aphrodite: Belgian Style Blonde Ale - Low but present bitterness, light to medium body, spice and fruit esters. Easy drinking beer. 6.5% ABV.

Cerberus: Belgian Style Quadrupel Ale - The base beer here has appeared before in SOP's Bourbon Barrel Quad. This an opportunity to get to know the solo act. This beer is amber in color, with caramel, raisin, plum and stone fruit flavors. Smooth but boozy with 13% ABV.

Mojito: A Mojito inspired barrel aged beer - This beer is inspired by the traditional Cuban cocktail of  the same name. It's a slightly tart beer, aged in rum barrels with mint and lemon peel added. Refreshing and intense. Like a mojito. 4% ABV.

Brett Saison Gin barrel Aged - French saison barrel aged in Gin barrels with Brettaromyces for 14 months. Smooth, slightly tart, dry but with a lot of spices, fruits aroma. This new barrels aged beer is said to have many wine like qualities with sourness you can only get from long months of barrel time. This one is highly anticipated by sour beer fans. 6.5% ABV.

All indications are that Aphrodite will be the first to be released (sometime this week). The other three will gradually hit the market throughout March and April of 2018. I'm really looking forward trying these. What are your thoughts on these new additions?

Cheers!

Labels provided by Shades of Pale

New Beer Friday 3/2/18

2 Row Apricot Sour - There's a medium dose of lemony tartness with some noticeable apricot. Apricot is a little subtle for the level of tartness here, but if you like 'em tart this, you'll love this. 7.9%. At 2 Row and better beer pubs.

Full Sail: Session EZ IPA -  This session NE style IPA has a great fruity profile with a nice dose of citrus. Can’t go wrong here. 4.8%. Had it at Beer Bar.

Kiitos NEIPA - This new addition to Kiitos’ lineup is super tropical and fruity as well. It’s super fresh and it has Kiitos’ pop top can. 7.3% at Kiitos.

Deschutes Swivel Head Red IPA - I have not tried this one yet. 6.5%. At select DABC stores.

Sierra Nevada Hazy Little Thing IPA - Again, Another solid NE style IPA. This one has a slightly more better finish than the previous IPAs mentioned. Very nice. 6.7%  I had it at Beer Bar.

RoHa Brewing Project Belgian Pale Ale - This has the typical farmhouse nose, but is easy on the pallet. Not overly fruity and drinks like a pale ale.  If you want to introduce your taste buds to a mellow Belgian beer, this is the ticket. 4.0%. Available at RoHa.

Cheers!

New Brews, Soon for You: RoHa, Roosters, Uinta and Saltfire

In today's New Brews, Soon for You file we have seven up and coming beers from four breweries. This looks like a really interesting bunch of beers. Can't wait to get my hands on these.

We're going to start with another addition to Saltfire's initial line-up. Last week I brought you the first peek of South Salt Lake's newest brews. Today, I have an additional beer to add to those. Dirty Chai Stout is described as a "spiced coffee stout" that is made Indian chai spice and Nicaraguan coffee roasted by Blue Copper Coffee Roasters. Yes!

Roosters Brewing Co., has a series of limited release beers coming soon as well. Beer from their "Pilot Brews" label will feature a new Double IPA, a high point Amber Ale and a high point Blackberry Cream Ale. Stay close for their release dates.

The RoHa Brewing Project will be releasing a new Belgian style Nights Out. This is described as a robust stout made with Belgian yeast and spices. it will be packaged in 12 ounce cans and will have an ABV of 8.7%.
stout called

Uinta Brewing has a pair of interesting new beers on the horizon as well. I guess we'll start with their limited release beer called Ancient Ale. The only info we have right now on this one is that it's made with "ancient grains and honey". This beer could end up going in any direction. I'm curious to see what they come up with. Look for it in 12 ounce cans.

The other newbie from Uinta is called Crimson Tart. This ale will be brewed with natural
pomegranate; no idea on what the base beer will be. This beer will also come in 12 ounce cans. This is also a limited release beer and there appears to be no ABV listed for either of these Uinta beers.

That's a nice, round selection of new brews coming soon to you, eh?

Cheers!

All labels found at Shipcomplient.com

St. George Brewing Company in Utah?

*I added updated info on this post in the comments section below. Cheers!
 
I pride myself on having a semi-descent grasp on Utah's craft beer scene. So I was a little taken back this morning when I came across this federally approved label for beer from a supposedly from a brewery in St. George Utah.

