Three Fowl Beers at the Beerhive

The are some new beers at the Beerhive this week(2/26/10) and birds seem to be the theme.

The first is the Hawk Select Ale from Mendocino Brewing. Hawk is a rich bodied ale that is "Bottle Conditioned". Coppery reddish-amber in color. The taste is a judicious mix of caramel and pale malted barley, balanced with Cluster, Cascade and Saaz hops. This gives the Eye a slightly dry finish.

Next also from Mendocino is White Hawk Select IPA. It's blended with American West Coast Cascade Hops as well as a generous dose of English Fuggle Hops. This combination makes for a very aromatic character, as well as a truly authentic English flavor. White Hawk IPA has an ABV of 7.0% and a bitterness of 60 IBU.

The last birdie beer comes from North Coast Brewing. Le Merle is a rustic Farmhouse Ale. Pale in color, inspired by the rich brewing traditions of the Flanders region of Belgium. Abundant hops and a Belgian yeast strain contribute exotic aromas of tropical fruits. ABV: 7.9%.

Fowl...Get it??? I really crack my ass up.

Anyway, I was going to announce a new Utah beer today but labeling issue have prevented it's release. Stay tuned next week and have a good weekend.

Cheers!

Squatters 529 Oud Bruin Released Today

After a lot of research and a two year commitment Squatters is finally releasing it's Oud Bruin today. 2100 bottles of the 529 will available for sale starting this afternoon.

Squatters will sell the bottles (750ml) for $18.95 out of the downtown Squatters Pub and the Park City Roadhouse Grill.

If you know sour beers, this will make you very happy. If your new too the style, give 'em a chance. They are extremely varied, characterized by a slight vinegar or lactic sourness and spiciness to smooth and sweet. A fruity-estery character is usually apparent with no hop flavor or aroma.

That's two big beer releases so far this week. Shall we go for the hat-trick? Stay tuned for number three in this weeks Utah Beer troika.

Hope to see you at Squatters this afternoon.

Proost!

Lespri Distillers get Okay'd

Club Lespri recently secured a conditional use permit for their new Park City distillery.

Club Lespri founder Scott Rogers said, the club plans to start building the distillery after the ski season. And hopes to start produce the first batch of vodka in the summer.

The distillery at the restaurant-spa-health club will purchase a neutral-grain spirit and then distill the spirit into what Rogers describes as vapor-infused vodka. He has called the product "super premium botanical vodkas." The club will not ferment the alcohol at the site.

Lespri plans to distribute their vodkas to bars and restaurants throughout Utah and operate a tasting room at the Sidewinder Drive site. Rogers says he's already expirimenting with new recipes.

Cheers!

[Posted with iBlogger from my iPhone]

Rêve Returns Today

That's right, it's been over year since RedRock's award winning Belgian style triple has been around and this years batch is said to be the best one yet. 1500 bottles will go on sale today at both RedRock locations - as well as the Bayou and most likely the Beerhive. These are available for take home. Two bottles - per person - per day.

Pours a light golden honey color with with a moderate fluffy white head that dissipated to a very thin froth. The nose is a little boozy with banana, cloves malt and ripe mango. The taste is very much the same starting with candied sugar and cloves that transitions into toasted malt and banana. The end is sweet and oaky. The alcohol is warming and welcomed, masked well by Rêve’s full body. It adds a whole new dimension to the beer. You really get a good sense of the oak in the finish. It’s barrel aged for one year. Don’t get me wrong it’s got a kick. It’s 10.2% abv is more than enough to warm your inner beer geek.

RedRock Rêve is more proof that that Utah beers are much more than just 4.0% anomalies. Earning the bronze medal at the ’06 Great American Beer Festival and the silver medal in ’07.

Cheers!

New at the Beerhive 2/19/10

First we'll start with Witches' Brew from Brouwerij Van Steenberge out of Ertvelde,
Belgium. This one isn't new but they got a new shipment and if you haven't had it, check it out.

The second is Firestone Walker's Union Jack IPA. One of the best damn IPA's on the planet. It's taken far too long to get this in the market, considering FW's Double Barrel Pale and Pale 31 have been here for years. I think I'm gunna have a Pale-gasm tonight.

