Fresh Cask Friday!

Hoppers Brewmaster and Secret Agent, Donovan Steele is one of the great innovators of beer in the area. If you haven't been by Hoppers in a while you've probably missed out on some great old world beer styles that have hardly been seen or tasted in North America. From Patersbier styled Belgian ales, to Polish Grodziskies and even French style Bier de Gardes; this boy likes variety in his brewhouse.

If your going to strive for variety it makes sense to serve then in a variety of ways. Since Dono likes his beers "old school" he should serve them... well, old school.

Casks are nothing new, many places around the area serve beer via the firkin: Desert Edge, Wasatch, McCool's, the Bayou and many, many more. Hoppers has invested in two new casks for Dono to play with. Think, "New Beer Friday" but it's an all cask evening. 'Fresh Cask Friday' is a cask evening to hopefully be held once a month. Dono will take fresh beer and then cask condition it in English Firkins along with some dry hops or other treatment. This will be served in the bar directly from the cask. Holding the cask is a handmade wooden 'gantry' built by the Secret Agent and Mrs.Femme Fatale, Tiff Steele.

Today they will have on draft Rated X Mild. This award winning recipe from Dallas Barlow is a GABF ProAm entry this year. It's a great smooth mild ale, with a brown color and garnet highlights. Made from a premium English grown heritage variety Maris Otter pale ale malt, crystal malt and a some amount chocolate malt. The flavor is rich with nut flavors, dark fruit and chocolate cake. Very drinkable with plenty of English character and sessionablity. Hopped with Goldings throughout.

Rated X Mild was taken after fermentation and put it into the two new firkins for a re-fermentation and naturally carbonated cask of real ale. One cask was conditioned with Golding hops and the other cask had Willamette leaf hops. One beer served three ways! Served in an English dimple stein of course.

The Casks pour on specified Fridays after 4:30. The cask ale will go fast and once it's gone it's gone.

Also, Matt Beamer, Wasatch Pub Brewmaster and Hop Bandit needs you help with his hop harvest tomorrow, so that he can make his wild hop brew, "Hop Bandit". Meet at the Wasatch Brewpub at 8am. You gotta know it'll involve pints of beautiful beer! Send Matt a message on Facebook if you can help.

Cheers!

Whiskey Dick Wednesdays & Other "Specials" Are Back!

The Utah Hospitality Association’s lawsuit over Utah’s liquor laws has ended after both sides agreed that daily drink specials can be offered in bars and restaurants.

A federal judge dismissed the lawsuit against the state, which claimed the state’s liquor laws violated federal anti-trust laws and accused lawmakers of conspiring with The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on liquor legislation.

Utah liquor laws have always allowed social clubs to change their prices from one day to the next, so long as they change their menus and otherwise comply with the rest of the law.

However bars and restaurants cannot advertise that drink specials are, in fact, drink specials. They can offer “Margarita Tuesdays”, “Two Dollar Drafts,” and my favorite "Whiskey Dick Wednesdays" but they cannot explicitly call them “drink specials.” “Happy Hours” are still not allowed under Utah law.

It looks like the no advertising part of the agreement may spark a new round of First Amendment litigation down the road.

Remember, whatever victories we earn in the war to let adults be adults, Senator John Valentine will immediately concoct "anti-legislation" to create an artificial balance to drag us bag down. Sorry to spoil this victory with my defeatist attitude.

Cheers!

Utah's 2012 Pro/Am Beers

One of the great things that came from the legalization of Home brewing in Utah was that it could finally bring a sense of legitimacy to hoards of talented home brewers, who for years were always denied participation on a national stage. Now that we've entered the twentieth century, our talented brothers and sisters in brew finally have their time in the sun.

For years the Great American Beer Festival has been giving  home brewers & breweries a chance to showcase their stuff. Last year,  home brewer Travis Grimm & Uinta took home a silver medal with their Shwartzbier in the festivals Pro/Am competition. The following three home brewers are hoping lightening strikes twice.

Chris Detrick has been a colleague of mine for... Well, quite a long time. His images adorn my web pages (that his photo up above) and if there's a beer related story in the Salt Lake Tribune, odds are it's photos came from Chris' talented eye. Chris has been brewing for the past nine years and became his neighborhood's therapist with the advent of the Kensington Ave Brewery. Granted, it was only a garage set-up - but it kept residents of Kensington Ave happy. Chris' favorite style of beer to drink is Saison. For the Pro-Am, he teamed up with Uinta Brewing to recreate his award winning Double Rye IPA.  It will eventually be a limited release under Uinta's Crooked Line.

One of the things I had hoped would come from this blog was to create a sense of community, to provide beer folk like me with a forum to engage one and other. That's how I became friends with Dallas Barlow, at our first Utah Beer Holiday Tasting. Dallas grew up in a homebrewers house and always had fond memories of malts & hops wafting throughout the house. I guess it was only natural that he'd carry on the tradition. Dallas has been brewing for about 8 years.  Saisons are his brew of choice as well. Dallas has teamed up with Hoppers Brewmaster and secret agent Donovan Steele to produce Dallas' award winning British Style Mild Ale. Dallas & Dono's dry hopped Rated X Ale will be released very soon at Hoppers.