The brewery label is from a brewery called St. George Brewing Company This is not to be confused by the brewery of the same name in Hampton, Va. The beer is an amber ale called Vegas Style that has an ABV of 5.0%. The label doesn't list an address or any manufacturer info. I'm guessing this is contract beer; because I can't find any record of brewery or entity in Utah with this name.

If anyone has any info on this, on know it's origins please share so I can get on with my day.

Cheers!

Image found at Shipcomplient.com

New Beer Friday 2/23/18

Okay beer nerds, listen up. You’re going to have to put a little more planning into your Saturday beer shopping schedule. Three coveted beer releases are happening at the same time: Squatters 529, Strap Tank’s IPA and Fisher’s Anniversary IPA all three go on sale at 10am Saturday (11am for Strap Tank). I’ve tried all but Strap’s, here are your New Beer Friday tasting notes to help aid in your plan of attack.

Desert Edge Irish Red on Nitro - This is an easy drinking amber ale with light caramel and toasty malt flavors. It has low hops and bitterness with a light roasted dryness in the finish. Served on nitrogen it's smooth and creamy Mmmmmmm! Stop in for a pint or two! Available at Desert Edge

Proper Professor Plum - Toast off the bat with mellow maltiness. The Plum is subtle and in the background. It accents the base beer with nice, mellow tartness. 4.0% Available at Proper

Uinta RS Ale IPA - This new session IPA; designed specifically for Real Salt Lake is pretty much all west coast. It's full of citrus peel mango and resinous pine. Fantastic flavors with a mellow kick. 4.0% Available at Uinta's pub, Beer Bar and eventually everywhere.

Fisher Anniversary IPA - This is Fisher's second high point IPA and it's another winner. Hopped mostly with Galaxy and Citra hops with doses of Citra and Simcoe this limited edition IPA has shloads of tropical fruits, including citrus, papaya and pine apple. 6.8%. On sale at 10am Saturday 2/24

Wasatch Haze Craze - Another full flavored session IPA from Wasatch. This East Coast style beer is again, full of wonderful tropical flavors. with great pithy citrus notes. You need some of this! 4.0%. Available at Wasatch Brew Pub in Park City and the West Side Tavern (UBC) in SLC.

Strap Tank IPA - Sadly this is being bottle this morning and I havn't had the oportunity to try Strap Tank's first high point IPA. If I know Brewmaster, Mike Dymowski (and I do) he will kill it. 7.0%. On sale at 11am Saturday 2/24

Returning Favorites:

Squatters 529 - My tongue got a preview of this year's version yesterday. Look for tart cherry with moderate doses of funky yeast all wrapped in a blanket of fruity and tart balsamic. One of the better versions Squatters has produced in a while. Buy extras for cellering. 7.1%. On sale at 10am Saturday 2/24.

I will discuss these beers and other beer related toipics with Mick and Allen today at 3:30pm on KBER 101. Please check it out!

Cheers!

New Brews, Soon for You: Saltfire Brewing Company

I (along with many of you) have been patiently waiting for Saltfire Brewing Company's brewing  machine to go online. It will be the first of many Utah based breweries to open up in 2018. As always, I have a sneak peak of the tasty treats that await us in the coming weeks.

The labels look great, it looks like Saltfire has decided to go with 500 ml bottles (thank you) and will debut with the following ales and lager:

12 Monkeys Double IPA - Pictured above, this beer is described as being a pale orange color with flavors of blueberries, papaya, grapefruit and resinous pine. It will hit the ABV dial at 9.1%. A "hazy" right out of the gate? I know that will make many of you nerdy N.E. style boys and girls very happy.

NZED Pilsner - Will be a New Zealand style Pilsner that will reflect it's German roosts with a dose  of  those unique New Zealand hops. Look for hints of tropical flavors, including mango along with  lemon and lime flavors. This will dial in at a refreshing 5.4% ABV. You all know how I love a hoppy lager.

A Series of Singularities IPA - This will be Saltfire's rotating single hop series. You will likely see these change out every quarter - or whenever Head Brewer, Patrick Bourque feels like it. Look for a different hop blast every rotation. Keep track of your favorites and I'm guessing suggestions are accepted.

That's it, you know there will be more variety to come in the coming months; what do you think of their debut suds? And please stay close, I'll have the official release dates published here as soon as they're made available.

Cheers!