The Third I believe is Walker's Reserve - Robust Porter. Haven't had it... but gunna tonight!

Thanks to Colbylee the inside man at the DABC for the heads up.

Also, It's time to start pissing in Del's ear about putting a Beerhive website together. With all those photo's from the 19th Century hanging in his place, I think he forgets he's in the 21st. You know I loves ya Del.

Cheers!

Please Support H.R. 4278

Utah has one of the highest Breweries Per Capita ratio as of 2008; ranked 14th out 51 states (including D.C.). As well as our local breweries are doing, things could always be better. A little tax help could help bring prices down and create jobs in the area.

H.R. 4278 the "Small Brewers Stimulus" bill is an attempt to create that stimulus for small craft breweries.

Sponsored by U.S. Representatives Richard Neal (D-Massachusetts 2nd District) and Kevin Brady (R-Texas 8th District). Currently, a small brewer that produces less than 2 million barrels of beer per year is eligible to pay $7.00 per barrel on the first 60,000 barrels produced each year. Reducing this rate to $3.50 per barrel would provide approximately $15.5 million per year to help strengthen our nation's smallest brewers and support their efforts to maintain and generate jobs.

Once production exceeds 60,000 barrels, a small brewer must pay the same $18 per barrel excise tax rate that the largest brewer pays at over 100 million barrels. Lowering the tax rate to $16 per barrel on beer production above 60,000 barrels up to 2 million barrels would provide small brewers with an additional $26.2 million per year that would be used to support significant long-term investments and create jobs by growing their businesses on a regional or national scale.

Contact our Representatives and urge them to support this bill.
http://www.house.gov/
http://www.senate.gov/

For a little clearer view here's a link to a news story on hr4278.

http://www.cbs4denver.com/video/?id=67298@kcnc.dayport.com

Cheers!

Abyss is Finally Here

I have "good news" and "not so good news". After a delay of far too many months Deschutes' Abyss is finally here! That's the good.

The not so good... it looks like your going to have to jump through the same ol' hoops to get it - you know, as your currently going through to get Uinta's Bourbon Barrel Barleywine. Which, by the way is at the downtown wine store (thanks for the heads-up Christian).

So here are your options. You can get the Abyss right now at the Bayou & the Beerhive. They got ten cases each. The rest are allocated to a hand full of liquor stores and there will most likely be a 3 bottle limit.

So, if you don't live in or near SLC it looks like your about to get "boned" once again.

On a brighter note. Kevin Templin Brewmaster at RedRock just bottled 1500 Reve. They should be done conditioning around February 22nd.

Cheers!

New Breweries Continue to Make Progress

I can't remember the last time two breweries opened up in Utah in the same year(if ever). Right now it looks like Epic Brewing And Shades of Pale Brewing are on pace to open months - if not weeks apart.

Below is "Mrs. Shades of Pale" Alexandra Ortiz Fargher cutting concrete for the mop sink drain. As well as SoP's Fermenters.





And over at Epic, Brewmaster Kevin went out to Oregon this week to inspect the JVNW brew house and cellar items. Kevin says "it is beautiful in person". The tanks should be in the brewhouse sometime next month.





I've had a chance to sample some of Epic's potential "home brewed" recipes. I was quite impressed by the styles they presented. It's gunna be a great year for all.

Cheers!

A Wonderful Black Lager

Yesterday we talked about about a new "okay" lager from Sierra Nevada. Today a new "wonderful" lager from Rogue Brewing.

Dirtoir Black Lager is the second in the limited availability Chatoe Rogue series. Dirtoir Black Lager and the brews to follow are all GYO Certified (grow your own).
These products are made with hops and malt from Rogue's Hopyard and Barley Bench.

Pours opaque black with a nice dark tan head that settles to a nice foam cap. The nose is of rich, heavily roasted coffee and chocolate with toffee/caramel, dark bread and earthy tones. The taste starts with roasted coffee, milk chocolate and roasted malts. next comes a slight metallic taste followed by some big hop bitterness. The finish is a little boozy, though some maltiness lingers with strong roast/dryness on the tongue. Full-bodied and rich.

