The Sugar House Distillery

Today's post is not exactly beer related but it's a sign of where we are headed in the pursuit of locally produced adult beverages.

Great news! It looks like Utah has another small batch distillery on the way. The Sugar House Distillery, SLC's newest producer of adult beverages received it's federal permit two months ago on September, 23rd and is awaiting it's state permit to begin operations in the coming weeks. The distillery is planning to be up and running by Jan 1st if everything goes as planned in the Dec meeting with the State of Utah and will start off by making a vodka and will be releasing a honey whiskey shortly after opening.

While we're waiting for the new distillery to go online, SHD could use your help in deciding what their Logo should look like. Check out these options and visit their Facebook Page to lend your support. 

The Sugar House Distillery will be located at 2200 south and West Temple in Salt Lake City.

We'll bring you updates on their progress and specifics of the operation in the coming weeks. Welcome to the family!

Cheers!

New Beer Friday 11/22/13

When local beer geeks heard that New Belgium Beers were hitting the market, the first question people asked was, "are we gunna get more than just Fat Tire"? Well we all hoped that would be the case, today I can say, that is the case! - and the Beerhive just got quite a few regular and seasonal beers from NB. Here they are.

New Belgium: Lips Of Faith - Cigar City Collaboration (Ale Brewed With Chilies) - The nose is spicy with cinnamon fresh chiles. The taste starts with apple and a bit of roasted chile meat. An earthy bitterness comes next with spicy Belgian yeast rounding out the end. Interesting, but a little thin and light to hold my attention.

New Belgium: Hop Kitchen - Fresh Hop India Pale Ale - A nice nose of citrus, pine, grapefruit mingled with earthy New Belgium yeast. The taste follows the aroma. Citrus, bitter pine with floral hops that meld with a plain caramel malt flavors. The end is dominated by earthy yeast, citrus and floral hops. The finish is semi dry. Nice beer but it won't be so nice in a couple of weeks so drink it now.

New Belgium Rampant IIPA: The nose is primarily citrusy hops, followed by some sweet grainy malts. The tastes starts with citrusy hops with some bready caramel malts. Caramel and toasted malt tend to dominate in the middle. the end has hints of lemon and pine. Not too complex, malts tend to dominate over the hops.

New Belgium: Abby - The nose is of banana, maple syrup and some dark fruit with mild alcohol. Caramel and syrup in the beginning with notes of banana, some fruitiness. Spicey esters come next with toffee and a mild alcohol warming at the end. The flavor was left lingering on the taste buds for a nice long while along with the mild taste of alcohol. This is a really nice full bodied Abby style ale.

New Belgium: Trippel - The nose full of floral notes, clove, coriander, and some strong banana character. The taste starts ripe with banana and cookie dough. Corriander, and clove come next with as juicy citrus hops round out the finish. The alcohol is very well hidden. Again a nice interpretation on the style, very nice.

New Belgium: Lips Of Faith - Wild2 Dubbel (Ale Brewed With Schisandra) - The nose starts with raisins, molasses and some spicy banana. The taste follows with Belgian yeast, fig, raisin and gingerbread. The end is peppery and yeasty. Faint hints of sour funk appear in the finish. I don't normally gravitate to Dubbels but I like this.

Kona: Pipeline Porter - The nose is straight-up coffee. The taste is coffee with some cocoa, cola and some smoke in the finish. This is a straight forward coffee porter. If you like 'em you'll love this.

Pelican: Silverspot IPA - A nice hoppy nose with a light maltiness and a hint of spicy yeast. The taste starts sweet with malt and hints of toffee. Nice, floral and citrusy hops come next with a bit of earthiness. The hops are not as strong as they are in the nose, but the balance is nice. Quite a tasty example of the English style.

Wasatch: Park City Golden Anniversary Ale - I haven't tried this one yet, anyone? @ Beer Store - Squatters/Wasatch bottleshops. 

All of these are available at the Beerhive, get before they dissapear!

Cheers!

RedRock's 2013 Secale Returns Today

One of my favorite locally made beers returns today! Secale.

This beer is a bock at it's base, but has the addition of rye malt and is aged in High West Rye Whiskey barrels. Secale pours a dark ruby color with a moderate two fingers of off-white head. The nose has a dry roasted malt aroma along with a light rye spiciness. It's rounded out with a mild caramel malt and vanilla aroma. The taste starts with Caramel malts and toffee. Chocolate covered raisins come next come next with a dry rye spiciness. Hints of vanilla and whiskey come next in the end, as well as a subdued hop bitterness that balances the malty sweetness in the finish. The body is full and the whiskey notes become a bit more pronounced as it warms. The 8.5% abv is well hidden but sneaks up you quickly.