Our third Pro/Am beer comes from Salt Lake City native, Scott Hunt. Hunt is an electronics engineer with 25 years in the semiconductor manufacturing industry.  After enjoying his first Sam Adams Boston Lager in the late ‘80’s, he began extract brewing in his kitchen.  In 2008, he invested in an all-grain basement brewery and pub, and brought his knowledge of process control and design of experiments to a very successful homebrewing system.  He recently surpassed the “1000 gallons brewed” milestone. Hunt brewed his award winning IPA 74 with Epic Brewing. The Pro-Am version of Hunt’s beer will be released under Epic’s Hopulent IPA brand label sometime in September, it will carry a unique stamp, Pro-Am ’12, in the “release information area” familiar to dedicated Epic imbibers.

Congrats, guys! Just getting this far is a big deal. We'll let you know when their beers become available.

Cheers!

2012 Utah Beerfest Recap

From my perspective the 2012 Utah Beer Festival was surprising success. More breweries pouring led to shorter lines and a much happier crowd.

The Gallivan Center is a slightly smaller area than Washington Square,the previous festival location, but the separation of the brewers and the clear entry and exit points made for easy flow in and out of the beer tents.

 I made it a point to check the wait in some of the longer lines and my longest wait was only 12 minutes. That may be unacceptable to some but was not that big a deal to me or those who were with me. 

I think the date and time also had a hand in this years success. A six hour festival on a Sunday afternoon may not be the ideal time for many that may need to be "fresh" come Monday morning. 

It looks like the crew at City Weekly has learned from their growing pains and are on the path to managing a great festival that may be capable  of supporting the entire community.

Did you have a different experience?

New Beer Friday 8/24/12

Good news wild ale fans, New Beer Friday has a special treat for you. The special Russian River/Sierra Nevada collaboration beer called Brux is here. If your a fan of wild ales, you know that Russian River Brewing does them like no other. This may be one rare instances that you will be able to buy a Russian River beer legally in Utah.

BRUX is a “domesticated wild ale”, fermented with Belgian yeast, finished by a secondary bottle fermentation with Brettanomyces bruxellensis. It’s a little more than 8% alcohol, very dry, earthy, spicy, and tasty.

The Bayou received 120 bottles, I have no idea if they'll make it in to liquor stores. If anyone spots them, please spread the word.

Returning Champs:

Brainless® Corruption Release #2
This Belgo-American Pale Ale uses Belgian yeast for additional spicy fermentation flavors.  Brainless® Corruption starts out with a wonderful aroma of pineapple, hops and tart fruit. On first sip you taste that familiar cotton-candy and bubble gum sweetness of Brainless® that quickly gives way to a hoppy storm of tropical fruit and tart citrus that lingers on the tongue.

Fest Devious Release #5
Epic's first Fest Devious release of 2012 is the fifth Märzen under the label.  It pours a beautiful ruby red with a thin, fleeting white foamy head. Clean aromas of fall including caramel, roasted nuts and a tiny bit of pine bark accentuate this easy to drink lager. Epic's brewers slightly increased the amount of Munich malt for a nuttier Märzen.  Lagered for 21 days, flavors of caramel, malt and light hops combine with a slight warming from the alcohol.

A quick reminder that tickets for the Utah Beer Festival are still available at Roosters, Epic, Desert Edge, Bohemian, Ruby River, Hoppers, The Beer Store, Squatters (downtown) & RedRock. Over 85 being poured this Sunday.

Cheers!

2012 Utah Beerfest Update

Over previous discussions about City Weekly's Utah Beer Fest we've discussed why so many have left the festival with a bad taste in their mouth, for many that bad taste did not taste like beer.... Literally, they never got to try a beer.

Long lines and a limited amount of participating breweries left many pissed of and outraged. My take has always been that this market (the Wasatch Front & Back) is much too large a market to to support a beer fest of such limited scope.

There are 1.7 million people living along the Wasatch Front alone and that's not including Summit, Morgan & Wasatch Counties. Even if 0.5% of this population base decided to show up there would be in the neighborhood of 8,500 thirsty people in attendance.  That's a lot of people for 13 breweries to handle. Compare that to the 2012 Mountain Brewers Festival in Idaho Falls. 6500+ in attendance with over 90 breweries pouring. The lines were long there, but not so long you couldn't wait for your sample.

One of many solutions discussed was get more (out of state) breweries to participate. It looks like that's about to happen.

The problem for out of state breweries, to attend was not that nobody wanted to, it was a cost thing. No brewery wants to spend the money on thousands of bottles to ship to Utah when it could save more money and resources sending kegs. Well, as we all know our antiquated liquor laws just can't handle that. Beer over 4.0% ABV absofuckinglutly may not be poured from a keg... and there's the rub.

But something strange happened, many out of state breweries found that the people of Utah like their beer, so much in fact that their sales to the state were actually kinda strong; and being the good business people they are, they want to promote their products even if it means coming down to our level.