Images found at Shipcomplient.com

New Beer Friday: 2/16/18

Happy New Beer Friday! Last week I told you about Kiitos' Vanilla and Coffee Imperial stouts. They were unable to get those packaged last week, but they are going to be available this Saturday at 10am.

Kiitos Vanilla Imperial Stout:The vanilla here is fantastic and it works very well with the beer's rich roasted notes and malt sweetness. Loved it! 11.0% ABV. Available at Kiitos starting 10am Saturday Morning.

Kiitos Coffee Imperial Stout: The nose is huge with coffee and it follows in the taste. another wonderful adition to Kiitos' Impy line-up. 11.0% ABV. Available at Kiitos starting 10am Saturday Morning.

Kiitos Hazy: Looks like OJ, the taste is a melange of citrus fruits and pith. quite tasty. 4.0% ABV.

Strap Tank Barrel Aged Saison:  Spicy yeast in the nose with vinious sweetness and oak.The taste has some saison funk and tartness - including some damp straw and chardonnay notes. Towards the end there's some pear and oak with some lingering yeast in the finish. Very tasty stuff! 11.6% ABV.
If you want some of Strap Tank’s BA Stout or Saison and are unable to make it to Springville, Beer Bar has some in stock.

Stone Loral & Dr. Rudi's Inevitable Adventure DIPA:  The nose grass, pine, mango and citrus. The taste is much more subdued than the aroma, it's got tasty mango and tangerine, with nice pine notes in the end. It tatses lite but it's not. the ABV is 8.9%. Found at Beerhive. 

Fisher TurnBurner IPL: Great hoppy lager. Spicy/grassy hops with a bit of citrus & berry. Buy this! 4.0% ABV. Available at Fisher.

Fisher Pale #7: Old School Pale: An old school 2000's Pale Ale. There's a lot of pine with a smidge of citrus peel. Nice. 4.0% ABV.

Mare Island Coal Shed Stout: A very English stout. Metallic, char, toffee and coffee. Nice. 6.7% ABV. Found at Beer Bar.

Mare Island Saginaw Golden Ale: Did not try. 4.3% ABV. Found at Beer Bar.

Mare Island Hydraulic Sandwich IPA: Nose is super buttery. Taste is less so, but it’s still there. Tons of malt and a fairly bitter finish but not much hop profile to speak of. Pass. 7.1% ABV. Found at Beer Bar.

Cheers!

The 4th Annual Lagerpalooza

It's time to start getting your lager recipes ready because the 4th Annual Lagerpalooza will be here before you know it. If you're not familiar; Lagerpalooza is Utah preeminent home brew competition designed to showcase that art of lagering beer.

Home brewers enter their beers to be judged by qualified industry and BJCP judges. The "Best of Show" beer will be brewed and packaged by the Bohemian Brewery and will be the featured beer for the next Lagerpaloozer. Last year's Best of Show was a pre-prohibition style lager that will be made available as a Pro/Am beer for all to enjoy.

Registration is open now, the judging and festivities will happen on Sunday, May 6th. All of the information for participants can be found at this link. I hope to see you there.

Cheers!

New Brews, Soon for You: An Epic Quartet

Today's New Brews, Soon for You file is all about Epic Brewing Company. Here a sneak peak of what you can expect to see in the coming weeks.

Pictured Above is the RiNo American Pale Ale. This will be full of those citrus qualities people are loving in their IPAs along with the maltiness that make pale ales so delicious. This will come in at an appropriate 5.8% ABV.

Club Lounge is Epic's newest barrel aged beer. Made with cherries, cocoa nibs and a variety of spices; this Belgian style ale is currently resting in wood and is waiting for it's debut.We'll get a better idea of what the ABV is when it's done maturating.

There's new addition to Epic's Brainless Series: Brainless Passion is an obvious name for this passion fruit enhanced Belgian style golden strong ale. Some of Epic's Brainless fruit beers hit wine barrels for a length of time, some don't. This one isn't specific on if it's getting the barrel treatment or not. I'll update this when I have more info. ABV - TBD.

Our fourth beer comes from the newest member of the Epic family. The West Swell India Pale Ale is one of the newest packaged brews from Telegraph Brewing Co., since being purchased by Epic. This IPA comes in a beautiful can that will likely be an all west coast style IPA. The ABV will be at a perfect 6.7%. There will be some Telegraph beers coming to Utah, Hopefully this will be one of them.

On a side note in regards to Telegraph Brewing. Epic has moved six of it's foudres from its Denver brewery to Santa Barbara to help Telegraph enhance it's sour beer program. Just a little extra info to help get your mouth watering this morning.

