New Beer Friday 12/27/13

Sorry I'm late, I'm on vacation which means I get to sleep in, again my apologizes. We hope the Holidays are treating you all well, and if you didn't get enough cheer during the week we have some new beers that will go nicely with the weekend.

Bohemian Smoked Helles: Mesquite-esque smokiness in the nose with hints of biscuit beneath. The taste is full of sweet malt, and smoke with a hint of spicy hops. The mouthfeel is on the lighter side of medium. A very nice smoke beer. I could easily drink this on a regular basis. @Bohemian

Epic Old Sage Brett: This is Epic's Utah Sage Saison aged in Brett dosed barrels for about 6-7 months. The Sage is quite prominent with nice smack of sour to accompany it. This is a very limited release. @Epic

Hoppers has the Cask for Firkin Friday at the Bayou: Pale Morning Ale dry hopped with New Zealand Rakau hops. The Rakau hops have a nice perfumy blossom bouquet, mango and pine apple like tropical fruit, and a hint pine resin. The base pale ale has cascade as a late kettle hop.


Raspberry Stinger Hard Apple Cider: The Hive Winery's Stinger hard cider which is partially sweetened with real Utah raspberry juice. The result is a lightly carbonated cider, with the prefect amount of fresh raspberry to blend beautifully with the rich apple flavor. Watch out, it is easy to get “stung” by this cider’s 6.95% alcohol content. Bottle (22 fl oz) - $8.95 Now Available at The Hive Winery.

Cheers!

Attention Holiday Tasting Attendees!

Attention everyone who attended the Holiday Tasting! We have a set of keys that were left or lost. If your the owner of the mystery keys, drop me a line at utahbeer@gmail.com

Cheers!

Happy......

Xmas
Festivus
Yule
Anastasia of Sirmium Feast Day
Malkh
Light Day
Kwanzaa
Mōdraniht or Mothers' Night
Saturnalia
Pancha Ganapati
Dies Natalis Solis Invicti

Whatever you celebrate today, surround yourselves with great company and great beer!

Cheers!

New Beer Friday 12/20/13

It's the last New Beer Friday before Christmas! We hope your stockings are stuffed with great beers!

Avenuues Proper's RagMan Ale: This is a Belgian style IPA that was brewed in honor of David Fetzer, a friend of the restaurant's owners who passed last year. Mr. Fetzer's birthday was this week and  a portion of the proceeds (25cents/pint $1/pitcher) will be going directly to the Davey Foundation. You can check out the details and the foundation itself at www.thedaveyfoundation.org 

Some returning favorites this week include.

BrewDog Punk IPA: This has nice grapefruit notes with a sturdy backbone of malty sweetness which is in perfect balance with the hop bitterness. Delicious and strong with great drinkability. 5.6% ABV @Bayou

BrewDog Hardcore IPA: This one has a much richer body than Punk IPA. Caramel malts and a bit of brown sugar combine with loads of pine, grapefruit and berries. Big and tasty! 9.2% ABV @Bayou

Today is a first for Firkin Friday at the Bayou. Roosters Brewing has joined the madness and will be providing one of their better offerings, Roosters Rosemary Porter. Tapping is at 3pm.

Cheers!

Hellevation IPA

Since august of 2012, Roosters new bottle program has been slowly finding it's groove. Debuting with a Pale ale, ESB and a Bock the program didn't find it's stride until the release of their Honey Wheat ale last summer, which took of big. Now comes word the  Breweries will be offering a new bottled IPA called Hellevation.

It's not surprising they'd go the IPA route - it is the most popular craft beer style in the country and Utahans are starved for new craft beer lables. Hellevation will be hopped with Nugget and Cascade hops and should be available sometime in early 2014. Look for it at the Ogden/Layton brewpubs before it (hopefully) hits liquor stores.

And by the way, thanks to everyone that was able to make it out to the Holiday Tasting last Saturday. Holy Shit what a huge crowd! I'd like to also add that your generosity with your beer cellars never ceases to amaze me - what a great array of beers! I'll try to throw some photos up on the Utah Beer Facebook page in the coming days. Thanks Again!

Cheers!

New Beer Friday 12/13/13

One interesting new offering and some nice returning labels are available to you today for New Beer Friday's - Friday the 13th Edition.

Avenues Proper has released Foreign Gentleman Belgian Coffee Stout... on NITRO! This is a collaboration with Charming Beard Coffee in SLC.  Great coffee espesso notes with a hint of Belgo yeast spiciness. @ Avenues Proper

Centennial Steamer and Road Rage Rye return to the tap handles at Desert Edge today.

Firkin Friday at the Bayou is also provided by Desert Edge Brewing. Today's offering is Latter Day Stout on oak with cocoa nibs. 

Speaking of the Bayou, they have received
New Belgium: Lips Of Faith - Cigar City Collaboration (Ale Brewed With Chilies)
New Belgium: Hop Kitchen - Fresh Hop India Pale Ale
New Belgium Rampant IIPA
New Belgium: Abby
New Belgium: Trippel
New Belgium: Lips Of Faith - Wild2 Dubbel (Ale Brewed With Schisandra) 

Hop Henge Experimental IPA from Deschutes Brewing is back in the market as well, get 'em while they're fresh! @DABC, Beerhive

Cheers!

The Annex is Making Beer

The Annex by Epic Brewing has completed the installation of their new seven barrel (217) gallon
brew house and has finally begun brewing.