Sorry for all the diarrhea of the keyboard that I just inflicted upon you... Here's the beer news! Sierra Nevada, Widmer, Kona, RedHook & Full Sail breweries will likely be pouring their stuff along side Utah's own breweries this Sunday.  Not only will they be pouring but Full Sail will be debuting a new "specially made for Utah" 4.0% beer called Sail Ale.

There's no denying that craft beer is big in Utah, and barring any outrage from Sen. Valentine, it looks like this is the shape of things to come. If any more breweries are added to the list we'll let you know.

Cheers!

Whew! That was a long way to go to say "five new breweries attending". Thanks for hanging in there.

2012 Beehive Brew Off Winners

Congratulatuions To all of the winners of the 2012 Beehive Brew off. There were 595 beers entered this year and from where I sat many were of incredible quality. Much thanks to Jamie Burnham and the Beer Nut Staff for putting on a great event. Cheers!

Photo: Dave Watson

Best of Show

Place	Brewer(s)	Entry Name	Style	Club
1st	Brad Cooley	Tempestuous	4C: Schwarzbier
2nd	Alex Lemieux, Jill Martin	Jill's Biere D'ete	16D: Biere de Garde
3rd	Scott Hunt	Kentucky Bluegrass	2C: Classic American Pilsner

Table 1: (0901) 1 - Light Lager (9 entries)

Pl.	Brewer(s)	Entry Name	Style	Club
1st	Justin Kingsford	Das Dortmunder	Dortmunder Export
2nd	Kevin Foy	Helles	Munich Helles
3rd	Alex Lemieux	Honey Hole Lager	Standard American Lager

Table 2: (2102) 2 - Pilsner (21 entries)

Pl.	Brewer(s)	Entry Name	Style	Club
1st	Scott Hunt	Kentucky Bluegrass	Classic American Pilsner
2nd	Joshua Nielsen	Last Place Pilsner Rides Again!	Classic American Pilsner	N/a
3rd	Hans Groberg	Old Ironside	German Pilsner (Pils)

Table 3: (0801) 3 - Euro Amber Lager (8 entries)

Pl.	Brewer(s)	Entry Name	Style	Club
1st	Mike Mirabella	Oktoberfest	Oktoberfest/Marzen
2nd	Travis Grimm	Grimmbrau Festbier	Oktoberfest/Marzen	Zz Hops
3rd	Brian Coleman	Vienna	Vienna Lager	None

Table 5: (1301) 5 - Bock (13 entries)

Pl.	Brewer(s)	Entry Name	Style	Club
1st	Scott Hunt	Tigershark The Predator	Doppelbock
2nd	Travis Grimm	Bockstar Maibock	Maibock/Helles Bock	Zz Hops
3rd	Alex Lemieux	2 Buck Bock	Traditional Bock

Table 6: (0901) 6a - Cream Ale (9 entries)

Pl.	Brewer(s)	Entry Name	Style	Club
1st	David Pang	Cream Ale	Cream Ale
2nd	Stephen Wells	Cream Ale (1.1)	Cream Ale	Hill Hoparazzi
3rd	Brian Coleman	Cream Ale	Cream Ale	None

Table 7: (1301) 6b - Light Hybrid (13 entries)

Pl.	Brewer(s)	Entry Name	Style	Club
1st	Robert Glenn	Summer Shag	Blonde Ale
2nd	David Dahl	Love Hammer	Blonde Ale	Dammit
3rd	David Bell	Sauvin Blonde	Blonde Ale

Table 9: (1101) 6d - American Wheat (11 entries)

Pl.	Brewer(s)	Entry Name	Style	Club
1st	Josh Turner	Highland Park Wheat Ale	American Wheat or Rye Beer
2nd	Lanny Derby	Porch Sitter	American Wheat or Rye Beer
3rd	Aaron Geery	Rye Ale	American Wheat or Rye Beer

Table 10: (1502) 7 - Amber Hybrids (15 entries)

Pl.	Brewer(s)	Entry Name	Style	Club
1st	Weston Barkley	Mongrel	California Common Beer	Snafu
2nd	Justin Kingsford	Not So Common	California Common Beer
3rd	Justin Kingsford	The Amazing Alt	Dusseldorf Altbier

Table 11: (1502) 8 - English Pale Ales (15 entries)

Pl.	Brewer(s)	Entry Name	Style	Club
1st	Jared Young	Yes (young's Extra Special)	Extra Special/Strong Bitter (English Pale Ale)
2nd	Aaron Collis	Pilgrim's Progress	Extra Special/Strong Bitter (English Pale Ale)
3rd	Tom Shivers	Plan Jane /ordinary Bitter	Standard/Ordinary Bitter	O- Town Hopheads

Table 12: (1502) 9 - Scottish & Irish Ales (15 entries)

Pl.	Brewer(s)	Entry Name	Style	Club
1st	Matthew Walker	Biscuits For Smut	Strong Scotch Ale
2nd	Conor Papineau	Scrap Scotch	Strong Scotch Ale
3rd	Conor Papineau	Blood Of The Fallen	Irish Red Ale

Table 13: (3503) 10a - American Pale Ale (35 entries)