It will be available to purchase later today at the Brewhhouse, and available at the downtown location tonight.

Locally made beer combined with local whiskey? Xmas has come early!

Prost!

Snowbird Dunkelweizen

Debuting last September at Snowbird's Oktoberfest Celebration, Squatters' Snowbird Dunkelweizen proved to be a big hit among the attendees looking for a little extra German flare at the festival.

It's not surprising, Hefeweizens are very popular in the area and since Dunkels are akin to their wheaty cousin they seem like a natural fit. Brewed with darker barley malts (Dunkel means "dark") along with the wheat malt these beers are deliciously complex with low hop bitterness. The yeast used creates the clove and banana characters that are very similar to banana bread. Most are murky brown in appearance, another trait of the yeast.

You should start seeing Snowbird's Dunkel in the stores any day (currently at Squatters and the Beer Store) if it isn't already and I suspect it will be at one or two tap handles at Snowbird Resort. 4% ABV

Prost!

NOT New Beer Friday

Nothing really new out there today, but there are some interesting beers floating around that may do the job.

Roosters Hopfner: This amber-colored ale is brewed with locally grown hops, oregano, and a touch of lemon balm is one of weirdest seasonal beers you'll find. One word. "pizza".

Epic Hopulent with Lemon Drop Hops: Look for grassy, citrusy, lemon, citrus & pine in this version of Hopulent. Limited. Sorta new - sorta not, but it's pretty tasty! Batch #80 I believe.

Gordon Biersch Winter Bock: Cake with a touch of honey and spice notes, Nutmeg comes next with some dark fruits, the finish is dry and lightly sweet. A nice straight forward, drinkable lager.

Cheers!

Salt Lake's Newest Brewery Arrives

Since mid-September, The Annex Gastropub/Brewery has been serving up food and Epic brews in the heart of Sugarhouse. Though the restaurant is doing well, it's only been operating at half of it's potential. The brewery part of the pub has been sitting empty waiting for new stainless steel tanks to fill it.

Finally Sugarhouse's first brewery is soon to be a reality. New beer making toys arrived earlier this week, and have already been placed into their new home. Though the Annex is owned and operated by Epic Brewing the beers being made at the new brewery will be unique to the Annex.

Though you'll still be able to get Epic's full range of locally produced beers (including Unsacred), look for new beers ranging in ABV from the the typical 4% to... whatever the system can handle. The new brewhouse is expected to go online in a couple of weeks and if all goes well we should start seeing new Annex beers by Christma-kwans-ukkah. Wahoo!

Also in Epic News - Epic Brewing was awarded two medals at the Great International Beer & Cider Competition in Providence, Rhode Island on November 8th.

Imperial IPA won Silver in the Strong Beer - Imperial IPA category.

Double Skull Doppelbock Lager won a Bronze in the Strong Beer - Doublebock category.

Cheers!

We're Already Full!

We filled up in less than 24 hours this year, but don't worry there are always cancellations. First come first serve on the cancellation list will get invites. So, don't wait. Sorry for the inconvenience.

The 2013 Big-Ass Holiday Tasting

                                                    Sorry, We're Already Full

Back in 2009 a bunch of us Wasatch Front (and Back) folk got together over the Holidays to celebrate our love of craft beer. Our aim was simple - bring a bottle to share and get to know the rest of our beer community. I don't think any of us were prepared for the enthusiastic responses we received to our invitation - the scope and generosity of those who attended blew us away.

Now it's time to put out the invitation for my favorite part of the year - It's the 5th Annual Big-Ass Holiday Beer Tasting. The rules are always the same, but for new readers of the Utah Beer Blog here are the rules and info.

First of all this is the only invite to the gathering. If your reading this you know about the party if you missed it - I'm sorry. Social Media isn't conducive to having an intimate party of this size.

The concept is simple. Bring a nice beer, cider or mead. It can be in a bottle, can, jug, keg or jeroboam as long as it's "special" to you and you think it would be nice to share. It doesn't have to be rare - expensive or outrageous. Just something that you enjoy.

Homebrew is absolutely welcome! We have some incredibly talented homebrewers in the area, if you've got something that you'd like to share please bring it. Give us a heads up if it's kegged so we can make sure we have the appropriate amount of room.

If you have a tasters glass or a piece of stemware please bring it, you'll be glad you did. Plastic cups will be provided but I'd hate for anyone to have to use them.

The Holiday Tasting will be held at a private home and it's location will be given out only to those who RSVP. We will have to put a cap on the number of people attending due to the size of the venue. So get your RSVP in ASAP.

