Wildfire Organic Pale Ale

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

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

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

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.

Three Sheets Returns!

The best show on T.V. dedicated to adult beverages returns tonight on Mojo. If you've never seen or heard of Three Sheets, imagine a travel show that deals only with the indigenous 'hooches' of foreign lands and the customs that surround said 'hooches'. That in itself sounds like a good time, then mix in the priceless timing of host Zane Lamprey and you have one of the best half-hours on the telly.

Each episode follows a basic formula, Zane, introduces the country, profiles and samples local concoctions, visits a few watering holes, experience the traditions, then wakes up the next day and tries the local hangover cures. Along the way you'll also learn a little history and meet the local color. Zane is very entertaining and obviously loves what he does.

The only drawback(for some) is that it's only available on Mojo. An HD only channel that as far as I know, is only available through Comcast in the Salt Lake market. But don't worry, I have have your back. If you can't watch it via Comcast here's a link to a website that streams Three Sheets episodes for free. New episodes air every Thursday at 7pm(mountain). Cheers!

75 Years = 75¢ Pints

Officially, Prohibition ended on December 5, 1933, with the ratification of the 21st Amendment. But earlier that year, newly-elected President Franklin D. Roosevelt took steps to fulfill his campaign promise to end the national ban on alcohol. Thus on April 7, 1933 Roosevelt himself received newly legalized beer at the White House to toast what was the beginning of the end for Prohibition. In the 24-hours that followed, more than 1.5 million gallons of beer flowed as Americans celebrated.

To commemorate this 'oh so happy day', Squatters Pub Brewery in downtown Salt Lake City and Squatters Roadhouse Grill in Park City will celebrate 75 years of beer- flowing legally since the drought of Prohibition. The date will be marked with a specially brewed commemorative beer: Prohibition Pale Ale, brewery tours and 75¢ pints all day!

Jenny told me me that Prohibition is the first real Pale Ale that they've done in a very long time time. Of course, Full Suspension Pale Ale has been a staple at the the brew pub and in markets for years, but it's uber-hopped profile takes it slightly out the "traditional" category.

So, get in, sample a new brew and chat it up with Jenny & Jason.

Here's to beer lovers everywhere, lift a glass and toast to beer -- our legal privilege.

Sam Adams Imperial Pils

The Boston Brewing Company makers of Sam Adams Beer is a bit of an anomaly on the American beer scene. They're not quite a macro brewer, but there not a 'little guy' anymore either. Some trends in the beer industry seem to suggest that when a breweries production volume increase to certain levels, their ability to produce certain styles become hindered, because it isn't cost effective to produce some styles, and keep the cost to consumers down.

Arguably, This may or may-not be happening at Sam Adams. I would say not. Especially after trying Samuel Adams: Hallertau Imperial Pilsner. I have to admit I kind of scoffed at it when friends suggested that I give it a try. I was very happy to be wrong. This beer is a full-on sensory assault(in a good way)!

Poured a hazy golden-bronze color with a huge two-fingers of meringue head. The nose is a complex mesh of spicy, floral, citric, and resiny pine from the obvious generous doses of Hallertau hops.

Despite the sweet nasal assault the taste starts smooth and almost creamy with just the right amount of bitter hoppy 'bite'. At first sip it seemed to be all Hallertau, but the more I got into it the malt sweetness became more pronounced and balanced out nicely.

The finish is equally pleasant with a mild floral dryness that gradually blankets the malty sweetness. The malts are accentuated by a slight alcohol warmth. Really bold and hoppy, more like an IPA. Just incredible. One of the great accomplishments of this beers is it's ability to bring you full circle, from the nose to the back of your tongue. It tastes exactly like the first whiff.

I wasn't expecting the Dogfish Head-esque crazy bitterness even though the label claims "reckless" hops. It's far from one dimensional.