If you haven't been by the Annex yet, the brew house is situated in the basement of the restaurant with an open section near the entrance, where patrons can view down into the brewery. The two kettle system was specifically designed to fit the available space and provide the flexibility needed to brew a wide range of beers styles.

Some of the initial beers produced at The Annex will be house-only draft beers. The lineup will include an American Golden Ale that will showcase individual hops, including newly developed varieties such as lemon drop. A classic Oatmeal Stout that will be dispensed on nitro and an aggressively hopped Belgian Saison. “The Annex brew house provides a unique opportunity to experiment with very small batches and explore the variety within a beer style,” says Brewmaster Kevin Crompton.

These new beers will be available on draft for the New Year along with Epic's full portfolio of Utah made beers.

Stay tuned there's an interesting new offering coming from Epic Brewing in the coming days that will completely arouse your inner beer geek.

Cheers!

Photo Courtesy (Scott Sommerdorf | The Salt Lake Tribune)

Uinta's Tinder Rauchbier

Smoke Beers or Rauchbiers ("rauch" is German for smoke) are without a doubt an acquired taste in the beer world. I don't think I've ever come across a style of beer that has such a fervent following - while others have no use for it at all. I fall into the "Pro Rauchbier" camp. When they're made properly they are thing a beauty - imparting robust qualities from the smoke while providing spiciness and even brisket notes.

Its origins date back to the 1500's in the town of Bamberg, Germany. They typically have a dark ruby color and have similarities of Märzen biers. Green malts are dried over an open fire of beech wood, imparting a unique smokiness to the malt.

That's why I was happy to hear that Uinta's newest addition to their Crooked Line is to be a nice smoked lager. It's not a conventional choice, it's got a narrow audience, but the Crooked line isn't about conventionality. Tinder is made with German smoked malt from Bamberg; the beer will likely have notes of vanilla, coffee and toffee malts beneath the smoke - as well as slight earthy tastes, but the smoke will always be the star of the show.

Tinder is lagering as we speak and should be making it's debut in January, 2014. What are your thoughts?

Other great local Rauchbiers include RedRock's Bamberg Rauchbier and Desert Edge's Inversion.

Prost!

No, New Beer Friday....

It looks like it's another New Beer Friday, without any new beer. There are some nice returning favorites though, so at least we have that going for us.

Epic - Barley Wine: A nice mix of sweet malts, caramelized brown sugar with some grapefruit and pineapple bitterness. The end is a mix of toffee dark fruit and grapefruit with a hint of molasses and booze in the finish. @Epic

Squatters - Specialty English Pale Ale: A nice, highly quaffable English pale ale with floral and pine notes. @Squatters

Desert Edge - Holiday Raspberry Stout: This year Santa Haas made the stout with 145 pounds of raspberries and 15 pounds of cocoa nibs. It really has a nice balance between stout roastiness, raspberry aroma and flavor and a delicate chocolate flavor. @Desert Edge

The Firkins today at the Bayou and Poplar St. Pub are courtesy of Squatters. This week's offering is a Peach Witbier. If it's not too sweet and "peachy" I'll be all over it!

Cheers! 

Today, Utah Gave Us Back Our Beer

There's a nice Op-Ed piece in the Salt Lake Tribune today about Utah's role role in putting an end to Prohibition. Please raise a glass today, weather at home or your favorite watering hole. Yeah, it's ironic - I guess that's what makes it so cool.

Cheers!

The Hop Bombshells' Holiday Fundraiser

Join the Hop Bombshells and celebrate the holidays by giving back! The areas only ladies home brew club invites you all to stop by Hoppers Grill & Brewing Co., to participate in a fundraiser to help the YWCA of Salt Lake City, The Road Home and the Utah Food Bank.

The Hop Bombshell's have put together a new 2014 pin-up style calendar, featuring some of the members of the club. $20 gets you a calendar signed by the Bombshells or you can bring in a bag of food, a blanket, or a jacket to receive $5 off the calendar. These donations will go to above mentioned charities.


That's not all, in addition to calandars the Bombshells are also raffling off a brand new, in the box electric "kiddie" Chevy Camaro. Be the hero this Holiday as you introduce the toddler or "mini person" in your life to the joys of being a full-on motorhead.

The event is at Hopper's on Sunday, Dec. 8 from 4-7 pm. There will obviously be beer and food. This event is open to the public so invite your friends and help the ladies give back to the community. 

Cheers!

Uinta Brewing Company's Brighton Revolver IPA

There's a nice trend happening at our local ski destinations this year. Some of the resorts along the Wasatch Front & Back are teaming up with local breweries to produce unique beers - custom designed for the specific resorts. As of right now there are three ski resorts (Alta, Snowbird, Park City) and one ski lodge (Montage Deer Valley) with beers made from the Utah Brewers Cooperative. Now we can add one more destination getting into the beer game, Brighton Ski Resort.

If you happen to make it to the Bayou last Friday, you may have gotten an opportunity to try Brighton's new beer via Firkin. The new beer made by Uinta Brewing is called, Brighton Revolver Session IPA. This new brand is designed to be a rotating Session IPA that will change in hop profile throughout the ski season.
 
The first release, or “season opener”, was brewed with Mosaic and Cascade Hops which give it a bright,
floral & citrus essence. Full of ripe, fruity notes - I think it occupied my glass most of the night, it's damn tasty. The next rotation in the series is still being formulated, when it makes it way around we'll let you know.

It's available at Brighton Resort and a few tap handles around town, not in bottles or cans. If you see it, tell us where and tell us what you think.

Cheers!