We'd ask that this be limited to "Beer People". People who know beer or are interested in learning more about craft beer. Please feel free to bring a guest if you don't want to come solo.

Speaking of "Beer People". Some of our local craft brewers will be in attendance as well as industry professionals. It'll be a nice opportunity for you to get to know them - and they you.


Plan ahead for your ride home. Last year we got hit with one Hell of winter storm, while it made for a beautiful Holiday evening, it created some difficulty getting people out the door and to their home's safely.

So, here's the info your gunna need.

Please RSVP to utahbeer@gmail.com (we filled up in 30 hours last year)

Absolutely no one under 21.

What: 1-2 bottles for tasting & sharing - tasters glass or stemware - some beer & snacks provided.

Where: Draper, Utah

When: The evening of Saturday December, 14th

Questions & RSVP: utahbeer@gmail.com

Don't hesitate to RSVP or ask questions! We usually fill up within a few days. Again, this post is the only invite to the gathering. Any questions?

Cheers!

Beer Geek Social Media

In an effort to better incorporate beer geek social media with their selection of beers the Bayou in SLC has added individual beer link on their website for users of Rate Beer and Untappd on thier mobile devices. The new features on the Bayou's website are simple enough - just identify the beer from the huge list of offerings tap the specific site you wish to be linked to and voilà, no searching or miss-spelled error notifications. It's just another thing to expand my beer geek reach while annoying my wife. 

And if your indecisive like me, there is also a random beer generator to help you consider something from the menu that you may never thought of. 

If your not using any beer related social media and want to give it a whirl and try me on Untappd - user name "utahbeer". from there you'll be able to hook-up with many like minded beer dorks.

Cheers!

New Beer Friday 11/8/13

You've been waiting for them forever, now they're finally here - the first batch of the (never come to Utah) New Belgium beers. For the first couple of weeks they're just going to be in some of the better beer bars around town - then they'll slowly start trickling into the liquor stores. Looks like they're in 22 oz. bottles. Hopefully we'll see 'em in 12 oz. bottles and cans eventually.

New Belgium Fat Tire: The nose is malty with a bready, biscuity character and a touch of floral hops in the background. The flavor mostly follows the nose. again, biscuity, bready malt with a few subtle, secondary floral hoppy notes... it does have a unique taste.

New Belgium Accumulation: The nose is a hoppy blend of grass, grapefruit and lemon with a touch of earthiness. The taste is similar, tart and grassy, but more earthy and with a pleasant spiciness as the flavor lingers on the tongue. Better than most White IPAs, still not better than Ghostrider.

To Øl Shameless Santa*: This is described as having a nose of dark fruit, pine and caramel with a taste of  dark fruit caramel and marzipan. The end rounds out with grapefruity hops.

To Øl Frost Bites IPA*:  This is descibed as having a nose of fresh pine, spruce, orange peel and grains. The taste is dry with spruce, pine, orange peel and an almost minty aftertaste with some grainy notes.

To Øl Snowball Saison*: Described as having a nose dominated by strong pine and citrus hops that mask the saison below. Taste has a nice bitter front, with some lemon peel and orange zest, big spicy peppery notes, slight fruity yeast notes,a slight funkiness and a bitter end.

Montage Mountain Ale: A golden Ale that's a lighter-flavored brew designed to be a year round offering at the resort. It is certain to be an après-ski favorite at Daly's Pub & Rec, the resort's gourmet gastro-pub.
Montage Mountain Ale is the result of a partnership between the resort and Wasatch Beers

Monty’s Belgian White Ale: is a private label bottled beer by Wasatch as well. Designed as a complement to Montage Mountain Ale. The cardamom and spice flavors pair well with the property's inventive culinary offerings. Monty's Belgian White Ale is only available at the resort's three dining outlets.

Firkin Friday at the Bayou: this week we have Rimnado's Wit from Unsacred (Epic) made with hibiscus.

Returning Beers
Uinta Sea Legs Baltic Porter: Pours a very murky, dark brown, almost black color with a small tan head. The nose is brilliant! full of toffee with some chocolate biscotti, a hint of Bourbon and espresso. The taste starts with sweet chocolate with some biscuity malt flavors. A bit of dark fruits with vanilla and subtle whiskey come next with a bit of dark chocolate and toffee in the finish. The alcohol is well hidden in this 8% beer.

Bohemian Munich Dark Lager: A classic example of a dark lager from the Bavarian city of Munich.  It pours a brilliant dark brown with flavors of toast and sweet malt. A touch of hops adds the perfect balance for a crisp, smooth finish.