Pl.	Brewer(s)	Entry Name	Style	Club
1st	Tommy Lopresto	Emerson Pale Ale	American Pale Ale
2nd	Justin Kingsford	Jpa	American Pale Ale
3rd	Lanny Derby	Aiming Fluid	American Pale Ale

Table 14: (2002) 10b - American Amber Ale (20 entries)

Pl.	Brewer(s)	Entry Name	Style	Club
1st	Sean Meegan	Odie-licious Ale	American Amber Ale
2nd	Jesse Hennefer	Triple Threat Amber	American Amber Ale
3rd	Robert Glenn	Master Blaster	American Amber Ale

Table 15: (1402) 10c - American Brown Ale (14 entries)

Pl.	Brewer(s)	Entry Name	Style	Club
1st	Kyle Rossman	Yet Another Brown Ale	American Brown Ale
2nd	Vince Stuart	Tasty Who?	American Brown Ale	The Brewing Network
3rd	Weston Bryant	Miquel's Marron	American Brown Ale

Table 16: (1001) 11 - English Brown Ale (10 entries)

Pl.	Brewer(s)	Entry Name	Style	Club
1st	David Cuthbert	Benny Hill Southern Brown	Southern English Brown Ale
2nd	Marl Robinson	Hazelnut Iba	Northern English Brown Ale
3rd	Bryan (troy) Faircloth	Southern Brown	Southern English Brown Ale

Table 17: (1101) 12a - Brown Porter (11 entries)

Pl.	Brewer(s)	Entry Name	Style	Club
1st	Trent Bangert	Dirty Chavez Brown Porter	Brown Porter	The Brewing Network
2nd	Brian Coleman	Bear Claw Porter	Brown Porter	None
3rd	Weston Barkley	Crankshaft	Brown Porter	Snafu

Table 18: (2102) 12b,c - Robust & Baltic Porter (21 entries)

Pl.	Brewer(s)	Entry Name	Style	Club
1st	Nic Banks	Brrp Big Robust Rye Porter	Robust Porter	Zzhops
2nd	Davo Mahaffey	Davo's Yummie Porter	Baltic Porter	Zzhops
3rd	Michael Johnson	Robust Porter	Robust Porter	Zzhops

Table 19: (2402) 13 - Stout (24 entries)

Pl.	Brewer(s)	Entry Name	Style	Club
1st	Byron Morton	Dark Matter	Foreign Extra Stout
2nd	Scott Hunt	Quaker Stouts	Oatmeal Stout
3rd	David Bell	Stouty stout stout	Dry Stout

Table 20: (1101) 13f - Imperial Stout (11 entries)

Pl.	Brewer(s)	Entry Name	Style	Club
1st	Michael Pezely	Sesquac	Imperial Stout	Zzhops
2nd	Jen Santoro	The Five Toed Cat	Imperial Stout	Santoro Brewing
3rd	Michael Johnson	Ris	Imperial Stout	Zzhops

Table 21: (4404) 14 - India Pale Ale (44 entries)

Pl.	Brewer(s)	Entry Name	Style	Club
1st	Lawrence Ostroski	Rose Park Ipa	American IPA
2nd	Chris Campbell	10 Year Anniversary Ipa	American IPA
3rd	Bart Hansen	Ibutiful	American IPA	O Town Hop Heads

Table 22: (1702) 14c - Imperial Ipa (17 entries)

Pl.	Brewer(s)	Entry Name	Style	Club
1st	Lawrence Ostroski	Sledgehopper	Imperial IPA
2nd	Dallas Barlow	Pan- Galactic Gargle Blaster	Imperial IPA
3rd	Jim Lauscher	Canadian I Pee, Eh? V10	Imperial IPA

Table 23: (2503) 15, 16a - German Wheat And Rye + Witbier (25 entries)

Pl.	Brewer(s)	Entry Name	Style	Club
1st	Michael Johnson	Weizen	Weizen/Weissbier	Zzhops
2nd	Mark Riffe	Zesty Wit	Witbier
3rd	Conor Papineau	Forgotten Weizenbock	Weizenbock

Table 24: (0801) 16b,d - Belgian Pale And Biere De Garde (8 entries)

Pl.	Brewer(s)	Entry Name	Style	Club
1st	Alex Lemieux	Jill's Biere D'ete	Biere de Garde
2nd	Chris Campbell	G5 Belgian Pale	Belgian Pale Ale
3rd	Jeremy Llewellyn	Bpa5	Belgian Pale Ale

Table 25: (2503) 16c - Saison (25 entries)

Pl.	Brewer(s)	Entry Name	Style	Club
1st	Tom Shivers	Why I Mow The Lawn Saison	Saison	O- Town Hopheads
2nd	Tyler Mork	Radcraft Saison	Saison
3rd	Troy Ketterling	Vewwy Vewwy Quiet Saison	Saison

Table 26: (1802) 16e - Belgian Specialty (18 entries)

Pl.	Brewer(s)	Entry Name	Style	Club
1st	Chaz Smith	Trappers Peppercorn Farmhouse	Belgian Specialty Ale
2nd	Trent Bangert	Hopmonk	Belgian Specialty Ale	The Brewing Network
3rd	Michael Pezely	Belgian Stout	Belgian Specialty Ale	Zzhops