Dirtoir Black Lager is available in 22oz. bombers at the Bayou and Beerhive

Glissade, Just Okay

There have been a lot of new offerings in the area over the past few months, most have been pretty good, some... eh. One that I was really looking forward to was Sierra Nevada's Glissade. Sierra Nevada lists this as a Golden Bock, seems more like a Helles to me and not a great one.

Pours a crystal clear amber yellowish color with a nice 2 finger head. The head recedes quickly to a thin collar. The nose is fairly muted with hints of corn, estery alcohol and a slight amount yeasty funk. The taste is surprisingly simple for a SN beer in terms of flavor and complexity, all malty up front with very slight hop dryness at the end but very mildly hoped, simple easy flavor really for the most part nothing complex, simple and straightforward. Nothing offensive, mostly blah.

Kind of simple, nothing I would be seeking out again, an honest straight forward beer that really reminds of a euro lager more than anything else. Not one of SN's strongest offerings.

Cheers!

[Posted with iBlogger from my iPhone]

Advocating for the "New" Utah

I'm not sure exactly what this is. It was found in the travel section at abcnews.com/.

It's not a news story, at least it's not formatted that way. It's about Utah's friendlier alcohol laws. It has interviews with Squatters' Jenny Talley & Jason Stock - the Beerhive's Del Vance and David Perkins of the High West Distillery. Enjoy.

Cheers!

Bourbon Barrel Barleywine Available???

Well, yes and no. The Bayou & the Beerhive both got ten cases of Uinta's big, big 11.0% beer and have it for sale right now. However the liquor stores are still without.

The Uinta guys tell me that the BBB has been in the hands of the DABC for at least two weeks and Uinta has no idea what the hell the hold up is.

As of now it looks like it will only be sold when the monopoly decides to get it on the shelves. It will be at SLC's two Wine Stores only.

There are also conflicting numbers on the bottle limit per person. A guy from the DABC(who's name I forgot) told me there's a one bottle limit per person, while Steve (El Presidente of Uinta Brewing) tells me three. I'm going to go with Steve. I mean it's his beer for Christ's sake!

If you happen to come across any, please post it up. And Steve if you have any further info we'd love to hear from you. Go Monopolies!!!

Cheers!

-yes, I know that's not the actual barleywine pictured above.

[Posted with iBlogger from my iPhone]

The Sour Batch Kids

Good News! After 18 months we're finally in the home stretch. The Squatters crew bottled, corked and caged 2100 bottles of their 529 Oud Bruin last weekend.

Sour beers can be a tough style to get into, but once you find your groove... oh man, they make for a happy tongue.

Oud Bruins are light to medium-bodied, deep copper to brown in color. They are extremely varied, characterized by a slight vinegar or lactic sourness and spiciness to smooth and sweet. A fruity-estery character is usually apparent with no hop flavor or aroma. Low to medium bitterness.

Jenny decided to keep the co2 level lower to enhance both the sourness and maltiness. "Remembering my Oud Bruin experiences from my trip to Belgium, the co2 level was very soft". So it looks like this will be very close to style.

Looks like February 16th is the "soft" release date for the 529.

Cheers!

Bohemian Brewery Seeking a Cellarman

If your looking to get into the brewing industry or are stuck in rut, looking for a change. Bohemian Brewery is looking to expand its brewing crew.

We are looking for the right person to join our team starting in the cellar. Duties would include but not limited to...
CIP
Keg washing and Filling
Cask 5 head can line operation
General Sanitation

Definite possibilities for advancement...

We are an award winning brewery, exclusively brewing Czech and Bavarian style lagers. Currently we are brewing A pilsner, marzen, schwarz and a wheat with rotating seasonals. Packaging one brand at the moment with the second and third to begin in the coming months. We are located just south of Salt Lake City, minutes from world class skiing at Alta, Snowbird, Brighton, Solitude... Incredible hiking, fishing... etc.

Send a resume to brewer@bohemianbrewery.com
Thanks

Bobby Jackson
Head Brewer
Bohemian brewery

www.bohemianbrewery.com