Cheers!

A Toasted Barrel Brewery Preview

This morning I have a preview of what you can initially expect from Toasted Barrel Brewery: Utah's first brewery dedicated to spontaneous and wild fermented ales. If you're not familiar with the processes of these niche beers; I'll oversimplify by saying, they take a while. So when the brewery goes on line in the coming months, they'll need some "fast beers" to get the ball rolling.

Above you can see the label for Toasted Barrel's Utah Double Wheat IPA. It will have an ABV of 8% and come in 22oz. bottles.

The Four Seasons Saison will be a rotating beer that will feature different flavor profiles every quarter. Saisons are yeast driven and this one will be on the drier side. This will be a 4.0% beer, so you may see this on draft as well as 22oz. bottles.     

Doll Face IPA won't be your typical IPA. This Belgian influenced ale will have a wheat base like the Utah Double but will have the addition of sweet orange peel, coriander and a special yeast blend. Hops will of course be center stage on this one. this beer will dial in at 6.5% ABV and also be in 22oz bottles.

Not all sour beers take an obnoxious amount of barrel time. The Weisse Man will be Toasted Barrels Berliner Weisse. Berliners utilize lactobacillus to tarten-up the beer. It imparts a nice lemony profile that takes as much time to make as any ale. At 4.0% it likely be a refreshing treat. 22oz bottle and draft are your deliver systems here.

If you want to see these beers and their wild fermented siblings much sooner than later, please consider helping out Toasted Barrel with their relatively small Kickstarter campaign. The brewery is looking for an infusion of quick cash to help it cover additional costs and clear some extra hurdles. Helping them to meet their goal could mean the difference between an opening in March versus this summer. Backer will receive gifts of varying levels including a bar stool with your name on it. Here's the link to their Kick starter. Let's get this beer train moving people!

By the way, you may have noticed the map at the top of the page. I've created a map of Utah's Craft Beer location around the state. It includes Breweries, Brew Pubs, Beer Pubs, and Home Brew Shops. I hope you'll find it useful.

Cheers!

New Beer Friday 2/9/18

Kiitos Blueberry Sour: This one is a bit more subtle in the tart department than the Blackberry version. This allows more of the blueberry to come through. it's pretty nice. 4.0% ABV. Available now at Kiitos
 
Kiitos Imperial Stout: Deep roasted flavors with cocoa powder and coffee. Sweet malts and char round out the end. Alcohol is well hidden. 11.0% ABV. Available at Kiitos starting 10am Saturday Morning.
 

Kiitos Barrel Aged Imperial Stout: 12.5% Available at Kiitos starting 10am Saturday Morning.

Kiitos L’il Sis Pale Ale: Nice citrus and tropical flavors. really easy drinking pale. 4.0% ABV available now at Kiitos
 
Kiitos Vanilla Imperial Stout:11.0% ABV. Available at Kiitos starting 10am Saturday Morning.

Kiitos Coffee Imperial Stout: 11.0% ABV. Available at Kiitos starting 10am Saturday Morning.
 
Zion Brewery Mystery Canyon: This Dark Lager is on tap right now. I have no notes on this one. 4.0% ABV. Available at Zion Canyon Brewing.
 
Ninkasi Prismatic IPA: Tropical citrus flavors dominate. Some bitter citrus beer in the finish. Nice beer. 5.9% ABV. avaiable at Beer Bar.


Innis & Gun French Oak: This Scottish ale has lots of toffee vanilla and oak. If you want a great example of how wood affects the taste of beer this would be an excellent example. 6.6% ABV. Available at Beer Bar.

Innis & Gun Rum Barrel: Flavors of malt, peat, rum, caramel, smoke and wood. Agian, a very well made beer. 6.8% ABV. Available at Beer Bar.

I'll be discussing these beers and other this afternoon on KBER 101 with Mick and Allen at 3:30pm. Please tune in! 

Cheers! 

New Brews, Soon for You: 2 Row's Imperial Coffee Stout

By now you've probably figured out that when 2 Row Brewing Company goes to market with a new beer, they never go at it half-assed. In fact, I guess you could say that this newest entry into their beer catalog could be considered "whole-assed"!

In today's New Brews Soon for You file we have another big beer from Brian Coleman's Willey Wonka Beer Factory. It's Not Just for Breakfast is an Imperial Stout brewed with coffee and chocolate. Compared to 2 Row's Dark Alley (13.4%), this Impy is a subtle 8.3% ABV. The addition of oatmeal will likely make it silky smooth and full bodied.