Table 27: (0901) 17 - Sour Ales (9 entries)

Pl.	Brewer(s)	Entry Name	Style	Club
1st	Kyle Callister	Oud Bruin	Flanders Brown Ale/Oud Bruin	The Brewing Network
2nd	Mike Hahn	Raspberry Cheer	Fruit Lambic	Zzhops
3rd	Pat Winslow	Pleasing Lambbic	Fruit Lambic	O-town Hop Heads

Table 28: (1602) 18 - Belgian Strong Ale (16 entries)

Pl.	Brewer(s)	Entry Name	Style	Club
1st	Michael Johnson	Tripel	Belgian Tripel	Zzhops
2nd	Brian Coleman	Trippel Fun	Belgian Tripel	None
3rd	Troy Jaskowski	Belgian Dubbel	Belgian Dubbel	Zzhops

Table 29: (1402) 19 - Strong Ale (14 entries)

Pl.	Brewer(s)	Entry Name	Style	Club
1st	Mike Hahn	Olde Crooked Tooth	English Barleywine	Zzhops
2nd	Trent Bangert	Old Beerbelly	American Barleywine	The Brewing Network
3rd	Bonnie Barlow	Old Diabetes	English Barleywine

Table 30: (1902) 20 - Fruit Beer (19 entries)

Pl.	Brewer(s)	Entry Name	Style	Club
1st	Alex Lemieux	Smell My Pit Apricot Belgian	Fruit Beer
2nd	Conor Papineau	Namaste Ipa #7	Fruit Beer
3rd	Dallas Barlow	The Rose Colored Queen	Fruit Beer

Table 31: (2503) 21 - Spice/herb/vegetable Beer (25 entries)

Pl.	Brewer(s)	Entry Name	Style	Club
1st	Dj Benway	C.p.p.a. Chilli Pepper Pale Ale	Spice, Herb, or Vegetable Beer
2nd	Weston Barkley	Bullmilk	Spice, Herb, or Vegetable Beer	Snafu
3rd	Michael Anderson	Lavender Honey Wheat	Spice, Herb, or Vegetable Beer

Table 32: (1402) 22 - Smoke And Wood Aged Beer (14 entries)

Pl.	Brewer(s)	Entry Name	Style	Club
1st	Kyle Callister	Rauchbier	Classic Rauchbier	The Brewing Network
2nd	Bradley Ledbetter	Ghost Ship	Wood-Aged Beer
3rd	Kyle Callister	Oaked Barleywine	Wood-Aged Beer	The Brewing Network

Table 33: (3303) 23 - Specialty Beer (33 entries)

Pl.	Brewer(s)	Entry Name	Style	Club
1st	Kirk Hofeling	Kbh Rye Pa	Specialty Beer
2nd	Zach Adams	Triple W/bugs	Specialty Beer	The Brewing Network
3rd	Alex Lemieux	C-squared (imperial Cacao-coconut Porter)	Specialty Beer

Table 34: (1201) 24, 25, 26 Meads (12 entries)

Pl.	Brewer(s)	Entry Name	Style	Club
1st	Dirk Howard	Blueberry Boston Mead	Other Fruit Melomel	Cache Brewing Society
2nd	Jared Wright	Traditional Mead	Sweet Mead
3rd	Michael Pezely	Behemothic Braggot	Braggot	Zzhops

Table 35: (1201) 27 - Ciders (12 entries)

Pl.	Brewer(s)	Entry Name	Style	Club
1st	Craig Teerlink	Cider	English Cider
2nd	Mary Ellen Shivers	Tlc- Apple Cider	Other Specialty Cider or Perry
3rd	Tom Shivers	Ac/gc Cider	Other Specialty Cider or Perry	O- Town Hopheads

Table 36: (1301) 4 - Dark Lager (13 entries)

Pl.	Brewer(s)	Entry Name	Style	Club
1st	Brad Cooley	Tempestuous	Schwarzbier
2nd	Travis Grimm	Schwarzhertz	Schwarzbier	Zz Hops
3rd	Travis Grimm	Dark Side Dunkel	Munich Dunkel	Zz Hops

Table 37: (1301) 6c - Kolsh (13 entries)

Pl.	Brewer(s)	Entry Name	Style	Club
1st	Travis Grimm	Bi-polar Blonde	Kolsch	Zz Hops
2nd	Mike Horner	Kolsch	Kolsch
3rd	Alex Lemieux	Honey Kolsch	Kolsch

New Beer Friday 8/17/12

Three new beers today! First off is MacPelican Scottish style ale. The nose is grainy and sweet with herbal and earthy hop. Caramel, burnt brown sugar and cereal grains are prominently featured, while hints of molasses and white chocolate appear nown and again. Earthy hops linger in the finish. It's rather creamy in spite of the substantial bitter streak running through it. This is a brew that goes down quite easily. While it's not boozy at all, it drinks like a big beer. 5% beer. @BeerHive

The next two are from Widmer's Omission line and are gluten reduced just like Wasatch's Glutenous Minimus. The first is Omission Lager. Pours a light fizzy almost one finger head that fades fairly quickly over crystal clear watery honey golden color. The nose has a big crisp fruity lager, quite fruity but some typical lager and some over fruity, light malts. The taste has a light honey flavor, light golden toasty malt like profile witht a hint of sweetness. Light grassy hops round out the finish. Overall not bad, light overall but quite drinkable

Next is Omission Pale Ale. The nose is of yeast bread, citrus fruits and apple. The taste starts with citrus zest, pine, earth and floral qualities. The Barley/wheat come next. Yeast bread and light fruits hang around on the palate. Somewhat nutty in the end. As far as a Pale Ale goes, this is pretty good.