Returning Holiday Beers
Sierra Nevada Celebration Ale
Ridgeway Bad Elf*
Ridgeway Very Bad Elf*
Ridgeway Seriously Bad Elf*
Ridgeway Criminally Bad Elf*
Ridgeway Insanely Bad Elf*
Ridgeway Lump of Coal*
Ridgeway Santa's Butt*
Ridgeway Warm Welcome*
Ridgeway Reindeer Droppings*
Ridgeway Reindeer Revolt*
Mikkeller Santa's Helper*
Mikkeller From/To*
Mikkeller Hoppin Lovin Xmas*
Struise Tsjeeses*
Kulmbacher Eisbock*
De Ranke Pere Noel*
Thiriez Noel*

Cheers!

*only at The Bayou

‘Hop Notch’ to ‘Hop Nosh’

In the beer world the most over used descriptor word depicted on a beer label is Hop. If it rhymes with Hop or if Hop can be utilized to substitute for another part of a word - it's likely to be adorning some label somewhere in the world. There are hundreds of labels from breweries all over the globe that try to provide the consumer with some clever, unique pun in association with a particular hoppy beer. And every day the field get's narrower and narrower.

Because there are such limited uses and just so many names available, people and entities are hunkering down and ready to go to legal blows to protect their "intellectual" property. Case in point, our beloved Hop Notch from Uinta Brewing. 

Uinta  has agreed to change the name of Hop Notch, the brewery’s best selling beer and one of the fastest-growing IPAs in the country, following a request from Massachusetts-based Notch Brewing, which owns trademark for the word “Notch” as it relates to beer and breweries. Notch Brewing claimed that Hop Notch was creating marketplace confusion.

Uinta will sell 66,000 barrels this year. Hop Notch comprises about 35 percent of the brewery’s total sales volume. By comparison, Notch Brewing, which produces under contract at Two Roads Brewing in Stratford, Conn. and Mercury Brewing in Ipswich, Mass., expects to produce 2,000 barrels of beer in 2013.

So basically Uinta could be spending it's money on useless litigation or concentrate on it's massive brewery expansion and making great beers. They chose the latter. In place of Notch you'll now see Nosh (meaning light meal). It still sorta works as a name and had we never brought it up you may have missed it. So welcome Hop Nosh to your fridges and watering holes - the “Hop Notch” to “Hop Nosh” transition will roll out with the new year.

It goes without saying, nothing inside the can, bottle or keg will change. I'll roll my eyes and shake my head at this legal stupidity, but as long as my tongue is happy, I could give a shit. 

Cheers!

New Beer Friday 11/1/13

Tenaya Creek - God of Thunder Baltic Porter: Nice nose full of espresso, roasted malts, chocolate and dark fruits.The taste is starts with roasted malts and dark fruits. Coffee notes come next with a nutty toffee end. Finishes smooth with chocolatle and a hint of booze. A nice, full bodied Porter. @Beerhive

Firestone Walker - Velvet Mirkin Bourbon Stout: Chocolate, The nose has dark fruits, but bourbon is most prevalent. The taste starts with chocolate and espresso, nice bourbon and oak characters come through next. with a finish that is surprisingly dry. This is not a big boozzy Impy Stout, so adjust you perceptions. Firestone Walker really know their barrel aging- a must try! @BeerHive

Deschutes - Black Butte XXV (25th Birthday Reserve):  The nose is of black currants, tart berries with a healthy doses of dark chocolate, coffee and bourbon. The taste starts with dark chocolates, pine bitterness and some tartness. Roasted notes of coffee come next with bourbon, black currants, dark fruits and rich chocolate. The finish is a bit boozy with a lingering tartness. @DABC - Bayou- Beerhive


Bear Republic - Café Racer 15 IIPA:  Nose is big with grapefruit, pine and big citra hops. Mild bready malt is beneath. The taste starts with juicy grapefruit and tropical hops. Spicy dankness and pine follows up in the middle. Bready briefly, then a nice dry, crisp resinous finish. Damn yummy! @ Beerhive - Bayou

John Smith's Extra Smooth Ale: The nitro can produces a finely foamed darkish ale. The nose was of faint malt, grain and dough. The taste has toasty malt with some light caramel followed by a mild, floral hop flavor. Leaves just a hint of bitterness on the tongue. @ Grocery (I saw it at Harmon's)

For Firkin Friday @ the Bayou, Hoppers presents Rockwell's Fireside Porter. It's full of smooth chocolate and dark crystal malt flavors with a light hop finish, cask refermented with real maple syrup and with lightly toasted American Oak.

Cheers!