Look for this stout in the coming weeks. Can't wait!

Cheers!

Image found at shipcompliant.com

New Beer Friday 02/02/18

It's getting warm enough to move your workouts outdoors; if that's the case then you're probably good to start with the warm weather beers as well. Luckily my fitness tracker monitors both parts of my life. This week's new beers are are mostly geared to the crushable end of the spectrum. Happy New Beer Friday!

Kiitos Barley Wine: The aroma is sweet and fruity with caramel malt, dark bread, brown sugar, raisin, fig and chocolate. The tastes starts with brown sugar, prune and fig. There's an herbal quality mid point with a bit of earthy tang which transitions to a bite of piney hops that provides a rather clean finish for such a malty beer. 11.1% ABV. Available at Kiitos.

Squatters Milky Way NEIPA: Lotsa citrus and tropical flavors happening in this surprisingly medium bodied 4% offering. The added pith flavors make it taste especially juicy. Limited at Squatters.

Desert Edge Beehive Brown Ale: This is an English style brown ale with flavors of toffee, toasty malt and chocolate. Low hops and bitterness let the smooth nutty malt flavor stand out for a malty but dry beer. 4.0% ABV. Available at Desert Edge.

Uinta Crisp Apple: Missed out on this one, I'll try and get some note for later. If I were to guess? I'd say, tart green apple flavor. On draft at the brewery and at Harmons. Soon, everywhere else. 4.0% ABV.  

Proper Sláinte Session Stout: This is the draft version of Proper's Grand Sláinte Stout. Look for big roasted components along with cocoa and char. 4.0% ABV. Available at Proper Brewing

Melvin Experimental J-Hole: This beer is basically a sweet citrus bomb. There's a lot of  grapefruit peel and orange marmalade with pant-loads of resinous piney hops for balance. 7.0% ABV. Available at Beer Bar, Bayou, Beehive, Dick n Dixie's and Slackwater.

Melvin Hop Shocker IIPA: This Mosaic and Simcoe hopped bomb is brewed with 100% Lupulin powder; which creates a tropical melange that is surprisingly balanced for a Melvin beer. There's plenty of dank Euro grass in the finish, helping out in that regard. 8.0% ABV. Available at Beer Bar, Bayou, Beehive, Dick n Dixie's and Slackwater. 

Radeberger Pilsner: Sweet grains combined with nice toasted cereal and herbal hops. The finish is moderately grassy. A nice German style pilsner. 4.8% ABV. Available at Beer Bar

Shiner Farmhouse Rye:  The nose has some fruity yeast aromas, not much else. The taste has mostly sweet malt, that little bit of fruitiness on the nose doesn't make an encore. There is some biscuit-like malts coming thru and it finishes with a semi spicy rye finish. If you're hoping for a farmhouse beer, you're not likely to find those funky characteristics here. Think spicy pils. 4.0% ABV. Available at DABC Stores.

Rogue Straight Outta Newport... Oregon: Aroma is fruity with citrus peel. The taste is juicy as well with big citrusy hops along with notes of peach. A nice harmonious beer. 8.7% ABV. Available Beer Bar, BeerHive

Schofferhofer Pomegranate Hefeweizen: I haven't tried this one yet. I have to admit, I am curious though. The grapefruit version has been known to hit the spot for me on occasion. It's a very lite 2.5% ABV. Available at Beer Bar and Bayou.

I'll be discussing these beers and other this afternoon on KBER 101 with Mick and Allen at 3:30pm. Please tune in!

Cheers!

The Utah Beer Blog Super Bowl LLI Prediction Engine

Beer will always lead the way, no matter how you implement its magical properties into your life you can depend on it to provide you answers. Whenever I put this damn  Super Bowl Prediction Engine to the test it always works out (not really). This year will be no exception. Using the 2016 data from the Brewers Association, I take the number of breweries and divide that by the gallons consumer per adult in the participating team's state. This delivers the prophetic score. That being said, here is your 2018 formula.  

Massachusetts 110 ÷ 3.8 = 29

Pennsylvania 205 ÷ 12.9 = 16

You don't have to agree, but the holy suds have spoken! If I were you, I'd  go out ASAP and bet the family farm on this gift from the beer gods. Actually my lawyer says, you shouldn't do that. But if you do? I get all credit when it works and non of the blame if it doesn't.

Cheers and Good Luck!