Reminder: The new Roosters beers are out (Niner Bock & Argo ESB) and RedRock's Cohoperation returns today as well.

Cheers!

The 2012 Snowbird Oktoberfest

One of Utah's finest traditions returns this weekend full of beer, bratwurst, sauerkraut, apple strudel, pretzels and Bavarian roasted almonds. New this year, Snowbird will be offering a wine and cheese booth, as well as Belgian Liége Waffles and Pommes Frites.

Oktoberfest runs every Saturday, Sunday and Labor Day through Oct. 7 from noon to 6 p.m. The Alphorns also perform on Hidden Peak everyday of Oktoberfest at 3:15 p.m.

Attracting over 70,000 visitors over the sixteen-day celebration, Oktoberfest has grown to become one of the largest festivals in the state of Utah. Oktoberfest includes Oktoberfest Halle featuring the tastes of Bavaria with entertainment from local and national German bands and yodelers. Kinderland fun for children, Der Marktplatz will allow shoppers to browse through a variety of local crafters and of course local craft beer.

Prost!

New Rooster's Bottles on Sale

The wait is over, if you want to grab two of Roosters Brewing Co.'s newest beers they are available for purchase right now. The beers went on sale Tuesday afternoon and as of right now the Layton location is the only location that has a package agency license to sell out the door. As of yesterday, Ogden was still waiting for it's permit. You can however drink them in the brewpub.

They come in tall 500 ml. bottles and will run you about three bucks a bottle.

I was anticipating the Peloton Pale Ale would be part of the new release they instead went with a big Bock called Niner Bock.

Niner Bock Lager dials in at a big 9% ABV. That put it in Dopplebock territory. It has a hoppy/malty nose With huge toffee and caramel malt profile on the tongue. Finishes slightly boozy and earthy.

ARGO ESB is an appropriate 5.8% ABV. This copper-hued ale balances creamy malt character with bitter Chinook hops that hit mid palate and linger gently on the tongue. 

No word yet on if these release will be making it into the state stores. We'll pass that on when the word comes down. If you can't make it up to Ogden or Layton they may be pouring them at the Utah Beer Festival in two weeks, so check out their tent. Congrats Roosters!

Reminder: Today is the last day for entries in the Beehive Brew-off. They are due at the Beernut before the close of business today.

 Cheers!

Hop Help for Haas!

It's Radius time once again. Desert Edge's locally made - locally grown, seasonal favorite is about to be brewed and Brewmaster Chris (Santa) Haas needs your help.

 The hops are coming out a little early this year. Chris and Colby are headed up to harvest today and picking tomorrow. That means they could use a little assistance.  They will be in the brewery on Wednesday the 15th from 730 am 'till as long as it takes to pick the luscious hops for Radius.

If you have a few moments to spare, please head over to Desert Edge and lend a hand. The beer will be flowing and there will be conversation a plenty. Come for 15 minutes or 10 hours, no able bodied picker will be turned away. The more hops picked the more Radius for us!

Radius, is made with ingredients grown within 100 miles of the Brewery. The malt is grown just across the state line in Idaho and the hops grow wild about a mile from the brewery.

Radius is a golden ale, filtered with an extreme fresh hop flavor and medium bitterness. Last year it was only around for only a few weeks. Once it's tapped, It's practically gone.

Contact info: (801) 521-8917 - 273 Trolley Square  Salt Lake City, UT 84102


Cheers!

2012 Beehive Brew-Off Update

Just in case you aren't aware, entries for the 2012 Beehive Brew-off are now being accepted through August 15, 2012.  No entries will be accepted beyond this date. For details, see the Entry Information page.

Home-brew entry form, fee & beer deadline is Wednesday, August 15. Judging will take place Saturday, August 18 and Sunday, August 19, with awards given out Sunday evening. Entry fees are $5.00 (Checks should be made payable to The Beer Nut).

All entries must include the entry form and payment, and all bottles must have labels attached with rubber bands only. Improperly submitted entries, or entries received after August 15, may be disqualified.
Be sure that you enter your beer into the proper style category. Styles accepted include all styles listed in 2010 AHA Category Descriptions. Entries become property of The Beer Nut and will not be returned.

Cheers!

Two Steps Bock is Back

A year ago, the end a very brief era came about. Two Steps Bock the last and only beer made exclusively for the Wasatch "chubby" keg was released,  it was the last beer to be put in the short lived, 5 liter container. Many didn't a chance to grab some, they disappeared quite fast. Your second chance is here.

Named for what I like to call the "Utah Shuffle". Two Steps Bock represents the compromise we all make every time alcohol legislation takes us closer to normality. "One step forward - Two steps back".  What they give - They can also take away and often do.

They took away our container, but not the beer and I'm happy to say, this exceptionally delicious Helles Bock is back!

These German lagers tend to be lighter in color than other Bock beers and often have a significant hop character with a noticeable alcohol around the same as traditional Bocks.

 Pours a light golden yellow with a beautiful, fluffy cotton head. There's a  Bready nose of Munich and pilsner malts and a nice herbal hop smack. German malts at first with a herbal/ grassy hoppiness about midway. The finish is very clean and crisp, lightly bittered. Creamy texture and smooth mouth feel, light bodied. Really a great beer, balanced perfectly. An awesome, smooth drinking lager. 6.5% ABV - 1 pint 9 oz. bottle.

$5.99 out of The Beer Store & Squatters bottle shop - $10.99 dining in. Also available at the Wasatch Brewpub and other Squatters locations.

With today's triple digit heat, this Helles will hit the spot nicely.

Cheers!

Beer Stuff for the Week of 8/6/12

Remember Zoo Pub? It was an after hours gathering for adults to re-familiarize themselves with the Hogle Zoo, while getting to enjoy food, beer and wine pairings. Zoo Pub has since been renamed Wild Libations but all of the same activities remain. For the first night, enjoy a selection of wines & beers from Epic Squatter and Uinta while getting to chat with the vintners brewers and educators who will be on hand to answer any and all of your questions. Wine & Beer menus will vary each night

There will also be zoo keepers on hand to discuss the new exhibit.  Enjoy live music and a festive atmosphere as you see a Polar Bear, Grizzly Bears, Seals, Sea lions, River Otters and more, all in an intimate setting!

The first Wild Libations gathering will be tonight - August 8th, 15th & 22nd in the new Rocky Shores exhibit.

Tickets include appetizers, a tasting of 6 wines and 6 beers, one full glass of wine or beer, and Zoo admission.  Tickets must be purchased in advance.  Designated Driver tickets are available. Must be 21 or older, with ID, to attend Click here,

to purchase tickets online or by calling guest services at 801-584-1769. Bands and Wine & Beer menus will vary each night so why not come to all three nights! Wine and Beer menu TBA.

If you live in the southern part of the state, the Third Annual Festival of Flavors is happening again at Brian Head Resort. The two day event offer samplings and pairing of of great local, beer wines & whiskeys from all over the state.

Festival of Flavors begins August 10th with a Brewmater's Mixer which also kicks off the "People's Choice" Beer Competition. Saturday is the full festival with all of the above, including bands vendors and things to occupy the kids.

Saturday's events are from 11am to 8pm.

Cheers!

Wasatch's Glutenus Minimus

Listen up, non-gluten ingesters & Celiac sufferers. There's a new beer option that has just been released that may be the perfect beer for many of you.

Wasatch has developed a new beer that is crafted with a special enzyme that significantly reduces the amount of gluten in malted beverages. Called Glutenus Minimus, this new "gluten reduced" beer may not be 100% gluten free, but it does meet or exceed standards set by many organizations that monitor gluten levels in food.

10 ppm (parts per million) is the highest level of gluten that most health professional will recommend for the gluten intolerant. Glutenus Minimus has been tested by a private lab to be less than 10 ppm, but because of Federal regulations, no beer that contains any wheat or barley can be labeled gluten free. Hence the term "Gluten Reduced".

Now that I've completely board bored you to tears with the science, let's get down to what this new beer is. Glutenus Minimus is a Pale Ale made with malted barley select hops and that special enzyme. It's ABV is 4.0% and is only available on tap at the Beer Store, Wasatch Brewpub & most Squatters locations. Bottled options may be down the road - depending on strength of sales. Bring your growlers, it's for sale right now.

Cheers!

Coming Soon from Moab

Moab Brewing Co's recent expansion and change in packaging has resulted in a phenomenal increase in sales for the small desert brewery. The new "tallboy" cans that are rolling out of Moab have been a huge hit. Part marketing - part great beer.

At the pace Johnny's IPA and Rocket Steam Beer are flying off the shelves it was inevitable that a third beer was added to the mix. Dead Horse Amber Ale has been a popular staple in Moab (and Utah) since the doors opened in 1996, and is a logical choice for the next canned beer. It's an approachable beer for non-craft beer drinkers but offers a body perfect for recreating and grilling.

Should be showing up on shelves in the next thirty days or so.

A new addition to Moab's Desert Select Series is on the horizon as well. Export Stout is said to be a full bodied stout full of roasted coffee and chocolate notes. 8.0% ABV. No release date as of yet, though it sound like it will be a perfect offering for the holidays.

I hope the brewery decides to ditch the those massive 1 liter bottles. They work fine for the Moab market, because they sell faster and are refrigerated, but those "easy cap" bottles just don't have the ability to keep the beer from spoiling as they sit dying at room temperature - liquor store shelves. That's my experience with them anyway.

 Cheers!

Roosters Preview

It's looking like our beer drought may be nearing an end! With the announcement of the new Vernal Brewery in addition to today's preview, Utah's beer future is looking bright.

Last April we told you about Roosters Brewing Co's plan to bottle high gravity beers, we even conducted a poll to see what container we'd prefer. The majority of readers wanted cans - they went with 500ml bottles (the next best thing IMO). Anyway here's your preview.

The first beer is Argo ESB: It will be a copper hued - malty ale, hopped with Chinook.

Next is Peloton Pale Ale: It's made with six different malts and three hop varieties. It's 7% ABV may take it into IPA territory, we'll have to wait and see.


The final beer I believe is an Amber called Niner. I don't have much info on that one yet.

Not much diversity to start with,  but I love English styles ales, so they'll work for me. There's no set release date yet, but rest assured we'll tell you when Roosters puts them in the cold case. Any thoughts?

Seasonals on tap at Roosters:

Devil's Grip Blackberry Ale
This is a brilliant-blond ale. Balanced hop and malt combination with a strong finish of fresh, sweet Blackberries.

Patio Nights Pilsner.
Dry hopped with Saaz hops grown in the Czech Republic. This is a very refreshing, fruity, unfiltered pilsner.

Rude Ram Red (Layton Only)
A deep red ale with roasted, caramel flavors attributed to caramel and chocolate malts, a portion of which are added to the boil. Four hop varieties lend a spicy aroma.

Cheers!

IPA Day in Utah

Today is International IPA Day! It may not have all the moral fortitude of Chick-fil-a Day, but let's be honest, few things do.

Today you're tasked with the sacred responsibility to consume at least one India Pale Ale and remember the hard work that helped get it into your glass. I've spent precious minutes compiling an incomplete list of locally available IPA's for you to choose from. Select wisely.

Today is also the release of Squatters newest IPA Monsoon Monster, a collaborative brew, made with John Harris, formerly of Full Sail Brewing and Utah Brewers Coop's Dan Burick, and of course Squatters Head Brewer Jason Stock.  There will be a beer tasting dinner celebrating International IPA Day at The Bombay House • 2731 Parleys Way • Salt Lake City today August 2, 2012 - 6:30 PM - $25 PER PERSON for the Dinner and $15 PER PERSON for the beer pairings.

Here's your local list, which one you gunna have?
Anchor Liberty Ale
Anderson Valley Hop Ottin IPA
Bear Republic Racer 5
Big Sky IPA
Boulder Hazed
Boulevard Double Wide IPA
BrewDog Hardcore IPA
Crooked Detour Double IPA
De Molen Storm & Averji
Deschutes Hop Henge
Deschutes Inversion IPA
Deschutes Hop in the Dark
Epic Hopulent
Epic Imperial IPA
Epic Spiral Jetty IPA
Firestone Double Jack IPA
Firestone IPA
Full Sail IPA
Full Sail Bump in the Night
Hop Rising IPA
Kona IPA
Lagunitas Hop Stoopid
Lagunitas Maximus
Lagunitas IPA
Mikkeller Sorachi Ace IPA
Mikkeller/Brewdog I hardcore you
Moab Jonny's IPA
Moab Black IPA
Pike Brewing IPA
Pike Double IPA
Pyramid IPA
Red Rock Elephino DIPA
Samuel Adams IPA
Samuel Smiths IPA
Sierra Nevada Torped
Sierra Nevada Estate
Squatters IPA
Squatters Monsoon Monster
Tenaya Creek Hop Ride IPA
Uinta Hop Notch IPA
Uinta Dubhe
Uinta Trader IPA
Widmer Rotator

Cheers!

Vernal Brewing Breaks Ground

Remember Vernal Brewing Co? We talked about them last November. Back then they were poised to be the first brewery in Vernal in quite some time. Since then The Hop 'n Keg has started brewing and is currently the only brewpub in the area. Not for long.

We learned that Vernal Brewing broke ground on their brewery late last week on their Production Brewery?Brewpub.  Looks like they'll have draft & bottle options for thirsty Utahans. But first they'll need a brewer. Congrats guys! Here the info if you or someone you know is interested.

Vernal Brewing Company is seeking a Master Brewer.
Vernal Brewing Co. is an up and coming packaging brewery/brewpub in Vernal, UT. We are looking to bring the right person on board to help us break into the brewing industry.
Job Requirements:
2-3 years experience in production brewery with 2-3 years management experience
Degree in Fermentation Science or Brewing Science Program
Strong Management Skills
Computer Skills
Duties:
Develop new recipes
Wort production
Act as manager of all brewery staff
Oversee all day to day operations
Record keeping
Lab testing
Quality control
Brew-house cleanliness
Inventory Ordering
Abilities:
Lift 55 lbs and occasionally move up to 200 lbs
Stand 8-10 hours per day
Be familiar with lab equipment
Communicate effectively
Computer skills
Competitive pay, health insurance, bonus package and paid vacation. Salary is based on education and experience. Applicant must be willing to relocate to Vernal, UT.

Cheers!

The image above doesn't necessarily represent Vernal Brewing Co.